Why No Way Home's Biggest Moment Isn't Just Fan-Service

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Spider-Man: No Way Home

Spider-Man: No Way Home went above and beyond expectations with its biggest moment, providing fans with something far more than simple fan service via surprise cameos. While the largest hope for the final film in the Homecoming trilogy was also its greatest secret, Marvel Studios and Sony managed to deliver incredible depth in the story of Peter Parker and his failed attempt with future Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Strange to get his life back to normal. Instead, Peter Parker's identity as a hero expanded and evolved in some incredible ways thanks to the multiverse and versions of Spider-Man himself.

As was massively hoped for, past Spider-Men Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield arrived in the MCU, having shown up just like their villains from different realities in the multiverse after Tom Holland's Peter Parker broke Doctor Strange's spell. Instead of making everyone forget that Peter Parker was Spider-Man as intended, everyone who knows that Parker and Spider-Man are one and the same in the entire multiverse start coming to the MCU. This includes Maguire and Garfield's Peter Parkers, though their appearances weren't to just placate fan expectations with minimal roles.

Instead, Spider-Man fans got what they wanted and so much more. Garfield and Maguire's debut in the MCU came at the lowest point for Tom Holland's Spider-Man, offering him guidance and a renewed purpose as a hero. Furthermore, they also created a means for the MCU's Peter to grow into his own identity and hero apart from his past mentor Iron Man, while also getting some incredibly satisfying closure for themselves by the film's end.

Why Marvel Brought Back Maguire and Garfield’s Spider-Men

Tobey Maguire Andrew Garfield Spider-Man

It's no secret that fans' desire for Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield to reprise their respective roles as Spider-Man was through the roof prior to the film's release. From the moment it was revealed that the final Homecoming film would be a multiversal adventure, hopes and theories began for a possible return of Tobey's Maguire's Spider-Man from the 2002 trilogy directed by Sam Raimi and Andrew's Peter Parker from the Amazing Spider-Man films from 2012 and 2014. Garfield in particular received non-stop questioning from fans and interviewers alike in regards to whether or not he'd be in Spider-Man: No Way Home (which he vehemently denied on several occasions to protect the integrity of the surprise).

Calls for the past Spider-Men to return only got louder when it was confirmed that several villains from Maguire and Garfield's films would be serving as the antagonists such as Alfred Molina's Doc Ock alongside Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin, reprising their roles from the Raimi Spider-Man trilogy nearly 20 years ago (as well as Thomas Hayden Church's Sandman). These three Spider-Man villains were also joined by Rhys Ifans' Lizard and Jaime Foxx's Electro from the Amazing Spider-Man films. As such, having Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield teaming up alongside Tom Holland to bring all three live-action Spider-Men together on the big screen must have felt like an obligation on the part of Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures.

Past Spiders Allow The MCU’s Spider-Man To Move On From Iron Man

As previously mentioned, the arrivals of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's different Peter Parkers are more than brief cameos. Both Spider-Men arrive at the end of the second act of No Way Home right after the MCU's Peter has lost his Aunt May when Green Goblin took over Norman Osborn's mind and killed her. Sharing their own stories of loss and affirming May's last words about power and responsibility as the same words they also live by in their universes, Maguire and Garfield's Peters help the MCU Spider-Man get back up and keep fighting. Furthermore, their influence becomes key for Tom Holland's Peter and his future as Spider-Man, allowing him to move on from Iron Man.

As the final battle with the multiversal villains begins in the third act, the Spider-Men all work as a team and hit their stride as a trio of Webslingers, providing the action scenes fans had been dreaming of for months. However, Maguire and Garfield go beyond by helping Peter overcome the rage and desire for revenge against the Green Goblin. As a result, Tom Holland's Peter seemingly decides to honor both Spider-Men once the battle ends and everyone is sent back home.

In the final scene of the film, the MCU's Spider-Man made himself a new suit that looks incredibly classic that's more in line with the past spider-suits worn by Maguire and Garfield (and less Iron Man-inspired). While Tony Stark was an incredible mentor and helped elevate Peter Parker as an Avenger-level hero, Peter Parker's overreliance on his tech and suits had long been a criticism. Thanks to Tobey and Andrew's Peter Parkers, the opportunity was created in No Way Home for the MCU's Spider-Man to finally become more of his own hero with a more unique identity as he enters adulthood, having been shaped by versions of himself.

Maguire and Garfield Have True Purpose In No Way Home While Getting Real Closure

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Marvel Studios and Sony exceeded expectations by giving Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's Spider-Men true purpose in No Way Home. Their roles were crucial to the plot and couldn't have been pulled off by anyone else in the MCU as no there's no one quite like Spider-Man himself. However, not only did they help shape the MCU's Peter Parker into the hero he'll become in a future Spider-Man trilogy, but they also got closure for their own stories as well. Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man revealed that he and Mary Jane worked things out and made their relationship work. Furthermore, his primary focus was to see his villains get cured, a goal that ultimately succeeded.

However, considering that Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man is the only Webslinger to not receive a full trilogy, the closure he achieves is much more meaningful for himself as well as for fans of the Amazing Spider-Man films. While he failed to save Gwen Stacy in his second and final film, he was able to save the MCU's MJ when she fell off the Statue of Liberty in a similar fashion. It's a huge moment with some deeply significant redemption, serving as one of the most heart-wrenching of the entire film for fans as well as for Garfield's version of Spider-Man.

While No Way Home could have elected to keep the focus on Tom Holland's Spider-Man or have had Maguire and Garfield's appearances regulated to simple cameos, it's clear that their efforts to go above and beyond the fan expectations was the perfect way to go. The past Spider-Men have a true and genuine purpose as they help the MCU's Spider-Man save the day and defeat their villains. However, the fact that they go even further by elevating the MCU's Peter Parker into an even better hero and Spider-Man than he was before is a true joy for fans of the Webslinger. It's why Spider-Man: No Way Home is being considered by many to be the greatest Spider-Man movie yet.

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