Why Spider-Man: No Way Home Works

Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS for Spiderman: No Way Home.

Spiderman: No Way Home should not have worked. It bore all the signs of an over-hyped movie: star-studded cast, overwhelming publicity cycle, and a December release. At the UK premiere in Oxford, I ran into the theater buzzing with excitement, but one of MJ’s (Zendaya) lines also spoke to a nagging suspicion:

“If you expect disappointment, then you can never really be disappointed.”

Given the hype, I assumed that No Way Home would fall short. I mentally prepared myself to walk away with a host of criticisms about a mid-to-top-tier Marvel movie. To my genuine surprise, No Way Home exceeded all expectations and may just be the best Marvel Cinematic Universe movie yet.

The rousing success of No Way Home begs one question: How did Marvel pull off this risky spell?

After puzzling over this question, I’ve identified the three key aspects of No Way Home:

The Banter.

As a superhero and as a film, Spider-Man is synonymous with memorable quips and comebacks. Part of the fun is laughing at (sometimes cringy) dialogue full of campy jokes. No Way Home excels in this regard, and a lot of the laugh-out-loud moments rely on the audience’s familiarity with all five previous Spider-Man films. This tactic wins over skeptics like me, who walked into the theater doubting that any Spider-Man film could unseat Spider-Man 2. Just like many other moviegoers, I could hardly contain my glee when Willem Dafoe reprised his ever-memed line “You know, I’m something of a scientist myself.”

Marvel took a calculated risk with this gambit. No Way Home’s callbacks to earlier franchises and meme references could’ve easily drifted into fan service overkill. In practice though, these moments added some much-needed levity to one of Marvel’s deeper films. In the midst of exploring questions of morality, No Way Home gives us a re-enactment of the Spider-Man pointing meme, two conversations about web-shooters, and many J. Jonah Jameson rants. I was still emotionally wrecked by the film’s end, but those key moments of humor produced a well-balanced Spider-Man experience.

The Peters.

Seeing Maguire, Garfield, and Holland all on the same screen rivals the “On Your Left” moment from Endgame as the most iconic MCU reveal ever. Maguire and Garfield’s entrance perfectly wrapped up the film’s devastating second act, renewing MCU Peter’s (and the audience’s!) hope.

Through Maguire, Marvel milks the nostalgia. There’s no de-aging to pretend that he’s been plucked from 2007. Instead, a mid-40s Tobey saunters in, dressed like a “youth pastor” with this self-assured attitude that is a far cry from Bully Maguire. Confronted with Maguire’s age, original trilogy fans must face their own mortality and reckon with their Peter being, as Doc Ock says, “all grown up.”

Maguire’s reprisal encapsulates my vision of an older Peter Parker. In the Peters trio, he functions as a sort of Uncle Ben figure. He imparts sage advice to both of the other Peters, and he stops Holland’s Peter from murdering the Green Goblin. Remember Batman Beyond? The interactions between Maguire and the other Peters channel similar mentor/mentee dynamics with less angst and ample camaraderie.

That being said, I was more excited to see the return of the underrated Amazing Spider-Man, Andrew Garfield. Garfield simply does not receive the credit he deserves for nailing Spider-Man’s charisma, quippiness, and emotional depth. Of the three Peters, Garfield donned the Spidey suit later in his life at 29 years. While the Spider-Man franchise established Maguire and Holland as household names, Garfield was turning heads two years before his Spider-Man debut in The Social Network and Never Let Me Go. I can’t help but think that as a result, he brought a certain maturity and gravitas to the role in 2012/2014. And in No Way Home, the Tick, Tick…Boom! Oscar-hopeful imbues his performance with the same raw emotion. Between Maguire’s spaciness and Holland’s boyish charm, Garfield portrays a more psychologically tortured Spider-Man.

This darkness especially comes through in the scene where the three Peters discuss their traumatic losses. With The Amazing Spider-Man duology, we never witnessed Garfield overcome his defining loss — in contrast to the relative closure in Raimi’s and the MCU’s trilogy. And you can see, hear, feel Garfield’s unresolved pain in this scene. His poignant acting makes the redemptive moment when he saves MJ all the more touching.

Together, Maguire and Garfield’s growth as actors, as Spider-Men, catapults Holland’s Spider-Man to a whole new level. As a collective, the three Peters blew me away, and their synergy also highlighted Holland’s excellence in this role. Holland has showcased a formidable emotional range in this film and across his MCU appearances. I had my doubts about an actual teenager playing Peter Parker when in fact this is the honest, coming-of-age portrayal we’ve been missing.

The MCU’s Spider-Man is the greatest Spider-Man ever — in no small part because of its notable predecessors. Maguire and Garfield’s inclusion is more than a nod to their legacy. It is a tribute to their directors and to Sony for keeping Spidey alive in the 21st century. Now, if only they would throw in Miles Morales…

The Stakes.

My biggest worry for No Way Home was a lack of believable high stakes given Marvel’s cinematic track record this year. For different reasons, Black Widow, Shang-Chi, and Eternals failed to build dramatic tension. We all know the MCU formula for origin movies at this point, and I’d wager that many Marvel fans (myself included) were too future/fan-theory-oriented to fully invest in these narratives. No Way Home’s evident connections to the multiverse primed me to view the film as a stepping stone.

Oh, how wrong I was.

Before you know what’s happening, No Way Home pulls you into the Mirror Dimension of emotion. Action never lulls; the stakes start at college admissions and escalate to matters of existentialism. As Holland’s Peter forges his moral compass, the film compels its audience to recalibrate their own perspectives on second chances, personal sacrifice, and true love.

The villains’ relationship with Holland’s Peter catalyzes No Way Home’s discussions of redemption. Sympathetic and repentant villains have dominated MCU lore as of late, but No Way Home commits to its deconstruction of comic book villainy. Part of the film’s appeal comes from its apparent concern with the humanity of supervillains.

Dafoe’s Goblin in particular tests Peter’s capacity for forgiveness. At first, the film wins our sympathy by showing the Norman Osborn identity of the Goblin. Like Peter, we root for Osborn’s rehabilitation. That compassion becomes fraught though when the Goblin derails Peter’s plans and murders Aunt May (Marisa Tomei). From that moment onward, the film’s most pressing conflict revolves around whether Peter will sacrifice everything to hold true to his responsibility. Peter’s inner conflict mirrors the audience’s own ambivalence, and his decision to forgive those who terrorized multiple worlds — including his own — promises to complicate further narratives about the multiverse.

No Way Home’s web-crossed romance between MJ and Peter lands the final punch. In less than three hours, No Way Home beautifully explores their love and encourages our emotional investment in this couple, which sets up Peter’s ultimate sacrifice. By asking Dr. Strange to wipe away all memories of him, Peter saves the multiverse and gives his loved ones a chance at a normal life at the cost of his own happy ending. Those heartwrenching closeup shots in the coffee shop may tug at our heartstrings, but without a doubt, Peter chooses the heroic path. Akin to The Dark Knight, No Way Home defines a superhero’s greatness as an unimaginable degree of personal sacrifice. It is this sacrifice that distinguishes the MCU’s Spider-Man as the best Spider-Man.

What are your thoughts on Spider-Man: No Way Home?

Originally published on medium.com.