title: Knight and Day

text: Before film director James Mangold signed on to "Knight and Day", it was previously associated with director Tom Dey. More than 12 writers contributed to the film. The Writers Guild of America, West, decided that due to this large number of contributors, only Patrick O'Neill, who had worked on the beginning layout of the script, would get credit. Other writers that worked on the film's script included Scott Frank, Laeta Kalogridis, Ted Griffin, Dana Fox, and Simon Kinberg.


title: Knight and Day

text: The film changed lead cast members multiple times while the production was mired in "development hell". Prior to finalizing on actors Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, when the film was titled "Wichita", comedian and actor Adam Sandler was offered a starring role in the film; he declined, saying, "I just don't see me with a gun." "Wichita" was developed under production at Revolution Studios; the film was later moved to Sony Pictures. At Sony Pictures, actors Chris Tucker and Eva Mendes were slated to portray the two lead roles in the film; it was titled "Trouble Man" and intended as a romantic vehicle film for the two actors.


title: Knight and Day

text: After Tucker and Mendes dropped out of the lead roles, Diaz signed on to the film with Sony Pictures, and actor Gerard Butler met with production staff regarding starring opposite Diaz. Butler instead decided to take on the lead role in the film "The Bounty Hunter", opposite actress Jennifer Aniston. Tom Cruise, who at the time was auditioning for parts in five films, including "Salt", and "The Tourist", decided he wanted to star in "Knight and Day", and he wanted to modify the role of the male lead character with his own ideas.


title: Knight and Day

text: The film's production partners, New Regency and Dune Entertainment, offset financing for the film by paying Tom Cruise a lower advance fee than he normally received. Cruise previously normally received $20 million or higher in an advance fee, but he only received $11 million for "Knight and Day". Cruise also agreed not to receive first-dollar gross, which was customary for him. That meant that Cruise would not receive a share of the film's revenue until "Knight and Day" funding investors had first gained back their investment in the production. In total, production costs for the film exceeded $125 million.


title: Knight and Day

text: Principal photography began in mid-September 2009 in Boston and Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Airport terminal scenes were filmed at Worcester Regional Airport. Filming also took place in Melrose, Danvers, and New Bedford, Massachusetts. Filming was also done in Spanish cities Seville and Cadiz, the Austrian city of Salzburg, and the Jamaican town of Port Antonio.


title: Knight and Day

text: "Knight and Day" had been set for a June 25, 2010, release date, but FOX moved its debut up two days to June 23; in the face of poor initial tracking numbers. "The New York Observer" analyzed the marketing for the film, which included an attempt at pushing a "viral video" of the two main stars; journalist Christopher Rosen commented on the desperation level of the publicity campaign, "the marketing for this thing has seemed more intrusive and desperate than any other big-ticket release in some time." Film producer Don Carmody commented negatively regarding the film's trailer, calling it "dull", and said the film would not do well because of the age of its two stars, "Cameron Diaz I think was a star, but she's no longer a star. Some of those stars are getting a little up there (in age)." "The Hollywood Reporter" noted that "potential viewers remain startlingly indifferent to whether they actually end up seeing it. And attention thus far is still drawn mostly by those under 25, which indicates that the fans who grew up with star Tom Cruise have moved on."


title: Knight and Day

text: FOX attempted to increase word of mouth advertising for the film by showing a sneak preview on June 19, 2010; the "Los Angeles Times" reported the same day that pre-release surveys determined that the film was likely to become a commercial flop. Projections indicated that the film would only make $20 million at the box office; much less than the film production cost of $125 million. FOX production President Emma Watts said of the film's commercial prospects, "We aren't exactly where we hoped we would be." The "Los Angeles Times" noted that "... Cruise and Diaz are not as popular with younger moviegoers, who often drive big opening weekends in the summer. ... Among teenage and college-age males, the movie is barely registering, according to people who have seen the survey results." "New York Magazine" reported the film was "tracking miserably" prior to its first week. "New York Magazine" reported that "one of the film's biggest handicaps: its star, Tom Cruise". A FOX official commented to "New York Magazine" regarding the film's pre-release polling data, "at those numbers, we can't open the movie right now. Hopefully, they'll change in the next few days."


title: Knight and Day

text: Upon hearing that tracking data on June 22, 2010, showed the film was not likely to produce revenue over $30 million in its first five days on screen, a FOX executive told "TheWrap" he was "confounded", and commented, "Tracking says one thing, but our sneak previews this weekend said something totally different. ... but if you look at the empirical data, we're nowhere." "New York Magazine" reported that the day prior to the film's release, a long scene from "Knight and Day" was made available on iTunes, in an attempt to improve the lackluster 28–31% "definite interest" level of the movie. After results were reported from the film's initial debut, FOX distribution executive Bruce Snyder commented to "The Hollywood Reporter", "It's an adult movie opening on a Wednesday, but we opened it there and snuck it on Saturday because we believe the word-of-mouth will be good, so we're set for a pretty good opening weekend. Remember, it's an original, adult movie, which we expect will run for quite a while."


title: Knight and Day

text: An "extended cut", which adds eight minutes of footage mostly extending scenes and a new opening that better establishes June Haven's profession as a car restorer, was released on Video On Demand in North America. it had not been released in DVD region 1, though it had been released in regions 2, 3, and 4.


title: Knight and Day

text: "Knight and Day" grossed $76.4 million in the United States and Canada and $185.5 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $261.9 million. It performed poorly at the box office in its debut, with a take of US$3.8 million the day after its initial June 23, 2010, release, from ticket sales in the United States and Canada. This was much less than the film "Toy Story 3", which earned $13 million at the box office on the same day. "Knight and Day" did not place within the top 50 all-time Wednesday film openings. An analysis of the opening day results by "Box Office Mojo" noted it was the worst attended action film debut for Tom Cruise since his appearance in the 1986 "Legend". It was the lowest-grossing opening day for Cruise in a leading role since his performance in the 1992 film "Far and Away". Cruise's last starring role prior to "Knight and Day", in the 2008 film "Valkyrie", generated $8.5 million on its opening day. The previous film with Cameron Diaz and Cruise as the lead roles, "Vanilla Sky", garnered $8.9 million on its opening day.


title: Knight and Day

text: Moira Macdonald of "The Seattle Times" characterized the film's initial revenue results as "a box-office disappointment"; Lou Lumenick of "New York Post" commented, "Not great numbers"; journalist Roger Friedman noted for "Hollywood News", "Bad reviews didn't help. 'K&D' has registered only 52% on Rotten Tomatoes. Even those reviews counted as positive weren't so good. They were stretching."; Nicole Sperling of "Entertainment Weekly" noted, "audiences just aren't showing up the way Fox might have hoped"; and Ben Fritz of "Los Angeles Times" called the film's debut a "soft" opening, and commented, "It wasn't a good first day or night at the box office for 'Knight and Day.'"


title: Knight and Day

text: The film's revenues dropped nine percent on its second day of release, earning $3.5 million in ticket sales. During the same period that revenues dropped for "Knight and Day", ticket sales for "Toy Story" only fell by three percent, "The Karate Kid" dropped by six percent; while other films increased revenues at the same time, including, "Shrek Forever After", "Sex and the City 2", "Get Him to the Greek", "Killers", and "Robin Hood". In its first weekend, "Knight and Day" was paired up against "Grown Ups", a comedy film starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade and Rob Schneider. The Friday of its first weekend after release, "Knight and Day" took third place at the box office, behind both "Grown Ups" and "Toy Story 3". The film brought in a total of $6.4 million on its third day of release.


title: Knight and Day

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 52% based on 232 reviews and an average rating of 5.60/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "It's pure formula, but thanks to its breezy pace and a pair of charming performances from Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, "Knight and Day" offers some agreeably middle-of-the-road summer action." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 46 out of 100 based on 38 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.


title: Knight and Day

text: Justin Chang of "Variety", characterized the film as "a high-energy, low-impact caper-comedy that labors to bring a measure of wit, romance and glamour to an overworked spy-thriller template". Kirk Honeycutt of "The Hollywood Reporter" wrote: "Bottom Line: Logic and plausibility take a holiday in this nonstop actioner that counts on stars Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz to sell the nonsense." Honeycutt criticized the writing, "the script is too lazy to develop any of its characters – and that includes the leads", and commented, "laziness permeates the film from the inexplicable escapes to the neglected romance". Michael Phillips of the "Chicago Tribune" criticized the script, the direction, cinematography, set pieces, and action sequences. Phillips concluded, calling it "A 21st Century "Charade" pumped up on all the wrong steroids, 'Knight and Day' may well suffice for audiences desperate for the bankable paradox known as the predictable surprise, and willing to overlook a galumphing mediocrity in order to concentrate on matters of dentistry."


title: Knight and Day

text: Lou Lumenick of the "New York Post", rated the film with one and a half out of four stars, and wrote, "this is a big, dumb summer movie with no apparent ambition other than plugging a hole in a studio's schedule because its faded star happened to be available for a few weeks." Emanuel Levy was critical of the film's writing, calling it a "mindless flick"; he noted, "The story moves at a breakneck speed, as if to conceal the incongruities in the storytelling." Levy gave the film a grade of "C", and commented, "Preposterously plotted, the saga is dominated by long, energetic, uneven action sequences, but it lacks any logic and pays minimal attention to characterization. Repetitious in structure, and with humor that more often than not misses the mark, 'Knight and Day' is characterized by nihilistic violence and amoral tone, which wouldn't have mattered had the movie been witty or fun to watch." Simon Abrams of "Slant Magazine" gave the film a rating of two stars out of four, and commented of the film's director and writer, "Clearly O'Neill and Mangold are trying to give viewers what producers would undoubtedly like to sell as 'something for everybody,' but there's no consistency to the thing and no chemistry whatsoever between Cruise and Diaz, making the alternating tug-of-war between girly and manly elements of the film seem extraordinarily forced." Rene Rodriguez of "The Miami Herald" wrote that there was "no chemistry between Cruise and Diaz", and commented regarding Cruise's acting, "Tom Cruise spends much of 'Knight and Day' looking as if he's waiting for someone to pour casting mold over his head to make an action figure." Peter Howell in the "Toronto Star" commented, "There is supposed to be romance in "Knight and Day" — and Diaz is up for it — but Cruise still looks as if he's taken charisma lessons from Al Gore."


