Which "No Way Home" surprise appearance means the most for the future of the MCU?
It's hard to say, when there are so many to choose from. Let's take a look at that cast list …
"You ready?"
"I'm ready."
Fans surely recognized J. Jonah Jameson when he briefly popped up in "Far From Home"
in the mid-credits scene. That's because actor J.K. Simmons reprised his role as
The Daily Bugle's shadiest journalist, and he's back on his beat in "No Way Home."
You certainly remember that curmudgeonly editor in the original "Spider-Man" trilogy who fleeces
Peter, creates a smear campaign about our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, and frequently tries
to get away with not adequately paying his freelancers. All in all, he's kind of a jerk.
In the comics, Jameson first appeared on the pages of "The Amazing Spider-Man" #1 in 1963.
But beyond his rich history with the comics and the Spidey universe as a whole, he's more
relevant than ever before, in today's "fake news" and "alternative facts"-filled political climate.
It's the moment we've all been waiting for: Daredevil has finally joined the MCU.
Okay, Matt Murdock's "Spider-Man: No Way Home" cameo may be small and seemingly insignificant,
but it actually changes everything.
"That's it, let the Devil out."
Ever since Marvel sold the film/TV rights to its vast catalog to multiple companies, the respective
worlds have become a fractured kaleidoscope of characters just out of reach from one another.
For a long time, the MCU didn't have the rights to have Spider-Man join the Avengers, and Deadpool
was imprisoned with the X-Men — unable to hang out with Spidey despite their comic book connections.
Yet, inch by inch, we're getting more leeway on which characters can interact with each other.
While Charlie Cox's cameo in "No Way Home" merely consists of him taking on Peter's case
once his identity is ousted, the scene is arguably one of the most important moments in the movie.
Why? Because it opens up the door for all of Netflix's Marvel shows to appear in the MCU.
The possibilities are endless.
Okay, Tony Stark, we get it. You're a cool nerd, and you kind of bully your droids.
Tony dooms his arm robot to a life of mockery, giving him a name like DUM-E,
or "Dum-E" – but the bot makes the best of it. Despite his savage name and occasional DUNCE
hat accessories, in "No Way Home," DUM-E watches on as Peter works on some tech for
the alternate universe villains — giving the robot purpose even after his creator's death.
Tony didn't always treat DUM-E very nicely, but he is a creation that Tony made in his father's
workshop, adding a sentimental component to the bot. DUM-E even saved Stark's life
once when he couldn't reach his arc reactor and didn't have the energy to keep trying,
and it's a lovely nod to Tony that Happy still keeps DUM-E in his apartment.
Of course, with the state of Happy's apartment following Green Goblin's bomb onslaught,
DUM-E might be a goner, but it's nice to see Tony's friends honor him even after he's gone..
We first meet the MCU's Betty Brant back in "Spider-Man: Homecoming." Even then,
she's a spunky reporter who banters on-air during the school's morning announcements.
In a couple of blink-and-you'll-miss-it scenes in "No Way Home," Betty pops up reporting the
goings-on at her high school. It's nice to see her living out her journalistic aspirations,
but seeing her do social media videos for the Daily Bugle makes us a bit uneasy.
Betty Brant is also a character in the original "Spider-Man" trilogy.
You might remember the sweet brunette woman who processes Peter's paychecks from the 2002 trilogy.
Well, that's the alternate universe's Betty. Hopefully the MCU version of
Brant takes a few healthy steps backwards away from ol’ JJJ.
"You're an F.O.S. now — 'friend of Spider-Man' – and you have to remember, just stay calm."
Ned Leeds may seem like a normal nerd with a superhero for a best friend,
but "No Way Home" has fans wondering if there's more than meets the eyes to the computer whiz.
Ned accidentally conjures a portal when he gets ahold of Doctor Strange's Sling Ring,
and single-handedly brings the other Peter Parkers into the movie.
How'd he pull that off? Sure, magical rings are powerful and all, but they don't typically
do that for just anyone. If it weren't for Ned's apparent magical abilities, we would
never see Andrew Garfield and Toeby Maguire's respective Spider-Men show up on the scene.
Ned is so naturally talented with sorcery that he even impresses the doctor with his portal-making.
If Doctor Strange didn't wipe everyone's memories of Peter, we'd have a good chance
of seeing Ned take up the magic arts. Even so, his magical abilities are still a part of him,
and they will no doubt show up down the line one way or another.
In fact, Ned could be gearing up to be the next Strange — or Wong.
