Spider-Man: No Way Home Was Missing Its Most Obvious Villain

Spider-Man: No Way Home saw the return of iconic villains from multiple Spider-Man movies, but it was missing its most obvious villain. Spider-Man: No Way Home flipped the MCU with the official introduction of the Multiverse by having Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire join Tom Holland as each version of Spider-Man that they originally played. Spider-Man: No Way Home also featured iconic villains from Garfield and Maguire's Spider-Man movie franchises, including The Green Goblin/Norman Osborn (Willem Defoe), Doctor Octopus/Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina), and Electro/Maxwell Dillon (Jamie Foxx).

However, in bringing back these villains Spider-Man: No Way Home missed out on bring back one of Holland’s Spider-Man enemies and the most obvious one for the movie: Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal). Doctor Strange’s (Benedict Cumberbatch) spell brings over all the people that have discovered Peter Parker’s identity just before they died. With the vast number of timelines in the MCU, Mysterio could have been pulled from another timeline and joined the fight against the three Peter Parkers. This also could have made Mysterio’s faux multiverse storyline from Spider-Man: Far From Home a reality for him and explain how he knew about the multiverse.

Could No Way Home's Missing Villain Explain A Plot Hole?

More information about the multiverses has appeared in the MCU since Spider-Man: No Way Home and audiences have now seen different timelines, especially in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which shows different variants of people as well. In Spider-Man: Far From Home, Mysterio refers to the main timeline as Earth-616, which was revealed during Doctor Strange 2 to be the MCU's main universe's real designation, but it is unclear how he knew this considering his multiverse story was meant to be a pure concoction. With the number of timelines in the multiverse it feels unlikely that it was just a coincidence that Mysterio got the designation right.

However, it is possible that Mysterio was in fact affected by Doctor Strange’s spell, and he was pushed out of the main universe and brought back earlier in the timeline. This would have meant Mysterio was actually telling the truth about the multiverse in Spider-Man: Far From Home, explaining how he knew Earth’s designation. On the other hand, Mysterio admits his multiverse story was all a lie to deceive Peter and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) so Mysterio at best he would have had to be lying about his deception, so it is unlikely that Doctor Stange’s spell had that effect and Mysterio's absence ultimately does not fix the Spider-Man: Far From Home plot hole.

Why No Way Home Was Smart For Leaving Out Mysterio

Jake Gyllenhaal as Mysterio in Spider-Man: Far From Home

Despite the plot hole in Spider-Man: Far From Home, the MCU was smart to leave Mysterio out of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Mysterio’s public statement revealing Peter’s identity left a huge impact, big enough to cause the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home to happen. As Mysterio was the one to cause this, he had a role in Spider-Man: No Way Home as the events were just a continuation of his actions.

Also, there were already several villains reappearing in Spider-Man: No Way Home and adding another would have convoluted the plot. Plus, as Mysterio had been such a recent enemy of Spider-Man, it would not have had the same impact bringing him back as it did the more iconic villains. Finally, Mysterio was not corrupted by an external force the way Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, and Electro were so the whole plot line of the antidote might not have worked for him. Despite his links to the multiverse, Mysterio’s return would have made Spider-Man: No Way Home too complicated, and it is best the most obvious villain was left out.

Next: Jake Gyllenhaal's Perfect Marvel Movie Return Is Spider-Man, Not Mysterio