title: Knight and Day

text: "Entertainment Weekly"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Lisa Schwarzbaum gave "Knight and Day" a grade of "C+", and compared it to the 2010 film "Killers" starring Katherine Heigl and Ashton Kutcher, "The producers assume that audience interest in movie stars is bigger than audience interest in characters. The conclusion is overdetermined, since Roy and June are such flimsy constructions. ... At least they're not Katherine Heigl and Ashton Kutcher in Killers." Colin Covert of "Star Tribune" made a similar comparison, "The film looks unambitious, like a remake of 'Killers,' the Ashton Kutcher-Katherine Heigl guns-and-giggles toss-off everyone has already forgotten, but with bigger stunts and more star wattage." In a review for "The Huffington Post", critic Marshall Fine observed, "the movie bubbles happily for almost an hour before it flags". Robert Bell of "Exclaim!" wrote of the script, "Sure, things slow down a bit around the midway point, making it clear that there is very little going on here aside from cheesy escapist fantasy, but things quickly pick up again, engaging us in the moment of a movie that knows exactly what mainstream trash cinema should be." In a review for the "Orlando Sentinel", critic Roger Moore commented, "The blase plot devices (a gadget, the nerdy guy who invented it), the bland villains, the too-fast dash through exotic locales, don't matter so long as Cruise and Diaz click and spark their scenes – chases and embraces – to life. And Cruise, hurling himself at this as if his Mission: Impossible future and indeed his whole career depended on it, makes sure they do."


title: Knight and Day

text: "The Wall Street Journal" critic Joe Morgenstern commented, "'Knight and Day' woke me up to just how awful some summer entertainments have become. It isn't that the film is harmful, except to moviegoers' wallets and movie lovers' morale, but that it is truly phenomenal for the purity of its incoherence." Writing for the "Chicago Sun-Times", Roger Ebert rated the movie 3 stars out of 4 and wrote, "'Knight and Day' aspires to the light charm of a romantic action comedy like 'Charade' or 'Romancing the Stone,' but would come closer if it dialed down the relentless action. The romance part goes without saying after a Meet Cute contrived in an airport, and the comedy seems to generate naturally between Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. But why do so many summer movies find it obligatory to inflict us with CGI overkill? I'd sorta rather see Diaz and Cruise in action scenes on a human scale, rather than have it rubbed in that for long stretches, they're essentially replaced by animation." Ty Burr of "The Boston Globe" stated, "The movie's a piece of high-octane summer piffle: stylish, funny, brainless without being too obnoxious about it, and Cruise is its manic animating principle." Writing for the Associated Press, Christy Lemire commented, "Cruise's presence also helps keep things light, breezy and watchable when the action – and the story itself – spin ridiculously out of control." Bill Goodykoontz of "The Arizona Republic" observed, "Mangold, working from a script by Patrick O'Neill, accelerates events in a way that is either a perfect representation of how current action films are made or a demonstration of everything that's wrong with movies today. Maybe it's both." "CNN"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Tom Charity commented, "there's a creeping anxiety about this project, a tendency to over-compensate that speaks to underlying inadequacies."


title: Vanessa Marcil

text: Vanessa Marcil ( ;) is an American actress. She is best known for her television roles as Brenda Barrett on "General Hospital", Gina Kincaid on "Beverly Hills, 90210", and Sam Marquez on "Las Vegas".


title: Vanessa Marcil

text: Marcil, the youngest of four children, was born in Indio, California, to Patricia Marcil, an herbalist, and Pete Ortiz, a contractor and self-made millionaire. Marcil's father is Mexican, and her mother is an American of French and Italian ancestry. Vanessa attended Indio High School, which is located in Indio, California. Shortly after high school, she attended College of the Desert, which is a junior college located in Palm Desert, California.


title: Vanessa Marcil

text: Marcil acted in a number of theatre productions before landing the role of Brenda Barrett on the soap opera, "General Hospital", in 1992. She garnered three Daytime Emmy Award nominations (in 1997, 1998, and 2003) for her portrayal, and she won in 2003 as Outstanding Supporting Actress. In February 1998, she was named Outstanding Lead Actress at the "Soap Opera Digest" Awards.


title: Vanessa Marcil

text: On June 14, 1993, she appeared in the Prince music video "Poorgoo,” which was officially released in very limited numbers. In 1994, she was cast in the Prince music video, "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World,” and she also made "People"'s 50 Most Beautiful list the next year. She made her feature-film debut in the film, "The Rock" (1996), in which she appeared opposite Nicolas Cage, Sean Connery, and Ed Harris.


title: Vanessa Marcil

text: In 1998, after six years on "General Hospital", she left the show to star in the made-for-television movie, "To Love, Honor and Deceive" and had a recurring guest role on the police drama "High Incident", which was produced by Steven Spielberg. In November 1998, Marcil joined the "Beverly Hills, 90210" cast as Gina Kincaid and remained with the show for one-and-a-half seasons. In 1999, she starred in two independent films: "Nice Guys Sleep Alone", with Sean O'Bryan, and "This Space Between Us", with Jeremy Sisto.


title: Vanessa Marcil

text: In 2001, she was initially cast to join "NYPD Blue"s ninth season as a new series regular, Detective Carmen Olivera. However, after her first appearance in "Johnny Got His Gold,” the show decided to redo the role and replaced Marcil with Jacqueline Obradors, as Detective Rita Ortiz. Marcil made one more cameo appearance, as Detective Olivera, in the 11th-season episode, "Shear Stupidity.”


title: Vanessa Marcil

text: From 2002 to 2003, she returned to "General Hospital", as Brenda Barrett, garnering her a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in 2003. Vanessa later joined the cast of the NBC drama "Las Vegas" as Sam Marquez, a casino host, where she remained on the show for five seasons until 2008. That same year, she became the host of Lifetime's reality show "", as well as making a three-episode guest appearance on the NBC show "Lipstick Jungle".


title: Vanessa Marcil

text: In 2009, she starred in the Hallmark Channel movie "The Nanny Express" and in the Lifetime movie, "One Hot Summer". In 2010, she was in the web series "The Bannen Way," and in August 2010, after a seven-year absence, she made her return to "General Hospital," remaining on the show for a year before her departure from the daytime series in July 2011. Marcil did reprise her role by making a guest appearance in April 2013, however, to commemorate the show's 50th anniversary.


title: Vanessa Marcil

text: In 2014, she starred in the Hallmark channel movie, "Stranded in Paradise", and in 2015, she joined the cast of the Pop reality series, "Queens of Drama", about the lives of former soap-opera actresses attempting to pitch a pilot for a television network. In 2016, she starred in her latest Hallmark channel movie, "The Convenient Groom".


title: Vanessa Marcil

text: In 1999, Marcil started dating her "Beverly Hills, 90210" cast mate, Brian Austin Green, whom she met on set. The two became engaged in July 2001 and had a son named Kassius Lijah Marcil-Green. They planned to wed that year, but they ended their relationship in 2003.


title: Vanessa Marcil

text: On July 11, 2010, Marcil married actor Carmine Giovinazzo in a private ceremony in New York City. In June 2011, the couple announced they were expecting their first child together; however, Marcil suffered a miscarriage, her second that year. Marcil filed for divorce in August 2012 on the basis of irreconcilable differences. The divorce was finalized in March 2013.


title: Vanessa Marcil

text: In April 2015, Marcil revealed on social media that she was engaged to a California Deputy Sheriff, MC Martin. On November 13, 2017, Marcil announced she was pregnant again. On January 9, 2018, she revealed that she was expecting a daughter, but on January 27, released a statement on Instagram stating she had miscarried for the seventh time.


title: Peter Parker (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

text: Peter Parker is a fictional character portrayed by Tom Holland in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise–based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name—also known by his alias, Spider-Man. Parker is initially depicted as a student at the Midtown School of Science and Technology who later received spider-like and superhuman abilities after being bitten by a radioactive spider, becoming Spider-Man. Parker is eventually recruited by Tony Stark, who mentors him and recruits him into the Avengers during the battle against Thanos. Following the Blip, Parker briefly encounters and fights the manipulative Mysterio while on a school trip across Europe; Mysterio frames Parker for his murder and reveals his identity to the world, prompting Parker to seek Stephen Strange's help months later to reverse this. Strange's spell causes the multiverse to fracture, but it is eventually resolved by casting a new spell that permanently erases the world's shared knowledge of his civilian persona, including his relationships with his loved ones, friends, and other superhero allies.


text: Holland's version of the character is the successor to both the Peter Parker played by Tobey Maguire in Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" trilogy (2002–2007) and the Peter Parker played by Andrew Garfield in "The Amazing Spider-Man" duology (2012–2014), both of whom reprise their roles and appear in "" (2021) as supporting characters to Holland's Parker. To distinguish himself from the other versions, he is referred to by the other Parkers as "Peter-One".


text: Parker is a central character in the MCU's "Infinity Saga", appearing in six MCU films . A is in development, with Holland expected to reprise his role which is expected to start a new trilogy of films. Alternate versions of Parker appear in the Disney+ animated series "What If...?" (2021—present) and "" (2024), the former in which he is voiced by Hudson Thames. Holland has received praise and several accolades for his portrayal of Spider-Man.


text: Peter Parker was born on August 10, 2001, in Forest Hills, Queens, and is primarily raised by his uncle Ben and Aunt May. While attending high school at the Midtown School of Science and Technology in 2015, Parker is bitten by a radioactive spider, giving him superhuman abilities. He becomes the superhero Spider-Man by using his powers for good, and maintains a secret identity so his enemies can not attack his friends and family. At Midtown School, Parker is smart but is frequently bullied by Flash Thompson. He also befriends Ned Leeds, who becomes his best friend by 2016. During this time as Spider-Man, he constructs a homemade Spider-Man suit, designing it as a red and blue hoodie also equipped with his web-shooters.


