Spider-Man: No Way Home — The theories, spoilers and opinions of fans

Spider-Man: No Way Home -- The theories, spoilers and opinions of fans

Carmen Dillman, Lamp writer

Carmen Dillman poses in front of the Spider-Man: No Way Home movie poster at the AMC CLASSIC Springfield 12.

**DISCLAIMER: This article does contain spoilers from the new Spider-Man Movie, Spider-Man: No Way Home. All theories are opinions of the people or myself. They may or may not be true, they are in fact just theories. I hope you enjoy it.**

To recap the film in a bit of a nutshell, it opens with Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) revealing the true identity of Spider-Man, which is Peter Parker (Tom Holland). Parker’s life gets turned completely upside down. However, not to fret, a very talented lawyer comes to his rescue. If you were like me and very confused as to why people were cheering for a blind guy, well he’s a little bit more than that. This lawyer would be none other than Matthew Murdock, aka Daredevil. Charlie Cox portrays Mudock in the 2015 Netflix series, Daredevil. Just recently, Marvel has confirmed that Cox is in fact the MCU’s official Daredevil. 

Rumor has it that the Daredevil and The Punisher Netflix series writers have signed on to assist in Disney’s Hawkeye spin-off, ECHO. Although the release date is unknown, there is a pretty good chance that Murdock will make an appearance. In the comics at least, Maya (Echo), plays a major role in Daredevil’s ongoing war with Wilson Fisk. However, this is just fan speculation. 

So, to continue with the recap. Matt Murdock assists Parker in his legal troubles and then disappears for the rest of the movie. Parker at this time is only suspicious of Murdock at this time and is not aware he is Daredevil. Parker’s next mentor is none other than Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) himself. Just a warning, there are TONS of speculation surrounding Strange in this film. A couple months before the release of this film, Disney + put out a short series called “What if… ?” In this series, Strange has a sort of evil twin you could say. It is rumored that this Evil Strange was in fact the Doctor Strange we all saw in No Way Home. The argument for this case is that Strange isn’t an impulsive guy, he always considers the consequences of his actions, especially since he has the ability to do such a thing. In Marvel’s Infinity War, Strange viewed over 14,000,605 possible outcomes. So, for him to do an extremely risky spell just for Peter Parker and his friends, seems a little off brand if you ask me. 

Marvel Studios logo right before the opening scene of Spider-Man: No Way Home.

To continue, Peter enlists the help of Strange to make the world forget he was Spider-Man, but Peter keeps changing Strange’s spell and things simply go wrong. Instead of the world forgetting who Spider-Man is, everyone who knows who Peter Parker is in the entire multiverse,  is coming to Holland’s world. Villains from Garfield’s and Maguire’s Spider-Man movies appear and begin to wreak havoc on Holland’s world. Peter now faces the challenging decision of either: Fixing the villains and saving their lives or returning them home to meet their destinies, which for many is death. Peter, encouraged by his thoughtful Aunt May, decides to help the villains escape their inevitable deaths. However, things don’t go exactly as planned. The villains, excluding the now healed Dr. Oc, decide they don’t want to be “fixed” and soon begin to retaliate. Unfortunately, Aunt May is caught in the cross-fire and dies at the hand of none other than the green goblin. 

Right when all hope is lost Andrew Garfield and Toby Maguire, the 2012 and 2002 Spider Men come to Holland’s rescue. The three successfully heal all the villains, with the help of Holland’s best friends, Ned (Jacob Batalon) and Mj (Zendaya), of course! However, in the process of this, Strange had to conduct a new spell that would make everyone, everywhere, forget Peter Parker ever existed. But, have no fear. Holland is ready for this fresh start, leaving Marvel with a clean slate to bounce off of. 

Now that you all have had a bit of a refresher, let’s dive a little deeper into some theories. Throughout the film Ned is very curious about Garfield’s and Maguire’s best friend in their worlds, however Ned doesn’t get the answer he’s looking for. Just in case you may have forgotten, both Garfield’s and Maguire’s best friend actually turn against them. So, fans are speculating that Ned may be Holland’s next villain, Hobgoblin. This would make sense since Ned obtains the ability to open portals in this film and also now doesn’t know who Spider-Man really is. 

The next theory is one of my own, since Marvel seems to be sticking to the comics and What if..?, why not combine the two? In the first teaser trailer at the end of the movie, Tom Hardy’s Venom is catching up on this new world. However, before he returns home a drop of his black goo falls onto the bar countertop he is sitting at. Now, it’s no secret that Hardy (Venom) and Bernthal (Punisher) are very similar looking. Not to mention that it seems like Marvel is looking to incorporate more vigilante’s like the Punisher and Daredevil. Here’s an interesting comic book incorporating these pieces. Although there is no hard core evidence to back this theory, you do have to admit Marvel loves their easter eggs.

Now onto the final theory of the day, Andrew Garfield. Garfield may just be the most beloved Spider-Man of all time with many encapsulated by his gorgeous looks and quirky personality. Garfield, in my opinion, makes for the best Spider-Man, and apparently Marvel may think so too. Shortly after the release of No Way Home, rumors quickly spread that Marvel wants to make a The Amazing Spider-Man 3, adding on to Garfield’s saga. However, even if we don’t get to continue his saga, perhaps a new one might be in the works. In 2018, Marvel released the comic, Spider-Gwen. Once again playing off of, “What if… ?”‘, this comic uses the idea of: What if Gwen Stacy was bitten by the spider instead of Peter Parker? Of course Garfield fans would believe anything for the possibility of rekindling of Stone’s (Gwen Stacy) and Garfield’s (Spider-Man) intense love affair, especially since Gwen is long gone in Garfield’s Spider-Man. However, we will just have to wait and see. 

SO, now that you know the theories, what are the reviews of the film? Here’s some polls to get an idea. Everyone who answered these questions ranged from 8th grade, all the way to Seniors in college. Participants of varying genders participated.