Avengers: Infinity War—Will Cindy Moon Reveal Herself to Be the Superhero Silk?

This year's Spider-Man: Homecoming laid the foundations for a reborn Spider-Man franchise. Before the sequel arrives though, Tom Holland's newest iteration of the wondrous wall-crawler will have to make his way through Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4. Spider-Man is set to take his superheroics to a cosmic level, but it seems he's not alone...

IMDb has recently added Tiffany Espensen's Cindy Moon to their cast list for Avengers: Infinity War. That's quite an unusual approach for the site, and suggests a strong confidence that this is accurate. You'll also note that they're announcing Espensen is playing "Cindy Moon." Previously, Espensen had only ever been cast as "Cindy," and it had been left to Marvel fans to deduce her surname. This wasn't particularly difficult though, as there's never been another "Cindy" in Spider-Man comics, and Espensen is the spitting image of the character.

Introduced in 2014's "Original Sin" arc, Cindy Moon was revealed to be a forgotten classmate of Peter Parker who was also bitten by that fateful radioactive spider. Her powerset was subtly different though, with a focus on organic webbing and an even stronger Spider-Sense. Cindy's absence from decades' worth of comics was explained by her being placed in hiding by the Spider Totem known as Ezekiel, who feared she'd be hunted down by the dimension-hopping Inheritors. Peter, who believed the Inheritors defeated, was appalled. Naturally, Peter broke Cindy out as soon as he learned about her.

The #MCU version of Cindy Moon is very different. For one thing, she's still a member of the Academic Decathlon team, so she never went into hiding. For another, Cindy didn't give a hint of super-powers during #SpiderManHomecoming, even when she was one of the people trapped aboard a doomed elevator. That said, it's possible that Cindy was doing her best to hide her powers, although the teenager's strong Spider-Sense would probably have told her help was at hand.

What Part Could Cindy Moon Play In 'Avengers: Infinity War'?

We know that a number of scenes in Infinity War are set in New York, and the teaser released at #SDCC2017 revealed that Peter rides a school bus during one (presumably early) scene. It would be natural for some of his classmates to be on the bus with him, and Isabella Amara's Sally Avril has already been confirmed for the film too. However, Espensen's not been seen on-set at all, nor have any stunt doubles been cast, so it's almost certain Cindy's character won't play a major role. We shouldn't expect her to web up as Silk any time soon.

That said, it's possible we'll see a subtle hint that Cindy possesses super-powers still. Marvel always plays the long game, laying the foundation for what's to come, and this could present them with a perfect opportunity. As an example, the SDCC teaser showed Peter looking to the skies when his Spider-Sense went ballistic, sensing the arrival of Thanos's Black Order. All it would take is for the camera to carefully pan round, showing Cindy similarly focused on the heavens, and you'd have a blink-and-you'll-miss-it hint at her powers.

Marvel's decision to introduce this secondary character may ultimately turn out to be little more than an Easter Egg for the fans, but it's one with serious potential. In the comics, Cindy wound up hunted across dimensions by the Inheritors, triggering a phenomenal multi-dimensional event known as "Spider-Verse." That arc is most famous for introducing the dearly-loved character of Spider-Gwen, and it would be thrilling to see that character somehow make her entrance in the MCU.

Given IMDb's confidence, we can assume that Espensen really is booked for Infinity War, and that she's now openly referred to as Cindy Moon. For now though, don't expect to see her suit up as Silk. After all, Espensen is unlikely to have much screen time in a blockbuster Avengers movie, although there's still a chance that her appearance will lay the foundations for a much more significant role in 2019's #SpiderMan sequel...