text: In 2016, Parker is living with May in Queens, New York when he meets Tony Stark at his apartment, who reveals that he knows Parker is Spider-Man; Stark recruits him to join his conflict with Steve Rogers and sends Parker to Germany, where the latter is given a new Spider-Man suit designed by him and is brought to the Leipzig/Halle airport to aid Stark and his Avengers faction against Rogers' team. Parker is a fan of Rogers despite them being on opposing sides, Rogers respecting Parker's bravery; They briefly exchange where in New York they are from upon fighting. After incapacitating Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson, and battling a giant Scott Lang, Parker is sent back to Queens.


text: Two months later, Parker continues to balance his life as a high school student and Spider-Man, but eagerly awaits his next mission from Stark and continuously texts Stark's driver and bodyguard Happy Hogan. Returning home from operating as Spider-Man, Ned accidentally learns Parker's secret identity. Parker leaves a school party hosted by his crush, senior student Liz, to stop a drug deal by Jackson Brice and Herman Schultz, who planned to sell Chitauri weapons to . Parker follows Brice and Schultz before being caught by their boss Adrian Toomes, who drops Parker to a nearby lake. Stark remotely saves Parker using one of his Iron Man armors, and warns Parker of further involvement with Toomes. On an academic decathlon trip to Washington, D.C., Parker and Ned disable the tracker on Parker's suit, and Parker later captures Toomes' new buyer Mac Gargan aboard the Staten Island Ferry after returning to New York. Toomes escapes and a malfunctioning weapon tears the ferry in half, which Parker attempts to briefly fix it before Stark arrives and saves the passengers. Stark confiscates Parker's suit as punishment for his recklessness, and Liz accepts to be Parker's homecoming date.


text: Later, while on the way to pick Liz for the homecoming dance, Parker discovers Toomes is Liz's father and Toomes also deduces Parker is Spider-Man. Despite Toomes warning him not to interfere with his business, Parker abandons Liz to stop Toomes from stealing a Damage Control (DODC) cargo plane that is shipping equipment from Avengers Tower using his homemade suit. When Toomes' Vulture suit is damaged, Parker saves his life, but leaves him in a web for the DODC and Hogan to arrest. The next day at school, Liz is angry at Parker for abandoning her before tearfully informing him that she and her mother will be moving away since Toomes is imprisoned. Hogan brings Parker to Avengers Compound, where Stark congratulates him on defeating Toomes and offers him a place in the Avengers, showcasing the newly-developed Iron Spider armor with it. Parker rejects and prefers to stay as the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man in Queens, and while wearing his Spider-Man suit, he is caught by May.


text: In 2018, while headed on field trip, Parker sees the Q-Ship above New York City and asks Ned to cover for him as he leaves the school bus. As Spider-Man, he helps Stark fight Cull Obsidian and follows Ebony Maw—who had captured Stephen Strange–to his spaceship. This prompts Stark to fly into space and rescue Parker, sending the Iron Spider armor to Parker. He and Stark rescue Strange and kill Maw, and Stark officially declares Parker an Avenger. The spaceship lands on the planet Titan, where Parker, Stark, and Strange are confronted by some members of the Guardians of the Galaxy, before they realize that they are both on the same side: stopping Thanos. Thanos eventually arrives and Parker helps subdue him along with Strange, Stark, Peter Quill, Drax, and Mantis. However, Quill attacks Thanos, making Parker lose his grip on removing the Infinity Gauntlet. Parker rescues an unconscious Mantis, Quill, Drax, and Nebula after Thanos throws Titan's moon at them. Thanos leaves and is successful in disintegrating half of all life, including Parker, in the Blip.


text: In 2023, Parker is restored to life by Bruce Banner and is brought via a portal to the destroyed Avengers Compound to assist the Avengers in defeating an alternate 2014 Thanos. Parker reunites with Stark, who later sacrifices his life to save the universe; Parker attends his funeral and returns to high school, reuniting with Ned.


text: Eight months later in mid-2024, Parker still reeling from Stark's death decides to take a break from vigilantism and goes on a school trip to Europe with Ned and other classmates, where he plans to reveal his romantic feelings towards his classmate MJ. In Venice, Parker and his classmates are attacked by a water monster but are saved by Quentin Beck. Parker is approached by Nick Fury, whose calls he had been fielding and who appoints Beck as his teammate in battling further element-based monsters (the "Elementals") throughout Europe. Fury gives Parker "E.D.I.T.H.", an artificial intelligence created by Stark to give to Parker. After defeating the Fire Elemental in Prague, Parker feels he "isn't ready to be the next Iron Man" and gives E.D.I.T.H. to Beck, who unbeknownst to Parker is a former disgruntled employee of Stark's.


text: Parker goes on a walk with MJ, and reveals his attraction to her and accidentally his identity as Spider-Man. The pair discover Beck used holographic projectors to visually create the Elementals, and Parker goes to Berlin to warn Fury about Beck's deception. Beck catches wind of this and traps Parker in multiple illusions, and while impersonating Fury, tricks the latter into telling the names of the students that know his fraudulence. Parker is hit by a train and left for dead in the Netherlands, but calls Hogan and creates a new suit for himself using Stark's technology as he enters London to stop Beck, who has created an amalgamated Elemental using Stark Industries drones. Ned and MJ evacuate the students and fight with Hogan while Parker destroys those drones and approaches Beck. Beck attempts to kill Parker using the drones, but Parker manages to get a drone to shoot him, Beck beginning to bleed. Parker gets E.D.I.T.H. back, as Beck seemingly dies, and disables the drones; Parker and his classmates return to New York City, with he and MJ planning a date the following week.


text: After swinging through the city, Parker and MJ witness a broadcast from J. Jonah Jameson of "TheDailyBugle.net" showing an edited video of Beck incriminating Parker for the London attack and revealing his identity as Spider-Man, much to the latter's shock. Parker, MJ, Ned, and May are interrogated by Damage Control, and the murder charges are dropped with lawyer Matt Murdock's help, but Parker's friends still grapple with negative publicity from Jameson and Beck supporters. Parker and May then move into Happy Hogan's apartment for their safety. After his, Ned, and MJ's applications to MIT are rejected in light of the controversy, Parker goes to the New York Sanctum to ask Stephen Strange for help; Strange, despite Wong's warnings, attempts to cast a spell that would make everyone forget Parker is Spider-Man, though Parker repeatedly tampers with it. He tries to convince an MIT administrator to reconsider his and his friends' applications before being attacked by Otto Octavius, who rips Parker's nanotechnology from his Iron Spider suit, which bonds with his mechanical tentacles and allows Parker to disable them. As the Green Goblin arrives and attacks, Strange teleports Parker and Octavius to the Sanctum, where he explains that before he could contain the tampered spell, it summoned people from alternate universes who know Spider-Man's identity and which allowed the multiverse to be broken open. Strange orders Parker, MJ, and Ned to find and capture multiversal visitors; they locate and retrieve Max Dillon and Flint Marko, and later, Parker retrieves Norman Osborn from a F.E.A.S.T. building and discovers that the latter, Dillon, and Octavius were pulled from their universes just before their deaths. He refuses to send the villains home to their deadly fates in their original realities and traps Strange in the Mirror Dimension, stealing the spell, takes the villains to Hogan's apartment, and cures Octavius.


text: The Goblin persona takes control of Osborn, convinces the uncured villains to betray Parker, and a fight ensues which culminates with Goblin fatally injuring May before escaping. Before she dies, May tells Parker that "with great power, there must also come great responsibility". After May's death, A bereaved Parker, whose guilt was accentuated by Jameson's gaslighting reporting, is ready to give up and send the villains to die; he is comforted by his friends and meets two alternate versions of himself that are later nicknamed "Peter-Two" and "Peter-Three". The alternate Parkers share stories of losing loved ones and encourage Parker (later nicknamed "Peter-One") to fight in May's honor. They develop cures for the villains and lure the Lizard, Dillon, and Marko to the Statue of Liberty, managing to cure them. The Goblin appears and unleashes the contained spell, and an enraged Peter-One tries to kill him before being stopped by Peter-Two. The former and Peter-Three inject the Goblin cure into him, restoring Osborn's sanity.


text: Peter-One realizes that the only way to protect the multiverse is to erase Peter Parker from everyone's memory and requests that Strange do so, while promising MJ and Ned that he will find them again. The spell is cast and everyone returns to their respective universes, with him saying goodbye to his alternate versions. A few weeks later, Parker visits MJ and Ned to reintroduce himself, but decides against it, not wanting to endanger them. While mourning at May's grave, he has a conversation with Hogan and is inspired to carry on; Parker, having dropped out of school, starts studying to get his GED and makes a new suit to resume his super-heroics as Spider-Man, who is now re-considered as a hero, although a now unaware Jameson continues his smear campaign against him.


text: An alternate version of Peter Parker appears in the animated series "What If...?", in which he is voiced by Hudson Thames.


text: In an alternate 2018, Parker (marketed as Zombie Hunter Spider-Man) is among the survivors of a quantum virus outbreak which transforms the infected into zombies, and joins the other survivors in search of a cure at Camp Lehigh. After a fight with a zombified Wanda Maximoff, he escapes with T'Challa and Scott Lang, taking the Mind Stone to Wakanda to put an end to the virus. Unbeknownst to the trio however, a zombified Thanos has invaded Wakanda with his army.


text: Years following the events of "Spider-Man 3" (2007), Peter Parker's (portrayed by Tobey Maguire) relationship with Mary Jane "MJ" Watson had become complicated but eventually worked out. Due to Strange's malfunctioned spell, Parker is brought into the MCU and subsequently begins searching for that universe's Parker. After meeting an alternate version of himself and comforting "Peter-One"s loss of his aunt, the Spider-Men work together to cure the supervillains and Parker subsequently reunites with Octavius. Parker saves "Peter-One" from killing Green Goblin out of anger, having previously reminded him that revenge would not suffice May's death, but this leads to him being stabbed in the back and injured by Goblin. Parker says goodbye to his alternate versions and returns to his universe.


text: Following the events of "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" (2014), Peter Parker's (portrayed by Andrew Garfield) failure to save Gwen Stacy caused him to become bitter and overly aggressive and vengeful towards criminals, devoting most of his time to being Spider-Man. After Strange's malfunctioned spell, Parker is brought into the MCU and subsequently begins searching for that universe's Parker. After meeting an alternate version of himself and comforting "Peter-One"'s loss of his aunt, the Spider-Men work to cure the villains, with "Peter-One" curing Curt Connors and Parker reconciling with Dillon, who had been cured by Otto Octavius. After Green Goblin destroys the contained spell, MJ falls from the scaffolding but is saved by Parker, bringing closure to his failure. Parker and "Peter-One" inject Osborn with a cure "Peter-Two" developed, restoring his sanity. Parker says goodbye to his alternate versions and returns to his universe as a happier man.