Doctor Octopus, aka Doc Ock, aka Dr. Otto Octavius, doesn't get nearly enough screen
time in the OG trilogy. In the comics, he's often depicted as a member of the Sinister
Six — a group of supervillains who have some major beef with our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
Yet out of all of the on-screen Spider-Man villains we've seen in the movies throughout
the years, Doc Ock is one of the most sympathetic and likable villains.
His octopus creation was never for the power. He wants to change the world for the better,
but as we often see play out in comic films, it doesn't exactly work out in his favor.
However, the Doc gets his chance to shine in "No Way Home,"
expanding on his original redemption arc and digging deep into his character for
a more well-rounded arc that allows him to become the hero and save his fellow villains.
Alternatively, we get a whole lot more backstory for Sandman in "Spider-Man 3" than "No Way Home."
His cameo consists of helping out Peter a bit, then lashing out at him, and finally,
just begging to get home — to whatever time period the villains end up in. He does end up cured,
so that's a bonus point, but his appearance is fairly superficial outside of that detail.
There's a pretty strong case for Norman Osborne being the most fascinating
(and exciting) Spider-Man villain we've ever seen grace our screens. Yet while his chaotic energy
is a blast to watch, we never really get much emotional depth from Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin.
Now, that's not to say that Dafoe's acting isn't phenomenal, but he's never given
the space to explore the deep psyche of his character. In the original trilogy,
we've got a guy with an evil alter ego who takes over his consciousness, but he rarely fights back.
That's a fascinating study on the human condition, but rather than honing in on that power struggle,
we get more demonic laughter and bomb-slinging than actual depth.
Luckily, "No Way Home" gives Dafoe the opportunity to brilliantly dig into the struggle between good
and evil, and we see a deeper, more emotional side to Norman than we've ever witnessed on-screen.
Green Goblin certainly wasn't Peter's first villain in the comics,
flying onto the pages in 1964 during the 14th issue of "The Amazing Spider-Man." However, he's
easily a movie favorite for fans, and he finally gets his time to truly shine in "No Way Home."
Dr. Curtis Connors, or The Lizard, is another one of Spidey's oldest foes,
first slithering on the scene in "The Amazing Spider-Man" issue 6.
OG trilogy fans might remember a different version of Dr. Connors, who serves as Peter's
professor in the second and third films. While he aids Peter in his symbiote research,
we never get a sense that he's trying to turn himself into a lizard hybrid. In Andrew Garfield's
"The Amazing Spider-Man," though, we get a full-fledged Lizard in all of his scaly glory.
The film does a great job setting his descent into the sewers in motion as he gets deeper and
deeper into his villainy. Yet with a redemption arc already in the books at the end of Garfield's
first movie, "No Way Home" doesn't spend as much time fleshing out his character.
The Lizard is a fascinating tale of a dream gone awry despite its best intentions.
The minute things started going south, the good doctor should have bailed on his mission.
Hopefully, the Peters convince him not to go down that road again.
As great as Sam Raimi's original trilogy was at creating epic villains for Toby Maguire's films,
none of them get much in the way of character exploration or a backstory.
In "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," Electro arguably has the most well-developed and
executed villainous backstory of any Spidey foe we've seen on the big screen.
The movie spends ample time building up his pre-villainous path, defining his humanity,
and ultimately reaching his breaking point when the world has just shafted him too much.
Electro is a cautionary tale on a dismal world that's largely responsible for creating a good
number of its own monsters. While Electro needs to be held accountable for his actions,
had the people of Oscorp treated Max better, maybe Gwen would still be alive in Garfield's universe.
However, as Electro says, the moral of the story is,
"you gotta be careful where you fall" when you live in a sci-fi world.
Electro made his first appearance in "The Amazing Spider-Man" #9 in 1964.
Electro doesn't get a whole lot of screen time in "No Way Home," and most fans could do without
him besmirching Tony's arc reactor, but his appearance does tease one thing: Miles Morales.
He muses how he wishes there were a Black Spider-Man, and that he hopes
there's a universe where that's true — which any Spidey fan can confirm.
Could this be the film's subtle way of introducing Miles into the MCU?
Aunt May: We know her, we love her, and now we mourn her. Over the years,
we've watched countless iterations of Spider-Man lose Uncle Ben and begin his on-screen journey in
the same place with the same repeated plotline. When Tom Holland's Spider-Man debuted, he offered
a refreshing change of pace from the story we've seen repeated time and time again. Instead of
Uncle Ben being in the picture, we have a younger version of Aunt May that spices up the story.
