10 Awesome Fan Theories That Improve The Spider-Man Films

7. Marvel And DC Comics Exist In Raimi's Spider-Man Universe

A somewhat meta and self-referential fan theory regarding Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy is that Marvel and DC Comics both existed as entities within it. It's a very simple theory based on a number of occurrences in the movies: Spider-Man uses the terms "Shazam" and "up, up and away" when he's trying to learn how to fire his webs (those are both terms related to DC characters Captain Marvel/Shazam and Superman); Aunt May tells Peter Parker he's "not Superman" in regard to him trying to take on too much responsibility; and J. Jonah Jameson said that the name 'Doctor Strange' was already taken when trying to come up with names for Doctor Octopus. Interestingly, this could potentially mean that the cameos by Stan Lee in each of the movies were actually as himself. The Marvel comic books that exist in the Raimi universe are the same as the ones in the real world, except Spider-Man isn't a character in them (he's a 'real world' character). This is somewhat similar to the Watchmen universe, in which DC Comics exist, but they are pirate comics instead of superhero comics.