text: "Spider-Man: Freshman Year" and its second season, subtitled "Sophomore Year", will explore an alternate Peter Parker's origin story and early days using the Spider-Man persona as he is mentored by Norman Osborn in his freshman and sophomore years of high school.


text: The Marvel Comics character Peter Parker / Spider-Man first appeared in the fifteenth and final issue of Marvel's anthology comic book series "Amazing Fantasy", which was published in August 1962. The issue was written by Marvel Comics editor and head writer Stan Lee and drawn and penciled by artist Steve Ditko; Lee wanted to create a character whom teens could identify with, and was influenced by pulp magazine crime fighter the Spider. He also took inspiration from seeing a spider climb up a wall. The character became popular during the 1960s, and was adapted into various forms of media–including five films by Sony Pictures from 2002 to 2014, starring Tobey Maguire in three films directed by Sam Raimi as Spider-Man and Andrew Garfield in two films directed by Marc Webb as the character.


text: Following the November 2014 hacking of Sony Pictures' computers, emails between Sony Pictures Entertainment co-chairman Amy Pascal and president Doug Belgrad were released stating that Marvel Studios wanted to include Spider-Man (whose film rights are licensed to Sony) in their Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film "" (2016), but talks between the studios concerning this were believed to have broken down. However, in February 2015, the studios reached a licensing deal for the use of Spider-Man in an MCU film, and reports indicated that the character would indeed appear in "Civil War". According to the deal, Sony Pictures would continue to own, finance, distribute, and exercise final creative control over the "Spider-Man" films. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige stated in April 2015 that they decided to not retell the character's origins in "Civil War" since there had been two previous retellings with the Raimi and Webb films, so Marvel Studios was "going to take it for granted that people know that, and the specifics". Feige also stated that Marvel had been working to add Spider-Man to the MCU since at least October 2014. The following June, Feige clarified that the initial Sony deal does not allow the character to appear in any of the MCU television series, as it was "very specific... with a certain amount of back and forth allowed."


text: By August 2019, Marvel Studios and its parent company The Walt Disney Studios had spent several months discussing expanding their deal with Sony. The existing deal had Marvel and Feige produce the Spider-Man films for Sony and receive 5% of their revenue. Sony wanted to expand the deal to include more films while keeping the same terms of the original agreement. Disney expressed concern with Feige's workload producing the MCU already and asked for a 25–50% stake in any future films Feige produced for Sony. Unable to come to an agreement, Sony announced that it would be moving forward on the next Spider-Man film without Feige or Marvel's involvement. The next month, Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman Tony Vinciquerra confirmed the character would be integrated with Sony's own shared universe–Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU)–moving forward. MCU Spider-Man actor Tom Holland personally spoke to Disney CEO Bob Iger and Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group chairman Tom Rothman, partly making the companies return to negotiations. In late September, Sony and Disney announced a new agreement that would allow Marvel Studios and Feige to produce another MCU Spider-Man film–"" (2021)–with Amy Pascal. Disney was reportedly co-financing 25% of "No Way Home" in exchange for 25% of the film's profit, while retaining the character's merchandising rights. The agreement also allowed Holland's Spider-Man to appear in a future Marvel Studios film as well as crossing over to the SSU, with the latter interaction described as "a 'call and answer' between the two franchises as they acknowledge details between the two in what would loosely be described as a shared detailed universe."


text: Sony was reportedly looking for an actor younger than Andrew Garfield to play Spider-Man, with Logan Lerman and Dylan O'Brien considered front-runners. Later in April 2015, Nat Wolff, Asa Butterfield, Tom Holland, Timothée Chalamet, and Liam James were under consideration by Sony and Marvel to play Spider-Man, with Holland and Butterfield as the front-runners. Butterfield, Holland, Judah Lewis, Matt Lintz, Charlie Plummer, and Charlie Rowe screen tested for the lead role against Robert Downey Jr., who portrays Tony Stark / Iron Man in the MCU, for "chemistry". The six were chosen out of a search of over 1,500 actors to test in front of Feige, Pascal, and the Russo brothers—the directors of "Captain America: Civil War". Feige and Pascal narrowed the actors considered to Holland and Rowe, with both screen testing with Downey again. Holland also tested with Chris Evans, who portrays Steve Rogers / Captain America in the MCU, and emerged as the favorite. On June 23, Marvel and Sony officially announced that Holland would star as Spider-Man in the MCU in "" (2017). The Russos "were pretty vocal" about whom they wanted for the role, pushing to cast an actor close to the age of Peter Parker to differentiate from the previous portrayals. They also praised Holland for having a dancing and gymnastics background.


text: A scene in "Iron Man 2" (2010) depicts a young boy in a child's Iron Man mask targeted by Justin Hammer's drones before being rescued by Stark; Max Favreau, the son of director Jon Favreau, plays the boy. In 2017, Watts said that he had suggested to Feige that they retroactively establish this child to be the introduction of a young Parker to the MCU, an idea that Holland supported; however, this notion has yet to be confirmed in any MCU film or television series. The first reference to Spider-Man within the MCU, following the deal with Sony, is at the end of "Ant-Man" (2015) according to its director Peyton Reed. The reference is made by a reporter to Sam Wilson / Falcon, who is looking for Ant-Man. The reporter states, "Well, we got everything nowadays. We got a guy who jumps, we got a guy who swings, we got a guy who crawls up the walls, you gotta be more specific."


text: In February 2021, Holland said "No Way Home" was the final film under his contract but he hoped to continue playing Spider-Man in the future if asked. That October, Holland said "No Way Home" was being treated as "the end of a franchise" that began with "Homecoming", with any additional solo films featuring the MCU Spider-Man characters to be different from the first trilogy of films and feature a tonal change. By November, Holland was unsure if he should continue making Spider-Man films and felt he would have "done something wrong" if he was still portraying the character in his thirties. He expressed interest in a film focusing on the Miles Morales version of Spider-Man instead. Despite this, Pascal hoped to continue working with Holland on future Spider-Man films. Later in November, Pascal said there were plans for another trilogy of Spider-Man films starring Holland, with work on the first of those about to begin, though Sony did not yet have official plans for further MCU Spider-Man films.


text: Tom Holland portrays Peter Parker in "Captain America: Civil War", "Spider-Man: Homecoming", "", "", "", and "Spider-Man: No Way Home". A is in development with Holland expected to reprise his role. Hudson Thames voices the character in the "What If..?" episode "What If... Zombies?!". The Disney+ animated series "Spider-Man: Freshman Year" explores an alternate Peter Parker in the MCU multiverse's origin story and early days using the Spider-Man persona as he is mentored by Norman Osborn.


text: On the Spider-Man suit seen in "Civil War", Joe Russo described it as "a slightly more traditional, Steve Ditko influenced suit," and that "Civil War" would explore the way the suit operates, particularly the mechanical eyes. This suit is primarily used during "Homecoming", and has more technical improvements than the previous suits, including the logo on the chest being a remote drone, an AI system similar to Tony Stark's J.A.R.V.I.S., a holographic interface, a parachute, a tracking device for Stark to track Parker, a heater, an airbag, the ability to light up, and the ability to augment reality with the eyepieces. Stark also builds in a "training wheels" protocol, to initially limit Parker's access to all of its features. "Homecoming" co-producer Eric Hauserman Carroll noted Marvel Studios went through the comics and "pull[ed] out all the sort of fun and wacky things the suit did" to include in the "Homecoming" suit. Spider-Man's web-shooters have various settings, first teased at the end of "Civil War", which Carroll explained allowed him to "adjust the spray" to different settings like the spinning web, web ball, or ricochet web. He compared this to a DSLR camera. In "The Moviemaking Magic of Marvel Studios: Spider-Man" (2021), Holland says that "what [he] loves about the original web-shooters is they're as real as they could be," and compares them to Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man, saying that his web-shooters "[never made] much sense to [him]." Spider-Man's Iron Spider armor, used by the character during the "Civil War" comic storyline, was also considered to appear in the "Civil War" film.


text: "Spider-Man: Far From Home" (2019) reuses two of Spider-Man's costumes from the previous films: his main costume from "Captain America: Civil War" and "Spider-Man: Homecoming", and the Iron Spider suit from "Avengers: Infinity War" (2018) and "Avengers: Endgame". It also introduces two new costumes: a black "stealth" costume given to Parker by Nick Fury, and a new, upgraded Spider-Man suit that Parker designs for himself at the end of the film. Marvel Studios' head of visual development Ryan Meinerding explained that Watts had wanted to include a suit inspired by the Spider-Man Noir version of the character, which led to the design of the more tactical stealth suit. He added that the suit represents Parker experimenting with being a new kind of superhero. Other tactical costumes from the comic books were looked at when developing this one, but Meinerding felt they looked less practical than the more straightforward Noir inspiration. The costume includes tactical goggles that can be flipped up. For Parker's new self-designed costume, Meinerding originally designed it with the idea that it would be made from Parker's webbing since that is the strongest material he has access to. Practical versions of the costumes were created by Ironhead Studio, who previously worked on "The Amazing Spider-Man" films. For "Far From Home", Ironhead developed a skull cap for the costumes that has built-in fans to prevent the goggles from steaming up. They also developed a magnetic bellows system for connecting the goggles to the mask, so they could be easily removed but not fall off during action sequences.


text: Spider-Man suits featured in "" (2024) include his homemade suit made from "gym pants, sneakers, goggles, a blue sweatshirt, red undershirt, knee pads, very clunky webshooters, and a red logo on the chest", a "beetle" costume, a yellow suit, a dark suit, a "classic 60s" red and blue suit, and a white and blue Oscorp suit.