However, this is still a Spider-Man tale,
so it was only a matter of time before May uttered Ben's iconic words:
"With great power, there must also come great responsibility."
But we also know what those words are a prelude for: death. We may watch Aunt May die in "No Way
Home," but her compassion and belief in the best of people saves a handful of villains
and sets Peter on his journey to become the best web-slinger he can possibly be.
For some reason, Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man tends to get the shaft when it comes to
fan-favorite Spideys, but he provided a refreshing take on the hero back in 2012.
Yet, his storyline felt incomplete with just two films under his belt.
We leave off "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" following the tragic death of Peter's true love Gwen Stacy,
and he attempts to give up his role as Spider-Man. After watching Gwen fall down
a tower to her death just a second too late to catch her, Peter is a shell of his former self.
"You're wrong about us being on different paths. We're not on different paths. You're my path.
And you're always gonna be my path."
When we meet Peter again in "No Way Home," it's clear that Gwen's death still haunts
him. What-ifs and guilt plague him, but his shot at redemption in Holland's third film
marks one of the movie's best moments. When Holland's MJ falls in an eerily
similar way as Gwen, Garfield's Peter does what he failed to do before: save the girl.
The moment is everything fans wished it could have been back in Garfield's second film.
By saving our Peter's girl, he heals some of the wounds he's been ignoring for years.
It's poetic, lovely, and honors the wonderful Spider-Man that Garfield brought to life.
With his cameo in "No Way Home," fans can rest easy knowing their Spidey gets some closure — and
prevents another Peter from a lifetime of the grief he never stops grappling with.
Fans tend to stan Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man, but our original web-slinger isn't without his faults.
From the very first moments Maguire's Peter gets his power, he uses it to get back at his bully
and fight people he didn't have the strength to stand up to before.
And sure, they usually deserve it, but once you give in to that initial impulse,
it's even harder to stop yourself the next time — especially when you have superpowers.
Whether it's finding Uncle Ben's alleged killer, fighting Green Goblin, or getting back at MJ,
Peter is quick to fall into anger and vengeance mode — and it's cost him some
of the people he loves most. However, "No Way Home" offers the original Peter
a chance to right his wrongs by lending a helping hand to the newest Spider-Man.
When Holland's Peter Parker is hurting from losing his Aunt May, Tobey's Peter helps him work through
it, sparing Norman — but most importantly, sparing his webbed counterpart from besmirching May's
memory with murder. While Maguire's third Spider-Man film leaves a lot to be desired,
his appearance in "No Way Home" offers a much more cathartic ending for the older, wiser Spidey.
Before "The Amazing Spider-Man" comic series came into play,
Flash Thompson made his Marvel debut in "Amazing Fantasy" #15. For anyone who needs brushing up
on their Spider-Man comics history, that's the very same issue that Spidey himself debuted.
As it stands, Flash and Peter have been intertwined in a web since the very beginning,
so it's not surprising he has a deeper history than we have yet to see on-screen.
In "Spider-Man 3," the introduction of the symbiote and Venom provides the
perfect opportunity to give Flash, played by Joe Manganiello, the chance to shine.
Instead, that honor goes to its more common host: Eddie Brock, played by Topher Grace. However,
it looks like the MCU might be heading in a different direction following "No Way Home's"
first post-credits scene, which sees some symbiote goo left behind in the MCU, but no Eddie Brock.
Flash has a laundry list of experiences involving
the symbiote in the comics — including becoming regular old Venom, Anti-Venom,
and Agent Venom. Will MCU Flash be the next Venom? We'll have to wait and see.
It's feeling a little strange around here, no? There's no denying that Strange is a bit off his
game in "No Way Home" with his jumbled spell work and quite a few hiccups in his all-knowing plans.
Given how often Doctor Strange has screwed with time travel,
memory spells, and other finicky magic, it was only a matter of
time before his meddling caught up with him — and it appears that time has come.
The post-post credits scene is more like a trailer for "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,"
and it boasts a pretty big baddie: evil Doctor Strange. Now, this isn't the first time the
MCU has dabbled with a dastardly Doctor Strange. The "What If...?" episode "What
If... Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands" offers fans a glimpse at what could
happen if Strange fell down a rabbit hole of obsession in his attempts to rewrite history.
Each time the sorcerer plays God, he gets closer and closer to becoming a shell of his former self.
We spend all of "No Way Home" examining how good people can become villains.
And while we don't know precisely what sparks this change in Strange, it's not looking good
for "Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness." Buckle up, kids. It looks like
we may see the Necromancer version of Strange — reminiscent of his '70s Counter-Earth comics run.
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