The Sony Marvel Universe
Genius & Madness — Sony Takes On Marvel
Welcome to the Dadnology HQ for the Sony Marvel Universe — the strangest, most fascinating corner of superhero cinema. This is the one studio that fired the starting gun on the modern comic-book movie with Sam Raimi's Spider-Man (2002), then spent the next two decades building an entire universe around Spider-Man's villains while not actually owning the rights to put Spider-Man in most of it.
The rights dilemma, explained for the family movie night: Back in the 1990s, a near-bankrupt Marvel sold the film rights to its biggest characters piece by piece. Sony bought Spider-Man and his entire roster of associated characters — over 900 of them — and never let go. That is why Spidey lived at Sony for 20 years while the Avengers grew up at Disney. The modern compromise: Marvel Studios "borrows" Spider-Man for the MCU films (Homecoming onward), but the character legally still lives at Sony. Two studios, one wall-crawler, a shared-custody agreement that somehow works.
The "Spidey-less" universe: Sony's current live-action project — the SSU (Sony's Spider-Man Universe) — is the genuinely bizarre part. It builds movies around Venom, Morbius, Madame Web, and Kraven without Spider-Man himself appearing. Important context that gets missed: this only became "Spidey-less" once Marvel started using Spider-Man in the MCU. The old Sony Spider-Man films (Raimi 2002-2007, Webb 2012-2014) absolutely had Spider-Man front and centre — they are the foundation everything else stands on.
The multiverse bridges: Even though the SSU doesn't share a continuity with the MCU, the worlds keep colliding. The post-credit scenes of Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Morbius, and the multiverse blowout of Spider-Man: No Way Home, stitched these timelines together after the fact — turning the old Raimi and Webb films into "alternate universes" that suddenly matter again.
The quality here swings violently — from Oscar-winning masterpieces (Spider-Verse) to meme-tier misfires (Morbius, Madame Web). That is the red thread of this hub: genius and madness, often in the same calendar year. We rank all of it honestly, the way a dad who grew up on these films actually would.
Thematic Pillars
Spider-Verse Film Series
Into & Across the Spider-Verse — two perfect 10s. The animated peak of the entire Sony Marvel catalogue.
View Series →Marvel's Spider-Man (PlayStation)
Insomniac's Spider-Man games — the best superhero you can actually play, also a Sony production.
View Series →Marvel Master Hub
The wider Marvel universe — the MCU watch order, LEGO, and where Spidey's shared-custody deal fits in.
View Series →⚡ Every Sony Marvel Film & Show — Ranked by Dadnology Rating
| Title | Cluster | Year | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Into the Spider-Verse | Spider-Verse | 2018 | 10 / 10 |
| Across the Spider-Verse | Spider-Verse | 2023 | 10 / 10 |
| Spider-Man (Raimi) | Legacy Classic | 2002 | 9 / 10 |
| Spider-Man 2 | Legacy Classic | 2004 | 8 / 10 |
| The Amazing Spider-Man 2 | Legacy Classic | 2014 | 8 / 10 |
| Venom | SSU | 2018 | 8 / 10 |
| Spider-Noir | Live Series | 2025 | 8 / 10 |
| The Amazing Spider-Man | Legacy Classic | 2012 | 7 / 10 |
| Venom: Let There Be Carnage | SSU | 2021 | 7 / 10 |
| Venom: The Last Dance | SSU | 2024 | 7 / 10 |
| Ghost Rider | Forgotten Relic | 2007 | 7 / 10 |
| Spider-Man 3 | Legacy Classic | 2007 | 6 / 10 |
| Kraven the Hunter | SSU | 2024 | 6 / 10 |
| Morbius | SSU | 2022 | 5 / 10 |
| Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance | Forgotten Relic | 2011 | 5 / 10 |
| Madame Web | SSU | 2024 | 4 / 10 |
🎛️ The Dadnology Sony Standard
Sony doesn't get graded on a curve for sharing a logo with Marvel. Across the Spider-Verse is a 10 and Madame Web is a 4 — and both are on this page. One studio, one universe, and the widest quality gap in superhero cinema. We call it film by film: genius gets a 10, madness gets a 4, and 'because it has Spider-Man in it' gets you nothing.
★ Featured Picks
Spider-Man: The Complete 5-Film Collection (Raimi + Webb, Blu-ray)
Every pre-MCU Sony Spider-Man film in one box — the foundation of the whole universe.
Venom 3-Movie Collection (4K Ultra HD)
The full Tom Hardy symbiote trilogy — peak SSU popcorn entertainment.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (4K Ultra HD)
A perfect 10 and a reference-quality 4K disc. The animated crown jewel.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (4K Ultra HD)
The Oscar-winning game-changer where it all clicked. Essential for any shelf.
Chronological Timeline
Sam Raimi fires the starting gun on the modern superhero era. Tobey Maguire becomes Peter Parker.
Doc Ock, the train sequence, and one of the best comic-book sequels ever made.
Too many villains, one emo dance. The ambitious, messy end of the Raimi run.
Nicolas Cage, a flaming skull, and a Sony Marvel relic from before the universe had a plan.
Cage goes full over-the-top in the grittier, weirder Ghost Rider sequel.
Sony reboots fast. Andrew Garfield's underrated, skater-cool Peter Parker arrives.
Electro, Gwen, and the strong, divisive high point of Garfield's Spidey.
The Oscar-winning animated masterpiece that rewired what cinema can look like.
The commercial starting gun of the SSU. Pure trash-fun chemistry between Eddie and the symbiote.
Carnage arrives, and a post-credit scene cracks open the multiverse.
Famous less for the film than the memes. The SSU's most infamous misfire. It's Morbin' time.
Bigger, bolder, and somehow more personal. A second perfect 10 and a cliffhanger for the ages.
A narratively isolated, oddly-edited low point. The SSU's biggest swing-and-miss.
The end of the Tom Hardy trilogy, introducing the cosmic threat of Knull.
The first hard-R SSU film — classic hunt-action with a brutal streak.
Nicolas Cage as a weary 1930s spider-detective. A stylistic black-and-white highlight.
Franchise Archive
Explore every entry in the franchise.