text: Parker is recruited by Stark in "Civil War" to help him arrest Rogers and his rogue Avengers. Feige said that Parker would be torn between superhero ideologies, saying, "Does he want to be like these other characters? Does he want nothing to do with these other characters? How does that impact his experience, being this grounded but super powerful hero? Those are all the things that Stan Lee and Steve Ditko played with in the first 10 years of his comics, and that now we can play with for the first time in a movie." On aligning with Stark, Anthony Russo said that, despite entering the conflict after the two factions have formed and not having much political investment, Parker's choice comes from "a very personal relationship" he develops with Stark. The Russos hoped "to take a very logical and realistic and naturalistic approach to the character" compared to the previous film portrayals. Anthony Russo added that the character's introduction had to fit "that specific tonal stylistic world" of the MCU, as well as the tone established by the directors in "Winter Soldier", saying, "It's a little more grounded and a little more hard-core contemporary." That was "coloring our choices a lot" with Parker.


text: Though the MCU films do not depict Parker's origin story, Parker's Uncle Ben, whose death was a significant event in both the comic books and previous film series, is indirectly referenced in "Spider-Man: Homecoming". There was some discussion to include a direct reference to Ben when Peter is getting ready for his homecoming by the revelation that his wardrobe consisted of Ben's clothes, but the writers desisted because they felt that the moment veered away from Parker's character arc and made Ben's death feel like a "throwaway line". The one exception is the animated "What If...?" episode "What If... Zombies?!", where an alternate version of Parker mentions everyone who has died in his life in the episode's timeline.


text: Another change is Parker's close paternal relationship with Stark. This was partially adapted from the limited series "Civil War", its three-issue prelude on "The Amazing Spider-Man" by J. Michael Straczynski, and the Ultimate Marvel comics where Stark and Parker share a trainer-trainee relationship. Some critics disliked Parker's reliance on Stark, as opposed to previous cinematic portrayals of Spider-Man showing the character as more self-reliant; several of Parker's proper Spider-Man suits in the MCU are also designed by Stark, or built by Parker with Stark Industries technology, whereas in the comics Parker designed and constructed his first suit entirely by himself.


text: Parker's relationships with Mary Jane "MJ" Watson or Gwen Stacy do not exist in the MCU, instead he falls in love with Michelle "MJ" Jones-Watson (Zendaya) a fellow school student after his previous crush, high school senior Liz, moves away. Although MJ is an original character, "Spider-Man: Homecoming" co-screenwriter John Francis Daley stated that she was intended as a reinvention of Mary Jane and that the nickname was an homage to her.


text: For their reviews of "Spider-Man: Homecoming", Sara Stewart of the "New York Post" attributed much of the "heavy-lifting" to Holland's performance and the "perfectly cast" Michael Keaton (Vulture). She also noted Watts' focus on Parker's human side, while Mike Ryan at "Uproxx" felt it was the best "Spider-Man" film yet, with one of his specific praises being the younger and more optimistic portrayal of Parker. Richard Roeper of the "Chicago Sun-Times" praised its focus on the character's school life and called Holland "terrific and well-cast", while Owen Gleiberman of "Variety" highlighted "Homecoming"s focus on making Peter Parker a realistically youthful and grounded character. He found Holland to be likable in the role, but did criticize the vague take on Spider-Man's origin and powers, but "the flying action has a casual flip buoyancy, and the movie does get you rooting for Peter." At "IndieWire", David Ehrlich praised the elements of the film that leaned into the high school life of Parker, while Kenneth Turan of the "Los Angeles Times" criticized the "juvenile" depiction of Parker and Watts' "unevenly orchestrated" direction. Meanwhile, "The Hollywood Reporter" John DeFore praised Holland's performance as "winning" despite the "Homecoming" script, and Mick LaSalle, writing for the "San Francisco Chronicle", said the film did not explore the human side of Spider-Man enough and instead focused on action that is "not thrilling". Robbie Collin of "The Telegraph" criticized Watts' direction but was positive of Holland, Keaton, Tomei, and Zendaya.


text: For their reviews of "Spider-Man: Far From Home", Gleiberman again praised Holland's performance, along with Roeper, while Alonso Duralde of "TheWrap" highlighted the cast, including the chemistry between Holland, Zendaya, and Jacob Batalon (Ned Leeds). Ehrlich criticized the character development of Spider-Man in the film, feeling that he does not change throughout the film beyond becoming more confident. John Anderson of "The Wall Street Journal" also praised Holland and Zendaya's performances.


text: "Spider-Man: No Way Home" features several characters from Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" trilogy and Marc Webb's "The Amazing Spider-Man" duology, including past Spider-Man actors Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield as their respective Spider-Men. The multiverse aspect was widely praised by critics and audiences, and generated much speculation before the film's release. In their reviews, Don Kaye, writing for "Den of Geek", praised the performances and chemistry of the cast, stating that ""No Way Home" channels the entire spectrum of "Spider-Man" movies while setting the character on a course all his own at last", while Pete Hammond of "Deadline Hollywood" praised Watts's direction and wrote that Holland, Zendaya, and Batalon are "a priceless trio";Jennifer Bisset of "CNET" praised the performances, writing: "A Russo Brothers influence can almost be felt ushering Holland's third Spider-Man movie into new, weightier territory. If the character is to become the next Tony Stark, this is the way to etch a few more scars into a more interesting hero's facade"; DeFore felt that the inclusion of "multiversal mayhem" in "No Way Home" addressed the "Iron Man-ification" of MCU Spider-Man that made Holland-centric films "least fun"; Roeper again praised the performances of Holland and Zendaya, writing that while there is "nothing new or particularly memorable about the serviceable CGI and practical effects," he and the audience remain invested because Holland "remains the best of the cinematic Spider-Men".


text: Additionally, Holland reprises his role as Peter Parker / Spider-Man in , an interactive theme park screen ride at Disney California Adventure's Avengers Campus and Walt Disney Studios Park.


title: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

text: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi (; born Amir Mohammed Abdul Rahman al-Mawli al-Salbi (); 1 or 5 October 1976 – 3 February 2022) was an Iraqi Islamist terrorist and the second caliph of the Islamic State. His appointment by a shura council was announced by the Islamic State media on 31 October 2019, less than a week after the death of previous leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.


title: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

text: Al-Qurashi's tenure as caliph saw the Islamic State being mostly limited to insurgent activity in the Middle East, but also make substantial advances in Africa, where IS increased its territories and influence. The U.S. Rewards for Justice Program was offering up to $10 million in exchange for information leading to al-Qurashi's apprehension. On 3 February 2022, al-Qurashi killed himself, and members of his family, by triggering a large bomb during a raid by the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command.


title: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

text: When he was announced as the successor of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, nothing was known about al-Qurashi other than the name he had been given by the Islamic State: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi. His Arabic onomastic (""nisbah""), al-Qurashi, suggested that he, like Baghdadi, claimed a lineage to Muhammad's tribe of Quraysh, a position that offers legitimacy in some quarters. Al-Qurashi's name was believed to be a "nom de guerre" and his real name was unknown at the time.


title: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

text: The possibility that al-Qurashi was Amir Mohammed Abdul Rahman al-Mawli al-Salbi had already been raised on the day of al-Qurashi's coming to power, but this was uncertain at the time. Muhammad Ali Sajit, the brother-in-law and aide of al-Baghdadi, who was caught in June 2019, also believed that "Hajji Abdullah", a top aide to al-Baghdadi, was al-Qurashi, the new leader.


title: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

text: Rita Katz, director of SITE Intelligence Group, believed that it is unlikely that the Islamic State would "release any video speeches from this new leader or at least ones that show his face". Nonetheless, on 1 November 2019, then U.S. president Donald Trump stated on social media that the U.S. government had identified al-Qurashi's true identity. However, a report on 5 November 2019 by "The National" said that this "does not seem to be the case" and that "reports indicate that Iraqi, Kurdish and American officials say they don’t have much to go on". The Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center correctly speculated on 5 November that al-Qurashi was of Iraqi nationality. The "Small Wars Journal" agreed with this assessment, stating that Iraqis constitute the majority of the Islamic State members and would not accept a non-Iraqi leader for the organisation.


title: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

text: A report on 23 December 2019 by the "Voice of America" expressed doubt that al-Qurashi existed at all. It stated that the Islamic State was possibly caught off guard and announced a name as a holding move, to "create the impression it is on top of things".


title: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

text: On 20 January 2020, "The Guardian" released a report confirming al-Qurashi's true identity as Amir Mohammed Abdul Rahman al-Mawli al-Salbi. On 20 May 2020, the Iraqi Intelligence Service identified a captured militant as al-Qurashi; however, the military clarified that this was actually Abdul Nasser Qardash, a potential successor to al-Baghdadi. Al-Qurashi was still outside Iraqi custody at the time.


title: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

text: Al-Qurashi was born on 1 or 5 October 1976 as Amir Mohammed Abdul Rahman al-Mawli al-Salbi. His birthplace is disputed, although most sources—including al-Qurashi—state that he was born in al-Muhalabiyyah near Mosul, Iraq. Alternatively, Tal Afar has also been suggested as birthplace. His father was a muezzin with two wives; he had six brothers and nine sisters. Al-Qurashi's ethnicity was the subject of debate; he claimed to be Arab, but many sources have claimed that his family was Turkmen in origin. According to Nineveh genealogy expert Nizar al-Saadoun, most of al-Qurashi's clan—the —is Arab, and descended from the Abbasid Burisha clan which in turn were related to Muhammad's clan. The U.S. military also classified him as Arab in 2008. However, two of his brothers became leaders within Turkmen organizations. Official IS sources would later describe his family as being part of the Quraysh, Muhammad's tribe, albeit a "Turkified" branch. His family followed a Sufist form of Islam, and he also claimed that he was a Sufi in his early years.


title: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

text: He was educated in Sharia law at the University of Mosul, majoring in Quranic studies and Islamic education. After graduating with honors in 2000, he was conscripted and served as a private or officer in the Iraqi Army. He likely forged contacts to jihadist groups during his military service.


