SPOILER-FREE

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is in phase four. At this point it is impossible to comprehend anything happening in new Marvel content without a broad understanding of its context. “Spider-Man: No Way Home” is no exception, and is perhaps the best proof of this statement that fans have seen thus far. Fans will eat this movie up, but anyone else will be incredibly lost. 

“Spider-Man: No Way Home” starts off with Peter Parker’s identity being exposed. It follows his character’s struggle to adjust to life where he is no longer an anonymous superhero. 

“Amazing Fantasy #15” was the first ever Spider-Man comic written by Stan Lee in 1962. It is incredible to see how far Peter Parker’s character has come and this film is an excellent homage to the progression of Spider-Man. “No Way Home” is one big thank you note to fans who have stuck around from the beginning and is a celebration of the character. 

The hype for this film was on the same level if not higher than it was for “Avengers: Endgame.” After years of speculation from fans,“Spider-Man: No Way Home” manages to live up to the high expectations. This movie was made for the fans and delivers on nostalgia, great character development, and action.

“Spider-Man: No Way Home” is a deep exploration of Peter Parker’s character that balances fanservice and immersive plot to make an excellent superhero film. It is the perfect conclusion to the Spider-Man trilogy. It has been confirmed that Spider-Man and Dr.Strange will have more content based on the box office success of “Spider-Man: No Way Home.”

SPOILER SECTION

On December 17, fans sat down an hour early in their seats, having bought their tickets a week in advance. They waited eagerly during commercials wondering if the rumors were true. 

Few people went into this film without the expectation that Toby Maguire and Andrew Garfield would make appearances. With photos leaked and rumors spreading like wildfire about the content in “No Way Home” there was no telling what was actually true. The two Spider-Men do end up having roles. Their parts don’t overshadow the movie, but are still significant to the plot. The three Spider-Men together, including Tom Holland’s, had a great dynamic. Their dialogue bounced off each other well and created great comedic moments and references to each of their movie franchises.

Since there is so much fan service, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” is a great theater experience. Few movies have crowds this enthusiastic about what is happening. It is similar to movies like “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” where each minute reference or powerful moment is celebrated with cheers, pointing, laughing, or even crying. There is nothing quite like being surrounded by those with the same admiration for a character that you have. It allows fans to be in a setting where they get to see new content from a nostalgic character that they love. 

From the appearance of Charlie Cox’s Daredevil as Peter’s lawyer to William Dafoe’s delivery of the iconic line “I’m something of a scientist myself,” there are countless references to Marvel content outside of the MCU films. Viewers get to see Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man get some closer by saving MJ and Toby Maguire’s Spider-Man reunites with Otto Octavious in a heartfelt moment. “No Way Home” is packed with powerful moments that pay homage to other movies while remaining relevant to the plot.

Villains from “The Amazing Spider-Man” universe and Toby Maguire’s Spider-Man universe were brought into the MCU for this film. William Dafoe returned to his role as Green Goblin from Maguire’s Spider-Man film and provided an excellent performance that steals every scene he is in. Jamie Foxx returning as Electro and Alfred Molina as Dr.Octopus are also standouts that brought out the inner fangirl in every viewer. 

Even though this is far from the first movie that Tom Holland’s Peter Parker has appeared in, “No Way Home” is the first movie in which he has truly become Spider-Man. Some fans argue that the death of Tony Stark in “Avengers: Endgame” is the equivalent of the comic book version where Parker loses his Uncle Ben. Holland’s version of Spider-Man never had to take accountability for his actions or get by on his own until now. In “No Way Home,” Parker loses his Aunt May because of his choices and gets the “With great power comes great responsibility” speech that is the  character’s motto and inspiration. 

Now that nobody knows who Parker is because of Dr.Strange’s spell, viewers finally get to see Tom Holland’s Spider-Man as an individual. This is represented visually at the end of the film when he sews together a comic book accurate Spider-Man suit for himself since previously everything had been handed to him by Tony Stark. In the future of Holland’s Spider-Man we will see him fending for himself and becoming his own person.

The end credit scenes also show fans what to expect in Spider-Man’s future. In the end credit scene of “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” Eddie Brock and Venom are transported to the MCU where Holland’s Spider-Man is along with Green Goblin and the other characters from the multiverse. In the first end credit scene of “No Way Home” Brock and Venom are shown leaving behind a piece of black goo which hints that the next MCU villain will be a variation of the symbiote alien, Agent Venom. Another potential future villain is Parker’s best friend Ned as Hobgoblin now that it is revealed that he has similar powers to Dr.Strange. 

Admittedly, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is expanding so rapidly that it is getting confusing and sloppy, but “Spider-Man: No Way Home” is a groundbreaking movie. Considering the amount of coordination and effort that had to go into the creation of a film of this scale, “No Way Home” is as impressive as it is entertaining.