Review of some scenes that raise questions in Spider-Man: No Way Home and sometimes border on inconsistency and illogicality.
Everything that follows in this article SPOILE Spider-Man: No Way Home. Read on if you’ve seen the movie or don’t mind the spoilers.
1- Why does Ned stop at 2 Peter?
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Ned
The easy answer: Ned and MJ try to reach Peter through the magical portals but once they come across two Peter Parkers from another universe, they remember their friend’s favorite place and go to find him there without magical means.
Why is it more complex? Ned and MJ stop for ease of script and the fact that there are no other “live” Peter Parker from the cinema to bring back to No Way Home. While in reality there are well over three universes and other Peter Parkers (played by actors we’ve never seen play the superhero) could have appeared as well.
2- How can Venom leave symbiote?
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Venom
In the first post-credits scene, Eddie Brock / Venom (Tom Hardy) is leaning his elbows in a bar and is teleported out of the MCU and returns -a priori- to his universe, leaving behind a piece of symbiote. But how is this possible?
The easy answer: The symbiote is resistant to magic, and Venom may well have left part of him lying around on the counter.
Why is it more complex? Doctor Strange, (ex) Sorcerer Supreme casts a spell capable of closing his Earth to the multiverse, sending beings from other universes back home and making everyone forget that Peter Parker is Spider-Man by neglecting a small piece of the symbiote? It will probably never be fully explained to us.
3- How did Doctor Octopus find Spider-Man?
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In the film, Peter will try to convince the director of MIT to reconsider her candidacy and that of her friends, but she is stuck in a traffic jam. Whatever, Peter tries it and … Doctor Octopus arrives! A fight ensues, Peter saves the director from death, and she reconsiders her candidacy.
The easy answer: Octopus is attracted to this universe to find Peter Parker there, it is logical that he finds him easily as soon as he arrives on this Earth.
Why is it more complex? If we follow the previous reasoning, all supervillains should find Peter as soon as they enter his universe. However, Spidey is forced to hunt them down to find them. Doctor Octopus therefore arrives at the right time to become a scriptwriting facility that does not really make sense.
4- Why make the bad guys nice when they are going to come back dead?
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Rhys Ifans as Dr Connors (the Lizard)
The easy answer: By returning to their “healed” universe just before their death, these supervillains may have time to argue their case with their respective Spider-Man.
Why is it more complex? The inconsistency depends on the villain you are looking at. For example, for The Lizard from The Amazing Spider-Man, the original film concluded his story satisfactorily (he was imprisoned after saving Peter’s life). And above all, how did Dr. Connors, treated in TASM, become the Lizard again in No Way Home? Remaking a Villain doesn’t really respect his existing story arc.
Moreover, Tom Holland’s Peter has known these characters for a very short time, they attacked him on sight, but he still takes into consideration the advice of Aunt May explaining to him that they are entitled to a second chance.
An idea of undeniable generosity, but one that it is strange to see implemented so quickly by Peter. Especially since ridding villains of their afflictions to send them back to death (at least most of them) seems rather useless.
5- Electro shouldn’t be there
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Screenshot of the No Way Home trailer
In The Amazing Spider-Man 2, it is never mentioned that Electro knows that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. However, it is this condition that justifies the arrival of characters from other universes in the film via the fate of Doctor Strange.
The easy answer: In TASM2, Gwen is heard letting go of a “Peter” when Spider-Man confronts Electro, who regains consciousness at this point. Maybe it could have played out?
Why is it more complex? In the wake of this scene, the fight resumes and Electro is put out of action thanks to an overload of electricity. Then he is brought into No Way Home thanks to the Strange spell which attracts people from other universes and who know that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. So he doesn’t really have a reason to be in the film, unless you imagine that he had the …