title: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

text: After the end of Saddam Hussein's rule following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, he joined al-Qaeda's Iraqi branch (which eventually became the Islamic State of Iraq – ISI), and served as a religious commissary and a general Sharia jurist. Al-Qurashi's motives for joining al-Qaeda remain unclear. When he was interrogated later in life, he gave conflicting reasons, either stating that he had "joined ISI in order to stop fighters attacking innocent people" or because he had been requested to teach classes to ISI members. He climbed the group's ranks while completing his master's degree in Mosul. In 2007, al-Qurashi was appointed al-Qaeda's general religious judge and later deputy emir for Mosul. At the time, he would give lectures at the city's Furqan Mosque. He became part of a faction within the Iraqi al-Qaeda branch called "Qaradish", formed by followers of Abu Ali al-Anbari. Researcher Hassan Hassan described al-Qurashi as the "disciple" of al-Anbari whose faction would later come to dominate the IS high command.


title: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

text: On 6 January 2008, he was arrested by U.S. forces and detained at Camp Bucca in southern Iraq. While in prison, he falsely claimed to had joined al-Qaeda in 2007 and that he had served as deputy to Abu Omar al-Baghdadi. The U.S. military would later claim that he had become a willing informant during his imprisonment. A U.S. official stated: "He did a number of things to save his own neck, and he had a long record of being hostile—including during interrogation—toward foreigners in ISIS." However, the truthfulness of these claims have been doubted by analysts. Hassan Hassan argued that "well-placed Iraqi sources" described the allegations of al-Qurashi having acted as informer as being "weak" and highly unlikely, as the Islamic State usually withheld any high-ranking commands from anyone that would have become a "snitch" which was not the case for al-Qurashi.


title: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

text: He was released in 2009 under unclear circumstances. Following his release, he rejoined al-Qaeda and began to work under Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the group's new regional commander for Iraq. Shortly before the completion of the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq in 2011, one of al-Qurashi's brothers, Amer al-Mawla, was murdered, possibly by al-Qaeda. Amer had served as the head of the Turkmen Student Union at the University of Mosul at the time.


title: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

text: In 2014, al-Qurashi officially left al-Qaeda, reaffirming his loyalty to the Islamic State (which had previously operated as al-Qaeda's Iraqi branch). He played a key part in the Islamic State's capture of Mosul in June 2014. He was one of the main Islamic State leaders who orchestrated the genocidal mass killings of Yazidis during the Sinjar massacre in August of that year. The Islamic State also systematically enslaved captured Yazidi women; this move was controversial within the organization, with many Iraqi commanders opposing the practice. However, al-Qurashi was one of the most important supporters of the decision to revive slavery, and was backed by non-Iraqi IS members in this regard. By this point, he had risen to deputy of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and was responsible for eliminating critics of the caliph within the Islamic State. At some point, he also served as justice minister for the Islamic State, and also acted as supervisor for the other ministeries. His importance further increased after 2015 due to the deaths of several other leading IS commanders, leaving him as one of the organization's most important figures. A U.S. airstrike targeted him near Mosul in the same year; al-Qurashi lost his right leg in the attack.


title: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

text: When IS began to lose more and more of its territory from 2016, al-Baghdadi ordered that the Islamic State should prepare for its return to an insurgency modus operandi. Al-Qurashi was put in charge of preserving the organization's finances and ideology in the face of repeated defeats. He was based at al-Qa'im until the town was attacked by Iraqi security forces in October 2017, whereupon he relocated to Syria. Following the Battle of Baghuz Fawqani, al-Baghdadi designated al-Qurashi as his successor. According to the Islamic State, al-Qurashi was a veteran in fighting against Western nations, being a religiously educated and experienced commander. He was described as "the scholar, the worker, the worshiper", a "prominent figure in jihad", and an "emir of war".


title: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

text: Less than a week after the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, al-Qurashi was elected by a shura council as the new caliph of the Islamic State, indicating that the group still considers itself a caliphate despite having lost all of its territory in Iraq and Syria. Al-Qurashi's appointment was supposedly done in accordance with the advice of Baghdadi, meaning the new emir was named as a successor by Baghdadi himself. Further evidence that al-Qurashi may have been appointed successor by Baghdadi may be inferred from the relatively quick succession of Baghdadi. Al-Qurashi's coming to power followed several days of speculation and denial surrounding Baghdadi's death among the Islamic State supporters.


title: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

text: The general expectation was that al-Qurashi would become "the leader of a frayed organisation that has been reduced to scattered sleeper cells" and the ruler of a "caliphate of ashes". Some analysts believed that Baghdadi's death would likely cause the Islamic State to splinter, "leaving whoever emerges as its new leader with the task of pulling the group back together as a fighting force". However, other analysts believed that Baghdadi's death would not have much of an impact on the Islamic State "in terms of operational capacity" and that it was likely "not to result in the group’s demise, or really even bring about a decline". In addition, journalist Feras Kilani pointed out that IS still commanded at least 10,000 militants in Syria and Iraq by al-Qurashi's rise to power, meaning that the "caliph without a caliphate" was far from defeated.


title: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

text: Al-Qurashi's appointment as caliph was contentious within the Islamic State, and many IS members had misgivings about him. Some IS supporters disparagingly described him as "secluded paper caliph" and "unknown nobody". On 2–3 November 2019, al-Qurashi's caliphacy was criticised as illegitimate by the al-Wafa' Media Agency, an online media outlet previously aligned with the Islamic State before turning against it in March 2019. It was argued that "the Prophet decreed obedience to leaders who exist and who are known … not obedience to a nonentity or an unknown". Further, it was argued that the council which elected al-Qurashi did not qualify as legitimate since it lacked three qualifications for the caliph's electors: justice, knowledge, and wisdom – which the council lacked, since it had sent Baghdadi to Idlib, which had earlier been deemed by them a "land of unbelief", when he "would have been much safer hiding in the desert". Further disqualifying the council was the fact that the council had "shed innocent Muslim blood and embraced extremism in the practice of excommunication" (takfir). As a final note, the al-Wafa' Media Agency stated that nothing was left for a would-be caliph to preside over – "You do not recognize that God has destroyed your state on account of your oppression." Such direct and open criticism was the exception, however, and al-Qurashi quickly asserted his control over the Islamic State, maintaining its cohesion. IS supporters defended the secrecy surrounding al-Qurashi as being rooted in security concerns.


title: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

text: In 2019, al-Qurashi received pledges of allegiance from the Islamic State's Sinai province and Bangladeshi affiliates (2 November), Somali province (3 November), Pakistani province and Yemen province (4 November), Hauran province and Khorasan Province (5 November), Tunisia province (6 November), West Africa province, Levant Province – Homs, Levant Province – al-Khayr, Levant Province – Raqqa, East Asia Province and Central Africa Province (7 November), West Asia Province (8 November), West Africa Province – Mali and Burkina Faso and Levant Province - al-Barakah (9 November), Levant Province – Halab (12 November), Iraq Province – Baghdad (14 November), Libya Province (15 November), Iraq Province – Dijlah (16 November), Iraq Province – Diyala (17 November), Iraq Province – Salah al-Din (18 November), Iraq Province – Kirkuk (19 November), East Asia Province – Indonesia (22 November), Azerbaijani affiliates (29 November), and in 2020 from the Islamic State's Malian affiliates (31 January), a new jihadist group called "Katibah al-Mahdi fi Bilad al-Arakan" in Myanmar (November 2020). These pledges of allegiance appeared to be intended to illustrate the legitimacy and unanimous acceptance of al-Qurashi, to counter criticism that he was unknown and illegitimate.


title: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

text: At the time of his appointment as IS leader, al-Qurashi was believed to covertly operate in eastern Syria, probably in territory held by the Syrian Democratic Forces. His first aim after taking control was to build up a new command structure for the Islamic State which had lost many of its high-ranking members. On 23 December 2019, Voice of America commented that al-Qurashi had "not provided visible leadership". However, al-Qurashi demonstrated his control over IS by coordinating the "Vengeance for the Two Sheikhs" campaign from late December 2019 to January 2020, an operation consisting of many terrorist attacks in several countries which were supposed to act as revenge for the deaths of al-Baghdadi and IS spokesman Abu al-Hassan al-Muhajir. The United Nations Security Council consequently judged in January 2020 that the Islamic State had undergone a resurgence in Iraq and Syria. Though these successes were partially attributed to al-Qurashi's leadership, he still remained a shadowy figure. The UN Security Council suggested that the Islamic State feared that al-Qurashi lacked some credentials that were usually necessary for a caliph, and kept him out of the spotlight so as to not endanger his position.


title: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

text: On 24 March 2020, the U.S. Department of State designated al-Qurashi as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) under Executive Order 13224. The United States also organized an extensive manhunt for him. He eventually relocated to a safehouse in Atme in northwest Syria near its border with Turkey. There, he lived mostly secluded with his wife and two children, as well as two other families. One of these belonged to a top lieutenant on whom he relied –alongside a network of couriers– to command IS forces across the world. The third family had no apparent connection to IS.


title: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

text: By late 2021, the Islamic State under al-Qurashi's command had greatly grown in strength in Africa. The Islamic State's West Africa Province had massively expanded its influence in the Sahel, and IS branches had opened new fronts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Mozambique. In September 2021, a U.S. spy drone spotted a bearded man missing his right leg sun bathing atop a three-story building in northwest Syria, which matched the physical description of al-Quraishi. The United States consequently prepared for a commando raid.


title: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

text: On 3 February 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden announced that U.S. military forces had successfully undertaken a counterterrorism operation in Atme, resulting in the death of Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi.


title: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

text: According to reports from neighbours, a loudspeaker in Arabic called for neighbouring civilians to evacuate the area, followed by U.S. forces and an Arabic interpreter on the ground making the same announcements. A senior White House official told Reuters that al-Qurashi then detonated a bomb which killed himself and 12 more people, including members of his family, during the Joint Special Operations Command operation. The explosion was so powerful that al-Qurashi's corpse was blown out of one of the windows. Following the explosion, U.S. special operations commandos entered the building and had a shootout with survivors, including a lieutenant of al-Qurashi, who was also killed.


title: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

text: According to initial reports from the Syria Civil Defense (White Helmets), four women and six children were among the dead. Later reports from the Syria Civil Defense claimed 13 people were killed. Biden said that the civilian casualties were caused by the explosion of al-Qurashi's bomb. A fighter of Tahrir al-Sham was also killed in a brief shootout with U.S. forces after he noticed the raid taking place. There were no reported U.S. casualties, although one U.S. helicopter experienced mechanical problems and landed in a separate area, where it was destroyed by another U.S. aircraft. The survivors of the raid, including the family which was not related to IS, and the four children of the IS top lieutenant, were released by the U.S. forces. The four children were subsequently taken into the custody of Tahrir al-Sham.


