As well as achieving many things that fans thought would be impossible, Spider-Man: No Way Home also managed to provide Tom Holland’s Spidey with his origin story. Opening at the end of 2021, the third MCU solo film for Spider-Man saw Peter faced with a host of villains across multiple universes after a spell by Doctor Strange went wrong. Bringing back characters and actors from prior franchises, the film has been a huge commercial and critical success, garnering dominantly positive reviews and quickly becoming one of the highest-grossing films of all time. But, beyond capping off a highly successful MCU trilogy, No Way Home also secretly provided the central character with much-needed background.
One of No Way Home’s main attractions has been the return of Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire in the role of Spider-Man. The appearance of each actor managed to tie up their respective story arcs – an important part of Garfield’s return after was abruptly canceled. While the two other Spider-Man variants were able to return to their native universes, Holland’s Spidey was left to deal with the fallout at the end of the film. However, while the arrival of two other Spider-Men was certainly a dramatic revelation, it was arguably not the movie's most significant legacy.
It is the position in which Holland’s hero is left by No Way Home which provides his Spider-Man with a long-awaited origin story. Unlike both previous iterations of the character, Holland’s MCU debut in MCU’s Spider-Man finally receiving something of an origin story.
Homecoming Skipped The Origin Story And Was Better Because Of It
Peter Parker’s growth into Spider-Man is well-known. After being bitten by a radioactive spider, Parker develops spider-like abilities and is encouraged to use them for good following the death of Uncle Ben. This narrative was shown in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man: Homecoming decided to skip the origin story. Instead of showing Peter coming to with his powers, Homecoming showed the hero beginning to understand his responsibilities.
This decision to avoid retelling the hero’s origin was the correct judgment for his first solo outing in the MCU. Coming just five years after The Amazing Spider-Man brought the origin story to the big screen once again, for Homecoming to attempt to do the same would take up valuable time in the narrative and potentially turn fans away from the new franchise with too much pre-covered ground; yet the MCU’s Spider-Man still works, even without an origin story. Instead, the film interweaves certain key events from the origin story into its narrative – Peter briefly discusses getting bitten by the spider with Ned, and a ing reference is made to Uncle Ben’s death, but these are not central to the film’s plot.
No Way Home Acts As An Origin For Future Spider-Man
With Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home both developing this early image of Holland’s Spider-Man, No Way Home’s narrative changes pace and serves as a late origin for the hero. The events of the film leave Holland’s Spidey in an extremely different position from where he starts, each matching the narrative beats which have previously served as the foundations of his character. More than any other of Spider-Man’s appearances in the MCU, the finale of No Way Home has the biggest impact on his future.
There are several occasions where No Way Home achieves everything that is required of Spider-Man’s origin story. Most notably is the death of Aunt May and the internalization of her message: “with great power, there must also come great responsibility.” Dealing with the emotional damage left after the death of one of his loved ones is an intrinsic aspect of Parker’s development into Spider-Man, and No Way Home delivers on this promise with May’s death standing in for the role usually occupied by Uncle Ben.
Similarly established by the film is Peter’s anonymity and struggles with balancing his personal and superheroic lives. The end of Far From Home saw Mysterio reveal Spider-Man’s identity to the world, but before this Holland’s Parker was notably known by a large number of people. Aside from each member of the Avengers, this iteration of the character betrayed the hero’s usual anonymity with Aunt May, Ned, MJ, Happy Hogan and others all knowing Spider-Man’s secret identity. Doctor Strange only manages to close the rift between universes by casting a spell to make everyone forget who Peter is – and subsequently forget that he is Spider-Man. The end of the film thus sees Peter once again anonymous and forced to live life truly by himself.
The Beginning Of Spider-Man
The MCU’s Spider-Man has been defined by his relationship with Iron Man in his first two films. Peter relied on his mentorship in Homecoming, and Far From Home saw him struggling to deal with his role as a superhero after Tony Stark’s death in Avengers: Endgame. This reliance on Stark’s guidance and technology has resulted in a hero with Spider-Man attributes, but very little of the same foundational DNA that defined the character in the comics and former cinematic iterations.
No Way Home ensured that Holland’s Spidey can escape the legacy of Iron Man and begin to become defined on his own . This is most notably the case in how the hero finishes the film in an outfit that he has made himself – in line with the comics – replacing the high-tech Stark suit that he wears for the majority of his three films. The film’s final sequence of Spider-Man swinging through the city is not just the end of his first chapter, but a promise of what is to come.
The criticisms weighed against the MCU’s interpretation of Spider-Man are rooted in how the character lacks the foundational elements which usually define the hero – an anonymous individual, built on grief and loss. Rather than delivering these roots in the hero’s first franchise outing, the MCU’s Spider-Man instead builds the character’s origin across three films. This peaks in Spider-Man: No Way Home, which continues Phase 4’s dark turn for the MCU and has managed to provide the hero with his origin story in a way that doesn’t recycle the same narrative, but nonetheless achieves his essential characteristics.
