Intent on reversing the damage done, Spider-Man visits Doctor Strange and enlists his help in casting a spell to set things right. Unfortunately, things soon go awry. From here, the story opens up as it appears Spider-Man has bitten off more than he can chew – especially when familiar faces show up.
What villains come through the rift into the Marvel universe?
After Doctor Strange’s spell has seemingly failed to work, Peter turns his attention to trying to get into college. With the world against him, and both MJ and Ned caught in the crossfire of supporting Parker, Dr Strange suggests he speak to the college admissions department to try and reverse their decision. With the key to Peter’s future en-route to the airport, Spider-Man dashes onto a highway to stop the car. Unfortunately, he’s soon blindsided by Dr Otto Octavius and Norman Osbourne, who have both arrived from an alternate universe. Joining the pair are Electro, Sandman and the Lizard, who arrive at various points of the story to thwart Spider-Man. There is also another surprise during the post-credit sequence but we’ll get to that in a bit!
Who dies in No Way Home?
When Peter Parker’s plan to help all these villains cure their afflictions goes awry, chaos ensues at Hogan’s apartment. Spidey squares off as best he can but he’s no match for Norman Osbourne. In the lobby of the apartment, Goblin throws one of his trademark bombs at Aunt May. Peter tries to save her but despite getting fingertips to the bomb, it explodes. However, it’s not the bomb that kills Aunt May. In a callback to the 2002 movie, Goblin’s glider strikes May and she’s fatally wounded. As Green Goblin escapes, laughing maniacally as he skips to safety, Peter Parker is overcome with grief. May’s death here takes the place of Uncle Ben, as a teary-eyed Peter tragically tries to save his Aunt. In her dying breath, she whispers to Peter that “with great power comes great responsibility.” She also reassures him that she wouldn’t have done anything differently. This, of course, is a throwback to the earlier decision Peter made regarding these villains. Dr Strange wanted to send them back to their own universes to die. This version of Spider-Man though has always been about second chances. We’ve seen that with Vulture and to a lesser extent with Mysterio. Tom Holland’s Spider-Man remained adamant that he could help cure all these villains and make them better people. This decision indirectly leads to May’s death.
Are Toby Maguire and Andrew Garfield in No Way Home?
With Peter Parker distraught following the death of Aunt May, MJ and Ned work with Dr Strange’s magic to open portals, intent on finding Spider-Man. Well, they sure find Spider-Man alright. Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man! He comes bounding in through the portal and reveals himself to the pair. Next up is Toby Maguire, who also appears plain clothed but very much the Spider-Man we knew from before. Both of them together serve an important role in the film, helping out in the climactic fight while also giving Tom Holland’s Spider-Man the pep-talk he needed. After all, the death of Uncle Ben hit them both hard and they too know all about wielding “great power for great responsibility.”
What happened with the rift in New York?
With all three Spider-Men working together to thwart their foes, the final fight sees each of the villains cured from their afflictions after the pair begin to work together. An amusing tidbit here involves The Avengers. When Tom Holland references the team, neither Garfield or Toby Maguire are aware of who he’s talking about, with the former even quizzing whether these guys are a band. With Sandman, Electro and Doc Ock neutralized (Norman Osbourne is too later on after a run-in with Holland’s Spider-Man), the attention turns to sending our villains back whence they came. However, purple rifts open in the sky as it looks like the multiverse is about to spill into this dimension, destroying everything. After wrestling with his destiny all movie long, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man realizes that the only way to stop everything is by enacting the earlier spell Dr Strange suggested. Everyone needs to forget about Parker’s identity as Spider-Man – including his friends.
How does Spider-Man save the world?
In a truly selfless move, Peter Parker decides to let everyone forget he exists. He allows Strange to cast the memory spell, which causes the world to revert back to how it was before. The purple rifts are gone, and the threats are thwarted. All the villains and heroes return to their respective universes while Peter Parker is left to make sense of his newfound reality. The final scenes here really do an excellent job of capturing the essence of Spider-Man’s character. Here, Peter has saved the world but also lost his best friend and MJ in the process. The movie ends with Peter Parker buying a coffee from MJ’s workplace, thinking twice about reading his pre-written speech about who he is. Ned is there too, and the pair are preparing for university. Peter Parker takes one long, regretful look at them both before heading out into the wintery night. He does manage to secure a small apartment in New York City, with a nice tongue-in-cheek joke about rent.
Is there a post-credit sequence?
There is indeed! Stick around for this one because the scene involves Tom Hardy and Venom. Both also found their way to this universe, having been pulled in from the spell Dr Strange cast. We catch up with Eddie Brock at a bar, drinking. The symbiote chirps up and claims that they’re drunk, as Brock talks to the bartender about the various threats in this world. When he’s eventually pulled back to his universe, a tiny glob of symbiote is on the bar. As it starts moving, the implications for Spider-Man facing off against a new Venom are massive. This is also foreshadowed during the final fight too, as Toby Maguire mentions fighting “an alien from outer space”, when asked about his toughest foes. There’s also another sequence, occurring right at the end of the credits, which includes a trailer for Dr Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which is currently scheduled to release in May. Within this, the implication is that Dr Strange is going to face some serious backlash from his use of magic going awry. Wanda also shows up here too, presumably to team up with Dr. Strange. However, a big twist right at the end of the trailer sees Mordo unveil the big villain of the film – an evil Doctor Strange. This is Doctor Strange Supreme, who actually showed up in Marvel’s What If series earlier this year. He says to Doctor Strange, “Things just got out of hand…” as the trailer comes to an end. Read More: Spider-Man: No Way Home Movie Review Thanks for reading our Ending Explained article! So what did you think of the ending? Let us know in the comments below!
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