title: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

text: The raid took place a few hundred meters away from Turkey, within a Syrian area under its influence, raising questions about the competency of Turkey in monitoring the area. A parallel was made with 2019's raid on Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's compound, the previous IS leader, which was located south of Atime, away from Turkey, in the same area within Turkey's sphere of influence. Field surveillance in the area is handled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a rigorous jihadist group and observable ally to Turkey. The area is also known to receive and host migrating families from various war-torn regions making identification and surveillance difficult and an ideal spot for al-Qurashi and others to hide.


title: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

text: The Syrian Defense Forces denounced the presence of Al-Qurashi and Al-Bagdadi in Turkish-controlled areas as additional evidence of Turkey providing safe haven to ISIS forces.


title: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

text: "The Jerusalem Post" pointed out the presence of the two last IS leaders at the very border of Turkey unveils that IS does not feel threatened by Turkey, and its area of influence is perceived by IS as a safe haven for its top leadership.


title: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

text: "The Long War Journal" argued that al-Qurashi's death was unlikely to weaken the Islamic State in the long term, as his "tenure as caliph proved the Islamic State's capability to expand its influence no matter who ranks highest". A day after the killing making the front page, "The New York Times" also claimed that his death, while a blow to IS, does not change the long term dynamic.


title: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

text: The Global Network on Extremism and Technology identified 8 forms of response to al-Qurashi's death among IS supporters:


title: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

text: In May 2022, ISIL's West Africa Province said that it had killed 20 Nigerian Christian men in Borno State in a mass execution as a retaliation for al-Qurashi's assassination.


title: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

text: IS did not issue a statement regarding al-Qurashi for several weeks after his death. On 14 February, The Global Network on Extremism and Technology speculated that the group was "biding its time to carefully craft a response that will maintain some semblance of authority". A report on 2 March by the Al-Azhar Observatory for Combating Terrorism stated that internal divisions within IS, as well as a state of confusion, were stalling the appointment of a successor to al-Qurashi.


title: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

text: A article from Deutsche Welle stated that Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi would be difficult to replace, as many potential leaders had died in the years preceding Al-Qurashi's death. It was suggested that the next IS leader would be Iraqi, because "in the past three years IS has become a strong Iraqi organization again".


title: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

text: On 9 February, Egyptian newspaper "Al-Watan" identified the following individuals as likely candidates:


title: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

text: On 2 March, The Al-Azhar Observatory for Combating Terrorism provided a different list of likely candidates:


title: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

text: On 10 March 2022, IS confirmed the death of Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi and declared that Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi had assumed the position of caliph.


title: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

text: In a later statement, IS clarified that Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi had already been appointed as successor the day after Abu Ibrahim's death, and that the announcement had only been delayed due to the field situation.


title: Antonio López de Santa Anna

text: Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón (; 21 February 1794 – 21 June 1876), usually known as Santa Anna or López de Santa Anna, was a Mexican politician and general. His influence on post-independence Mexican politics and government in the first half of the nineteenth century is such that historians of Mexico often refer to it as the "Age of Santa Anna". He has been called "the Man of Destiny", "a quintessential "caudillo" [strongman]". Although initially in the post-independence period he identified as a federalist and participated in a coup that ousted the conservatives in 1833, he became increasingly conservative. Elected President in 1833, López de Santa Anna declined to serve and retired to his home state and power base of Veracruz, a pattern that was to repeat itself until his ouster in 1855.


title: Antonio López de Santa Anna

text: López de Santa Anna's military and political career featured a series of reversals. He at first opposed Mexican independence from Spain, but then fought in support of it. He backed the monarchy of the First Mexican Empire, then revolted against the emperor. He "represents the stereotypical caudillo in Mexican history". Lucas Alamán writes that "the history of Mexico since 1822 might accurately be called the history of López de Santa Anna's revolutions. His name plays a major role in all the political events of the country and its destiny has become intertwined with his."


title: Antonio López de Santa Anna

text: An enigmatic, patriotic, and controversial figure, López de Santa Anna wielded great power and influence in Mexico during the turbulent 40 years of his political career. He led as general at crucial points and served multiple non-consecutive presidential terms over a period of 22 years. In the periods when he was not serving as president, he continued to pursue his military career. He was a wealthy landowner who built a political base in the port city of Veracruz.


title: Antonio López de Santa Anna

text: Perceived as a hero by his troops, López de Santa Anna sought glory for himself and for his army and independence for Mexico. He repeatedly rebuilt his reputation after major losses. Yet historians and many Mexicans rank him as one of "those who failed the nation". His centralist rhetoric and military failures resulted in Mexico losing half its territory, beginning with the Texas Revolution of 1836 and continuing with the Mexican Cession of 1848 following Mexico's loss to the United States in the Mexican–American War of 1846–1848. He was also a general in the Pastry War, which cost him his left leg. His leadership in the Mexican-American War and his willingness to fight to the bitter end prolonged the war: "[...] more than any other single person it was López de Santa Anna who denied Polk's dream of a short war." After the debacle of the war, a fragile coalition of conservatives brought him back to power in Mexico after foreign exile. He was granted extraordinary powers as military dictator. In 1853 he sold to the U.S. a part of Mexican territory. The death of his major advisor Lucas Alamán removed an important influence on López de Santa Anna in the presidency. Overthrown by the liberal Revolution of Ayutla in 1855, he lived most of his later years in exile and was no longer a figure in Mexican politics.


title: Antonio López de Santa Anna

text: Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón was born in Xalapa, Veracruz, Nueva España (New Spain), on 21 February 1794 into a respected Spanish family. He was named after his father, Licenciado Antonio López de Santa Anna (born 1761), a university graduate and a lawyer; his mother was Manuela Pérez de Lebrón (died 1814). The family belonged to the racially elite "criollo" group of American-born Spaniards, although the family was not wealthy but rather middle-class. The men held second-rank royal and clerical positions.


title: Antonio López de Santa Anna

text: The family prospered in Veracruz, where the merchant class dominated politics. López de Santa Anna's paternal uncle, Ángel López de Santa Anna, was a public clerk ("escribano") in Veracruz and became aggrieved when the town council of Veracruz prevented him from moving to Mexico City to advance his career. Since the late 18th-century Bourbon Reforms, the crown had favored peninsular-born Spaniards over American-born, so that young López de Santa Anna's family was affected by the growing disgruntlement of creoles whose upward mobility was thwarted.


title: Antonio López de Santa Anna

text: His mother favored her son's choice of a military career over his father's choice for him, supporting his desire to join the royal army, rather than be a shopkeeper. His mother's friendly relationship with the intendant (governor) of Veracruz secured López de Santa Anna's military appointment although he was underage. His parents' marriage produced seven children, four sisters and two brothers, and López de Santa Anna was close to his sister Francisca and brother Manuel, who also joined the royal army.


title: Antonio López de Santa Anna

text: López de Santa Anna's origins on the East Coast of Mexico had important ramifications for his military career, because he developed immunity from yellow fever, endemic to the region. The port of Veracruz and environs were known to be unhealthy for those not native to the region so he had a personal strategic advantage against military forces from elsewhere. Being a military officer in a time of war was a way that a provincial, middle-class man could vault from obscurity to a position of leadership. López de Santa Anna distinguished himself in battle, a path that led him to a national political career.


title: Antonio López de Santa Anna

text: His provincial origins made him uncomfortable in the halls of power in Mexico City dominated by cliques of elite men, so his aversion to the capital and frequent retreats to his base in Veracruz are understandable. He cultivated contact with ordinary Mexican men and pursued entertainments such as cockfighting. Over his career, he was a populist caudillo, a strongman wielding both military and political power, similar to others who emerged in the wake of Spanish American wars of independence.


title: Antonio López de Santa Anna

text: López de Santa Anna's early military career fighting the insurgency for independence and then joining the insurgency against the Spanish crown presaged his many changes of position in his lifetime. In June 1810, the 16-year-old López de Santa Anna joined the Fijo de Veracruz infantry regiment


title: Antonio López de Santa Anna

text: In September, secular cleric Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla denounced bad government, sparking a spontaneous mass uprising in Mexico's rich agricultural area, the Bajío. Although some creole elites had chafed as their upward mobility had been thwarted by crown policies favoring peninsular-born Spaniards, the Hidalgo Revolt saw most creoles favoring continued crown rule. In particular, the López de Santa Anna family "saw themselves as aligned to the peninsular elite, whom they served, and were in turn recognized as belonging,"


title: Antonio López de Santa Anna

text: The Mexican War of Independence lasted until 1821, and López de Santa Anna, like most creole military officers, fought for the crown against the mixed-raced insurgents for independence. López de Santa Anna's commanding officer was José Joaquín de Arredondo, who taught him much about dealing with Mexican rebels. In 1811, López de Santa Anna was wounded in the left hand by an arrow during the campaign under Colonel Arredondo in the town of Amoladeras, in the intendancy (administrative district) of San Luis Potosí. In 1813, he served in Texas against the Gutiérrez–Magee Expedition and at the Battle of Medina, in which he was cited for bravery. He was promoted quickly; he became a second lieutenant in February 1812 and first lieutenant before the end of that year. During the initial rebellion, the young officer witnessed Arredondo's fierce counter-insurgency policy of mass executions. The early fighting against the insurgent massed forces gave way to guerrilla warfare and a military stalemate.


title: Antonio López de Santa Anna

text: When royalist officer Agustín de Iturbide changed sides in 1821 and allied with insurgent Vicente Guerrero, fighting for independence under the Plan of Iguala, López de Santa Anna also joined the fight for independence. The changed circumstances in Spain, where liberals had ousted Ferdinand VII and began implementing the Spanish liberal constitution of 1812, made many elites in Mexico reconsider their options.


