Eagle-eyed Marvel fans may have noticed a lot of similarities between Marvel's Spider-Man and Spider-Man: No Way Home. Insomniac's Marvel's Spider-Man tried to be as original as possible despite coming after six Spider-Man movies, multiple TV shows, and decades of comics. It largely succeeded, and has even managed to inform other versions of the web-head as seen in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
[Spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home and Marvel's Spider-Man are featured in this article.]
The cast and crew have already stated they've played the game and are big fans of it. Zendaya has struggled to beat Marvel's Spider-Man, but Tom Holland noted he really loves the game and got to play Miles Morales on the set of No Way Home. With such love for Insomniac's take on the web-slinger, it's no surprise that it ended up inspiring elements of the MCU counterpart. In some regards, the game borrowed from the films as well with the mechanic, emotive eyes, and more gadget-heavy suit.
While there have seemingly been some small nods to the games in the MCU movies in the past, No Way Home seems like it could be the most influenced. Of course, some of these things outdate the game and go way back to the comics. The One More Day comic is one of the biggest inspirations for the film, but given that's a very controversial storyline among fans, it's possible the warm reception to Marvel's Spider-Man gave Marvel more confidence in adapting it.
Aunt May Dies In Marvel's Spider-Man and Spider-Man: No Way Home
It's hard to say if anyone expected Aunt May to die in either Marvel's Spider-Man or Spider-Man: No Way Home. This is a sacred character and one that can only be killed off with that aforementioned confidence. She is all Peter Parker has. Yes, he has love interests, but they can leave him at any time. Aunt May is his rock and killing her is a permanent choice that changes everything. There's no going back after this and both Spidey stories do it with a massive gut punch.
Both deaths are done quite differently, but ultimately lead to the same result. In No Way Home, she is killed by the Green Goblin as a result of trying to help Peter. Before she dies, she says the iconic "With great power..." line and Peter is left there, alone. Forced to leave her behind as the police storm the building, he can't stay by her side. It's brutal, but maybe not as brutal as the death in Marvel's Spider-Man. This was a controversial choice when the game was in development, so much so that Marvel said Aunt May couldn't be killed in Marvel's Spider-Man. After seeing the rest of the game, Marvel thought Insomniac had earned it and allowed them to kill Aunt May.
After being poisoned, Aunt May is minutes away from dying. Peter has the cure to save her, but if he uses it on her, it can't be reproduced to cure the other citizens of New York. He ultimately has to let her die to save the rest of New York. It's one of the decisions that cements Insomniac's Spider-Man as one of the best interpretations of the character, in that it faithfully captures Peter's selfless nature, but in a way that few players would've expected.
F.E.A.S.T Features In Marvel's Spider-Man & No Way Home
In No Way Home and Marvel's Spider-Man, Aunt May works at F.E.A.S.T, a shelter that gives a roof and food to those in need. In No Way Home, a scared Norman Osborn seeks out the shelter in hopes of finding his universe's Spider-Man to help him. Once Tom Holland's Peter Parker stumbles in, he's a bit confused, but still hopes that he can be helped. He wants to be free of the Green Goblin's clutches and while Peter initially thinks it's not really his problem, Aunt May convinces him to help Osborn and the other villains.
F.E.A.S.T is a place where Peter goes to visit May and one of Marvel's Spider-Man's villains, Mister Negative. The shelter plays a pretty prominent role in both stories and ultimately helps Peter understand his responsibility to help others. Whether that be through saving people from chaos or just simply giving someone a helping hand, Spider-Man is an everyman's hero.
The (Almost) Sinister Six Are In Marvel's Spider-Man & No Way Home
Both Marvel's Spider-Man and Spider-Man: No Way Home deal with the wall-crawler taking on some of his greatest villains. Albeit, one story pulls them from other dimensions and another just has them break out of prison. Marvel's Spider-Man also depicts a more seasoned version of Peter Parker, with the web-slinger having already imprisoned many of his most famous villains, including Electro and Scorpion.
Marvel's Spider-Man utilizes Doc Ock and the rest of the Sinister Six to test Spider-Man throughout the game, while the film only uses five villains. Both of these stories also share two of the same villains: Electro and Doc Ock. There are also some similarities in how Spider-Man has to round them up individually or in smaller groups, but for the most part, the idea of the Sinister Six (or close to it) is the biggest similarity.
Spider-Man's Game Finishing Moves Appear In No Way Home
Leading up to the movie, Tom Holland confirmed that they had taken at least one of Spidey's moves from Marvel's Spider-Man. Given how much is going on in the film and how much action there is, it's easy to lose track of every cool trick that Spidey does. Insomniac Games more or less confirmed the Marvel's Spider-Man move in No Way Home, which shows up during the fight with Goblin in Happy's apartment building. Spider-Man uses his webs to slingshot himself into Goblin, causing them both to fall through a balcony. It's rather violent, but it's also not the only move to show up. During the last fight between Goblin and Spider-Man on Captain America's giant shield, Spider-Man picks Goblin up and slams him back down. This could just be a coincidence, but it's certainly similar to a move from the game.
J. Jonah Jameson Is An Internet Conspiracy Theorist
In Spider-Man: No Way Home, J.K. Simmons reprises his role as Daily Bugle's J. Jonah Jameson. In the MCU, the character is no longer a newspaper editor and is instead a podcast host that is akin to Alex Jones. Jameson is pushing supplements, spreading conspiracy theories as fact, and seems to be hosting the show out of a grungy apartment. His role is relatively minor in the grand scheme of things, but it does seem to be influenced by Insomniac's version of J. Jonah Jameson in Marvel's Spider-Man.
Marvel's Spider-Man features Jameson as an angry podcaster who spouts theories periodically throughout the game. He is never actually seen on-screen until Miles Morales, where he gets a brief cameo at the beginning of the game. Of course, newspapers aren't exactly what they used to be, so it's not impossible to imagine the next logical step for the iconic character is to become a podcaster. Given Jameson didn't appear until Far From Home in 2019, roughly a year after the game was released, and only in a small role at the end, it's possible Marvel's Spider-Man was the inspiration for his MCU counterpart in Spider-Man: No Way Home.