Warning! SPOILERS for Spider-Man: No Way Home.

The Iron Man-centric plot hole in Spider-Man: No Way Home makes Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) look bad - again. In the film, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) attempted to move on with his life following the death of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) in Avengers: Endgame. While learning to be on his own has its benefits, it also came with some disadvantages as highlighted in Spider-Man: No Way Home.  

Peter has gone through some very rough patches in the last few years. After getting dusted by Thanos' (Josh Brolin) snap in Avengers: Infinity War, he was resurrected in Avengers: Endgame only to see Iron Man sacrifice himself for the greater good. The death of his mentor haunted Peter in Spider-Man: Far From Home — so much so that he didn't even want to be a hero anymore. While he was able to get through the grieving period, Peter had to deal with the pack of disgruntled Stark Industries employees, led by Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal). Quentin Beck may have been defeated, but he effectively ruined Peter's life when he outed the Avenger's secret identity as Spider-Man. 

Related: Why Doctor Strange Didn't Use The Memory Spell On Thanos In Infinity War

The events of Spider-Man: Far From Home was the launching pad for Spider-Man: No Way Home's initial premise, as Peter was also framed for the death of Mysterio, who's still being considered a hero. Although the threequel didn't dwell much on this particular plotline, the movie's original problem could've been quickly resolved had Peter got some help from those who survived his mentor. Why didn't Pepper or anyone else from Stark Industries lend a helping hand? Granted, Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) had been nothing but accommodating to Peter, even getting him Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) as a lawyer, but he was mostly doing it because of his personal relationship with May (Marisa Tomei). Understandably, Paltrow may haven't been available or willing to appear in Spider-Man: No Way Home, especially since it's filmed in the middle of a pandemic. However, the actress didn't even have to personally make a cameo. Happy could've functioned as a liaison, with just a line or two explaining that Stark's wife was offering Spider-Man help.

Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts and Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark Iron Man in Spider Man Homecoming

If Stark didn’t leave Peter E.D.I.T.H., he wouldn’t have had this problem. The young hero became a target simply because of his ties to the genius billionaire Avenger. Perhaps Stark Industries could've come out and defended him while he was being vilified for the death of Mysterio since Stark Tech was involved in the whole London incident anyway. While it wouldn't have stopped the investigation on him, it would've helped in repairing his public image. Beyond the case against Peter, Pepper could've also easily called MIT to plead his case since her dead husband was a revered alumni and generous benefactor of the school. If this was the case, the young hero wouldn't even consider reaching out to Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and the dangerous memory spell wouldn't have been cast. Again, all of this could've been done without Paltrow appearing in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Obviously, it's all part of Marvel Studios and Sony's storytelling. Given Spider-Man and Iron Man's close relationship, they could've handled this element of the narrative better. Assuming that Stark was alive during Spider-Man: No Way Home, he would've undoubtedly reached out and provided Peter all the help he needed. While Iron Man wasn't that good with expressing his feelings, Avengers: Endgame made it clear that Spider-Man was very important to him. Because of that, he wouldn't have let his mentee go through his personal woes on his own. 

More: Spider-Man: No Way Home Repeats Endgame’s Iron Man Tragedy In Reverse

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