title: Antonio López de Santa Anna

text: Iturbide rewarded López de Santa Anna with the command of the vital port of Veracruz, the gateway from the Gulf of Mexico to the rest of the nation and site of the customs house. However, Iturbide subsequently removed López de Santa Anna from the post, prompting López de Santa Anna to rise in rebellion in December 1822 against Iturbide. López de Santa Anna already had significant power in his home region of Veracruz, and "he was well along the path to becoming the regional caudillo." López de Santa Anna claimed in his Plan of Veracruz that he rebelled because Iturbide had dissolved the Constituent Congress. He also promised to support free trade with Spain, an important principle for his home region of Veracruz.


title: Antonio López de Santa Anna

text: Although López de Santa Anna's initial rebellion was important, Iturbide had loyal military men who were able to hold their own against the rebels in Veracruz. However, former insurgent leaders Vicente Guerrero and Nicolás Bravo, who had supported Iturbide's Plan de Iguala, returned to their southern Mexico base and raised a rebellion against Iturbide. The commander of imperial forces in Veracruz, who had fought against the rebels, changed sides and joined the rebels. The new coalition proclaimed the Plan of Casa Mata, which called for the end of the monarchy, restoration of the Constituent Congress, and creation of a republic and a federal system.


title: Antonio López de Santa Anna

text: López de Santa Anna was no longer the main player in the movement against Iturbide and the creation of new political arrangements. He sought to regain his position as a leader and marched forces from Veracruz to Tampico, then to San Luis Potosí, proclaiming his role as the "protector of the federation." San Luis Potosí, and other north-central regions, Michoacán, Querétaro, and Guanajuato met to decide their own position about the federation. López de Santa Anna pledged his military forces to the protection of these key areas. "He attempted, in other words, to co-opt the movement, the first of many examples in his long career where he placed himself as the head of a generalized movement so it would become an instrument of his advancement."


title: Antonio López de Santa Anna

text: In May 1823, following Iturbide's abdication as Emperor in March, López de Santa Anna was sent to command in Yucatán. At the time, Yucatán's capital of Mérida and the port city of Campeche were in conflict. Yucatán's closest trade partner was Cuba, a Spanish colony. López de Santa Anna took it upon himself to plan a landing force from Yucatán in Cuba, which he envisioned would result in Cuban colonists welcoming their "liberators", most especially himself. 1,000 Mexicans were already on ships to sail to Cuba when word came that the Spanish were reinforcing their colony, so the invasion was called off.


title: Antonio López de Santa Anna

text: Former insurgent general Guadalupe Victoria, a liberal federalist, became the first president of the Mexican republic in 1824, following the creation of the Federalist Mexican Constitution of 1824. He came to the presidency with little factional conflict, and he served out his entire four-year term. However, the election of 1828 was quite different, with considerable political conflict in which López de Santa Anna became involved. Even before the election, there was unrest in Mexico, with some conservatives affiliated with the Scottish Rite Masons plotting rebellion. The so-called Montaño rebellion in December 1827 called for the prohibition of secret societies, implicitly meaning liberal York Rite Masons, and the expulsion of the U.S. minister in Mexico, Joel Roberts Poinsett, a promoter of federal republicanism in Mexico. Although López de Santa Anna was believed to be a supporter of the Scottish Rite conservatives, in the Montaño rebellion he eventually threw his support to the liberals. In his home state of Veracruz, the governor had thrown his support to the rebels, and in the aftermath of the rebellion's failure, López de Santa Anna as vice-governor stepped into the governorship.


title: Antonio López de Santa Anna

text: In 1828, López de Santa Anna supported the hero of the insurgency, Vicente Guerrero, who was a candidate for the presidency. Another important liberal, Lorenzo de Zavala, also supported Guerrero. Manuel Gómez Pedraza won the indirect elections for the presidency, with Guerrero coming in second.


title: Antonio López de Santa Anna

text: Even before all the votes had been counted in September 1828, López de Santa Anna rebelled against the election results in support of Guerrero. He issued a plan at Perote that called for the nullification of the election results, as well for a new law expelling Spanish nationals from Mexico, believed to be in league with Mexican conservatives. López de Santa Anna's rebellion initially had few supporters, although southern Mexican leader Juan Álvarez joined López de Santa Anna's rebellion, and Lorenzo de Zavala, governor of the state of Mexico, under threat of arrest by the conservative Senate, fled to the mountains and organized his own rebellion against the federal government. Zavala brought the fighting into the capital, with his supporters seizing an armory, the "Acordada". In these circumstances, president-elect Gómez Pedraza resigned and soon after left the country. This cleared the way for Guerrero to become president of Mexico. López de Santa Anna gained prominence as a national leader in his role to oust Gómez Pedraza and as a defender of federalism and democracy. An explanation for López de Santa Anna's support of Guerrero is that Gómez Pedraza had been in favor of López de Santa Anna's proposed invasion of Cuba, if successful, and if not, "Mexico might rid himself of an undesirable pest, namely Santa Anna."


title: Antonio López de Santa Anna

text: In 1829, López de Santa Anna made his mark in the early republic by leading forces that defeated a Spanish invasion to reconquer Mexico. Spain made a final attempt to retake Mexico, invading Tampico with a force of 2,600 soldiers. He marched against the Barradas Expedition with a much smaller force and defeated the Spaniards, many of whom were suffering from yellow fever. The defeat of the Spanish army not only increased López de Santa Anna's popularity but also consolidated the independence of the new Mexican republic. López de Santa Anna was declared a hero. From then on, he styled himself "The Victor of Tampico" and "The Savior of the Patria". His main act of self-promotion was to call himself "The Napoleon of the West". In a December 1829 coup, Vice-President Anastasio Bustamante, a conservative, deposed President Guerrero, who left the capital to lead a counter-rebellion in southern Mexico. Guerrero was captured and executed after a summary trial in 1831, which shocked the nation. The conservatives in power were tainted by the execution of a hero of independence and former president.


title: Antonio López de Santa Anna

text: On 1 January 1830, Bustamante took over the presidency. Bustamante had promised an effective administration, and customs revenues (import and export taxes) increased spectacularly. But the revenues were spent on administrative expenses and the military, to win its support with preferential payments, new equipment, and increased recruitment. On top of customs revenues, Bustamante's government borrowed funds from moneylenders. His government jailed political dissenters.


title: Antonio López de Santa Anna

text: In 1832, López de Santa Anna seized the customs revenues from Veracruz and declared himself in rebellion against Bustamante. The bloody conflict ended with López de Santa Anna forcing the resignation of Bustamante's cabinet, and an agreement was brokered for new elections in 1833. López de Santa Anna won handily.


title: Antonio López de Santa Anna

text: López de Santa Anna was elected president on 1 April 1833, but while he desired the title, he was not interested in governing. According to Mexican historian Enrique Krauze, "It annoyed him and bored him, and perhaps frightened him." A biographer of López de Santa Anna describes him in this period as the "absentee president". Vice President Valentín Gómez Farías took over the responsibility of governing the nation while López de Santa Anna retired to his Veracruz hacienda, Manga de Clavo. Gómez Farías was a moderate, but he had a radical liberal congress with which to contend, perhaps a reason that López de Santa Anna left executive power to his vice president.


title: Antonio López de Santa Anna

text: The nation was faced with an empty treasury and an 11 million peso debt incurred by the Bustamante government. He could not cut back on the bloated expenditures on the army and sought other revenues. Taking a chapter out of the late colonial Spanish reforms, the government targeted the Roman Catholic Church. Anticlericalism was a tenet of Mexican liberalism, and the church had supported Bustamante's government, so targeting that institution was a logical move. Tithing (a 10% tax on agricultural production) was abolished as a legal obligation, and church property and finances were seized. The church's role in education was reduced and the Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico closed. All this caused concern among Mexican conservatives.


title: Antonio López de Santa Anna

text: Gómez Farías sought to extend these reforms to the frontier province of Alta California, promoting legislation to secularize the Franciscan missions there. In 1833 he organized the Híjar-Padrés colony to bolster non-mission civilian settlement. A secondary goal of the colony was to help defend Alta California against perceived Russian colonial ambitions from the trading post at Fort Ross. However, for liberal intellectual and Catholic priest José María Luis Mora, selling church property was the key to "transforming Mexico into a liberal, progressive nation of small landowners." Sale of nonessential church property would bring in much-needed revenue to the treasury. The army was also targeted for reform, since it was the largest single expenditure in the national budget. On López de Santa Anna's suggestion, the number of battalions was to be reduced as well as the number of generals and brigadiers.


title: Antonio López de Santa Anna

text: A law was issued, the "Ley del Caso," that called for the arrest of 51 politicians, including Bustamante, for holding "unpatriotic" beliefs and ordered them expelled from the republic. Gómez Farías claimed that López de Santa Anna was the driving force for the law, which evidence seems to support. With increasing resistance from the church as well as the army, the Plan of Cuernavaca was issued, likely orchestrated by former general and governor of the Federal District, José María Tornel. The plan called for repeal of the "Ley del Caso" and discouraged tolerance of the influence of Masonic lodges, where politics was pursued in secrecy; declared void the laws passed by Congress and the local legislatures in favor of the reforms; requested the protection of President López de Santa Anna to fulfill the plan and recognize him as the only authority; removal from office the deputies and officials who carried out enforcement of the reform laws and decrees; and provided military force to support the president in implementing the plan.


title: Antonio López de Santa Anna

text: As opinion turned against the radical reforms, López de Santa Anna was persuaded to return to the presidency, and Gómez Farías resigned. This set the stage for conservatives to reshape Mexico's government from a federalist republic to a unitary central republic.


title: Antonio López de Santa Anna

text: For conservatives, the liberal reform of Gómez Farías was radical and threatened elites' power. López de Santa Anna's actions in allowing this first reform (followed by a more sweeping one in 1855) might have been a test case for liberalism. At this point, López de Santa Anna was a liberal. By giving the moderate liberal Gómez Farías responsibility for the reforms, López de Santa Anna could have plausible deniability. He could be watchful and wait to see the reaction to a comprehensive attack on the special privileges of the army and the Roman Catholic Church, as well as confiscation of church wealth, enacted by the radical liberal congress.


title: Antonio López de Santa Anna

text: López de Santa Anna was pushed into action. In May 1834, he ordered the disarmament of the civic militia. He urged Congress to abolish the controversial "Ley del Caso", under which the liberals' opponents had been sent into exile. The Plan of Cuernavaca, published on 25 May 1834, called for repeal of the liberal reforms.