"Spider-Man: No Way Home" is one of the most thrilling movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
– but does any of it actually make sense?
When it comes to time travel, parallel universes, and magic, anything is possible — and when
anything is possible, the rules for how things work can get real confusing, real fast.
In order to reverse the effects of the movie's first botched spell, Doctor Strange casts
another spell at the climax of the movie that makes everyone in the multiverse forget that
the MCU's Peter Parker ever existed.
This complicated series of events can be tough to wrap your head around.
In the end, Doctor Strange's spell in "No Way Home" only raised more questions, even
as it resolved the multiverse-level catastrophe at hand.
One of the most glaring questions raised by the effects of Doctor Strange's spell is in
how it influences Happy Hogan.
A key ongoing subplot running throughout the first two Tom Holland "Spider-Man" films is
Happy Hogan's budding relationship with Aunt May.
The long-time accomplice to Tony Stark meets May through Peter, and their relationship
grows from there.
Given Happy's ties to both Peter and May, at first glance, it doesn't make much sense
that he would still remember her after Doctor Strange casts his second spell.
Peter runs into Happy while visiting May's grave after she is killed by the Green Goblin.
He doesn't recognize Peter, but he does briefly explain that he met May "through Spider-Man."
Since Spider-Man still exists as a separate entity from Peter in everyone's minds, Happy
would still have memories of working with a young superhero on Avengers missions.
However, any inkling that that young superhero is the man he's talking to at the graveside
is gone.
This fact is also hammered home in J. Jonah Jameson's final rant, in which he explicitly
asks for the now-unknown Spider-Man to reveal his true identity.
And so, even though the specialness of Happy's bond with Peter through their connection to
May is gone, there is something nice about him retaining memories of the woman he loved
— even if the details about who introduced them are a bit fuzzier.
Some of the dialogue between Peter and Michelle Jones-Watson near the end of "Spider-Man:
No Way Home" indicates that it is possible for MJ, and presumably others, to remember
Peter even after the spell.
They only need to be reminded, something which Peter is too chicken to do in the film's conclusion.
If that's the case, then wouldn't Mysterio's video, which is broadcast at the end of "Spider-Man:
Far From Home," simply remind everyone that Peter Parker both exists and that he is Spider-Man?
This is a question "No Way Home" never really addresses; it is left up to the viewer's imagination
to fill in the gaps.
Presumably, Doctor Strange's spell could have done a number of things to resolve this, including
altering reality to change the video or blocking the true information from reaching people's
minds when they watch it.
In either case, it is assumed that the video is incapable of reminding the world of Peter
Parker.
Even so, there's probably a good amount of people who still believe that Spider-Man killed
Mysterio, attracted the alternate-universe villains, and is actually a web-slinging menace.
The second spell also raises another question.
If his second spell — which makes everyone in the universe forget Peter Parker's existence
— is capable of banishing the invaders coming through from the multiverse, does it also
make the entire multiverse forget about every Peter Parker?
This is another matter which "No Way Home" doesn't directly address.
Like Mysterio's tape, this explanation requires a bit of imagination since we don't know the
specifics of the ex-Sorcerer Supreme's spellcasting.
It's entirely possible that while the first spell applied to every Peter Parker in every
timeline, the second only applies to the MCU's Peter.
This way, the Raimi-verse and Webb-verse Peters – AKA Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield
– would still be remembered in their universes while also being sent home safe and sound.
They might, however, forget about their adventure with MCU Peter.
Only time will tell how this multiverse of madness is going to shake out.
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