Of course, it’s easy to see how No Way Home could have easily been a failure — after Spider-Man 3 and Amazing Spider-Man 2, many were worried that yet another Spidey film would bite off more than it could chew, becoming a bloated, overly-ambitious mess of a movie. But thankfully, a tight script and a brilliant cast prevented the climax of Spidey’s first MCU trilogy from meeting the same fate as its predecessors. Not only is it a gripping, heartfelt character study of Peter Parker, it’s also the ultimate love letter to Spider-Man films of years past.
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One of No Way Home’s biggest selling points is that it features not one, not two, but five villains from previous movies: Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Sandman, Lizard, and Electro, with all of their original actors reprising their roles. Back when initial reports were released of Alfred Molina and Jamie Foxx returning, it was unclear whether they would be portraying new MCU variants of their characters, or if the original villains themselves would be crossing over into the MCU. However, the film itself leaves no doubt whatsoever that these are the very same villains who previously appeared throughout the Spider-Man films.
There’s plenty of dialogue where the multiversal villains reference the events of their original films. Doctor Octopus mentions that he was transported across universes while working on his fusion reactor from Spider-Man 2 — he even quotes his iconic line “The power of the sun, in the palm of my hand” on multiple occasions. Likewise, Electro and Sandman both recall their respective origin stories in a comedic exchange, while Lizard’s scheme to transform all of New York into lizard people is also brought up. Even Norman Osborn quotes his now-memetic line from the original Spider-Man, “I’m something of a scientist myself.”
However, these nods to the villains’ histories are more than just fun easter eggs for die-hard fans — they also help establish the thematic center of No Way Home. While talking with the captive villains, Tom Holland’s Peter Parker realizes that the majority of them were pulled into his universe moments before they were fated to die in battle against their worlds’ Spider-Men. And indeed, Green Goblin, Doc Ock, and Electro all died in their original movies. Peter’s selfless desire to save the villains from their tragic fates forms the crux of both his character arc and the central conflict of the entire film, all because No Way Home chooses to build on the story of the past films instead of revising it.
Of course, the returning villains only form one side of the story. At the end of the film’s second act, MJ and Ned accidentally summon a pair of Spider-Man variants who were transported to the MCU along with their enemies. Naturally, these variants are the Peter Parkers of the Raimi trilogy and the Amazing Spider-Man films — nicknamed Peter-Two (Tobey Maguire) and Peter-Three (Andrew Garfield) by Tom Holland’s Peter-One. Far from being mere cameos, both Spidey variants play a major thematic role in the film.
In the wake of Aunt May’s death, Peter-One is despondent and vengeful, determined to kill the Green Goblin for what he did. However, the variant Peters appear to offer words of comfort that MJ and Ned never could — after all, they’ve both been in his shoes. Naturally, Peter-Two already had his own journey of choosing mercy over vengeance back in Spider-Man 3. However, Peter-Three offers a look at what his life has been like since Amazing Spider-Man 2, explaining that after he lost Gwen Stacy, he went to a dark place, eventually ceasing to hold back against criminals. While Peter-Two has managed to sort his life out and settle down with his world’s MJ, Peter-Three seems to need help just as much as Peter-One. These distinctions in characterization manage to give each Peter their own unique personality while still remaining true to what makes them Spider-Man.
As they banter casually before the final battle at the Statue of Liberty, the three Spideys bring up their past enemies. Peter-Two mentions his fight with Venom, causing Peter-One to recall his part in the battle against Thanos. Peter-Three laments that he’s never fought any aliens, and that his most recent supervillain fight was against Paul Giamatti’s Rhino. Peter-Two encourages Peter-Three to have more positive self-talk, calling him “amazing”. This is a not-so-subtle nod to the title of Andrew Garfield’s Spidey films, while also serving as commentary on said movies’ status as the unpopular middle child of the franchise. On a metatextual level, Peter-Two’s supportive words read as the original Tobey Maguire giving Garfield his blessing as a worthy successor to his legacy. But in the context of the story, the scene also works as the more mature, experienced Spider-Man offering encouragement to his troubled, insecure variant.
In general, the Amazing Spider-Man characters benefit greatly from their portrayal in No Way Home. One of the film’s best moments comes when Peter-Three rescues Zendaya’s MJ when the Green Goblin knocks her off the Statue of Liberty. In doing so, he redeems himself for his failure to save Gwen, and begins to tear up as he becomes overwhelmed by emotion. The scene manages to be both funny and heartwarming while also offering Garfield’s Peter Parker a level of closure he never got in his home series. Peter-Three also gets a tender moment with the newly cured Electro that calls back to their dynamic in ASM2 — while Peter previously failed to get through to Max, here he finally convinces the villain that he isn’t a nobody.
In the final showdown between Peter-One and Green Goblin, Peter-One nearly loses himself to his rage, killing the Goblin with his own glider in a dark twist on the end of the original Spider-Man. However, it’s Peter-Two who jumps in and saves Norman, wordlessly urging Peter-One to have mercy. Sure enough, Peter-One ultimately cures the Goblin instead of killing him. Not only does Peter-Two successfully pass on the lesson he learned about forgiveness, he also allows Peter-One to do what he failed to do so many years ago — save the life of Norman Osborn.
A worse film would have allowed the returning heroes and villains to be nothing more than cheap cameos who add nothing more to the story beyond hollow fanservice. However, No Way Home doesn’t do that: every character and callback serves a narrative purpose, emphasizing the central themes of compassion and mercy that drive the story. And because of that, No Way Home does more than just homage its predecessors — it weaves their stories together with its own, creating something even bigger and better. By building upon all that came before, this film manages to make the previous Spider-Man movies even better with hindsight.
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