Spiderman No Way Home: A Love Letter to Spiderman Fans of all Eras

Spiderman: No Way Home, is by far the most anticipated superhero movie to be released in the past two years. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the general public has been starved of movie releases. When you combine the fact that it is the first big movie to be released in theaters since COVID with the sheer amount of weight it carries from just being a new Spiderman movie, you have a recipe for immense amounts of hype and high expectations from fans. Fortunately for enthusiasts of the Spiderman franchise, Spiderman: No Way Home manages to not only meet, but somehow exceed the otherworldly expectations set for it by both fans and critics alike.

The marketing strategy in the build up to the release of Spiderman: No Way Home was unique in comparison to that of other recent blockbuster films. Because of the influence that the Spiderman name alone carries, the advertisers behind the movie were actually able to get away with hiding many of the main plot points from fans in trailers. This film is the finale in a

critically-acclaimed trilogy that stars Marvel’s most popular superhero; the trailers did not have to do a whole lot of convincing to sell people on Spiderman; the widespread knowledge, track record, and history of the franchise did that for them. As a result, it was the element of mystery surrounding the movie that drove speculation to be as thrilling as it was. 

I went into Spiderman: No Way Home the most excited I have been for a movie since the release of Avengers: Endgame all the way back in April 2019. I was a bit concerned about how (and if) all the moving pieces would come together, but given Marvel’s track record with large-scale crossovers in recent years, my excitement far outweighed any skepticism that I might’ve had going in.

Despite my expectations being as high as they were, Spiderman: No Way Home managed to not only meet them, but exceed them at a magnitude I would have never expected. The movie is a genuine love letter to Spiderman fans of many different eras. Taking place right after one of the biggest cliffhangers in Marvel history that revealed Peter’s true identity at the end of Spiderman: Far From Home, No Way Home starts off strong, and it never lets go of its momentum. Not only do fan-favorite villains Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus make their returns early on after a near two-decade-long absence, but almost every other major villain that was involved in the Spiderman movies pre-MCU trilogy makes their return as well, due to a spell Doctor Strange casts to re-conceal Spiderman’s true identity that goes wrong. While this plot point is admittedly a little bit cliche, it provides a perfect gateway to bring in the returning characters that millions of fans across the globe bought tickets to see. It doesn’t waste the viewers’ time, and allows the movie to get to the center of the plot quickly without using too much time on the exposition.

Unlike some of their appearances in previous movies, the villains that appear in Spiderman: No Way Home: such as Electro, Green Goblin, and Doctor Octopus are much more complex and gray in their execution. Most of these people aren’t necessarily evil in their nature, but rather they’ve had to endure some unfortunate consequences of events that weren’t necessarily their faults. The initial interactions that occur between Peter and the villains of the other multiverses were interesting to me and definitely not something that I expected going into the film. At one point in the movie, Peter becomes convinced at some point that he can save these people, and directly goes against some of the ideologies of his mentor-figure in Doctor Strange. When things go wrong, however, and Tom Holland’s Peter ends up losing a loved one as a result of his actions, he is forced to confront his liability and do a lot of reflecting – likely more than he’s ever done in the past five movies he’s been in combined. It forces Peter to face some of the consequences of his actions, and deal with levels of guilt that he never had to. It was character development that was extremely well-done, and, to me, it was much appreciated.

It is at this point when Tom Holland’s Peter is at his lowest that Marvel Studios finally pulls the curtain back on perhaps the biggest selling point of the movie: the long-rumored returns of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield reprising their roles. In an attempt to find Tom Holland’s Peter, Ned and MJ use Doctor Strange’s ring to show them a path to their best friend and boyfriend respectively. While they are unable to find their Peter Parker, they instead are introduced to Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire’s versions of Spiderman. This was my personal favorite part of the film, and I’m sure I’m not alone in that statement. I loved seeing some of my childhood favorites in action again interacting with some of the most beloved characters in the new trilogy. 

There is a very deliberate balance made between giving the new characters sufficient background whilst still keeping the central focus on the characters who define the new trilogy. One good example of this is when Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s characters attempt to assist Tom Holland’s character in grieving the loss of his loved one by sharing how they deal with their own traumas that they’ve had to endure as well. This allows the movie to give insight into what the lives of the two veteran heroes have been like while not losing sight of the main conflict at hand.  

I’m not going to go into too much detail to avoid spoiling too much, but seeing the chemistry that the three Spider-men were able to develop over the latter portions of the movie all build up to perhaps the most climactic fight in the history of the franchise was a dream come true for any Spiderman fan. The cinematography is amazing, and there are so many wonderful callbacks to older movies. There are also a lot of characters who are able to finally reach resolutions that were unattainable in movies prior. It maintains the fun-loving feel that Spiderman is known for, whilst also mixing in some emotionally-gripping moments that long-time fans of the franchise are certain to cherish.

My time in the movie theater was an unforgettable experience; hearing the crowd roar in collective excitement upon the returns of many fan-favorite characters was something I’m never going to forget. This movie is nothing short of a masterpiece, and I promise I do not use that term lightly. The movie is able to bring returning characters back, give them substantial bits of character development, and tell an engaging story all the while providing a bittersweet, yet satisfying end to Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. Despite being one of the most ambitious crossover projects in movie history, Spiderman: No Way Home presents itself with a level of polish that is unmatched.

By Kailen Hicks