Warning: This article contains spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Marvel Studios’ latest ambitious superhero epic, Spider-Man: No Way Home, has done something that no comic book movie has ever done before. The movie’s multiversal madness pulls previous on-screen incarnations of Spidey and his villains into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After months of rumors and speculation, No Way Home actually culminated in Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland’s Peter Parkers all swinging into action together.
Naturally, in a movie that incorporates three Spider-Men and a Sinister Six’s worth of villains from existing films, there are plenty of references to previous Spider-Man movies.
Maguire’s Bad Back
Some of the most fun moments in No Way Home take place right before the final battle on the Statue of Liberty. During the downtime when they’re waiting for the villains to show up, the three Spider-Men share some hilarious banter.
Maguire’s Spidey’s bad back, one of the recurring gags in the Sam Raimi-helmed Spider-Man trilogy, starts acting up ahead of the climactic battle and Garfield’s Spidey cracks it for him.
“Go Get ‘Em, Tiger!”
On Peter’s first day back in school after being exposed as Spider-Man, Betty Brant reports about it on the A.V. club’s news show. Her sign-off – “Go get ‘em, tiger!” – is a nod to a recurring line from Raimi’s trilogy.
Kirsten Dunst’s Mary Jane used to say this to Maguire’s Spidey before he’d swing into action. In No Way Home, Betty adds, “...or should I say, ‘spider’?”
Electro’s Nod To Miles Morales
When Garfield’s Spidey unmasks in front of Jamie Foxx’s Electro, Electro is disappointed because he always thought Spider-Man was Black.
Electro adds, “There’s gotta be a Black Spider-Man out there somewhere,” as a nod to Miles Morales, star of Into the Spider-Verse. This line could be read as a hint that a live-action version of Miles is coming to the MCU.
“The Power Of The Sun... In The Palm Of My Hand.”
There’s a ton of plot and exposition to get through in No Way Home. The screenwriters did a fantastic job of economically explaining the magic, multiversal madness, and ambitious franchise crossovers that take place in the movie.
The script tells the audience that Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock was transported into the MCU right after sacrificing himself in the lake in Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 with a single line evoking memories of the classic superhero sequel: “The power of the Sun... in the palm of my hand.”
J.K. Simmons As J. Jonah Jameson
J.K. Simmons first reprised his role as Daily Bugle editor J. Jonah Jameson in the MCU during the mid-credits scene of Far From Home, in which he revealed Peter’s identity to the world and framed him for Mysterio’s attack on London.
Jameson has a much larger role in No Way Home as he follows Spidey around with cameras and tries to catch incriminating footage. This modernized version of Jameson spreads conspiracy theories on the internet. The Bugle isn’t a newspaper; it’s a website styled after InfoWars.
Nick Fury Is Off-World
When Damage Control arrests Peter early in No Way Home, he tells them that Nick Fury can provide an airtight alibi, since they just teamed up (or so he thinks). In a reference to Far From Home’s post-credits twist reveal, the agents inform him that Fury hasn’t been on Earth for a year.
When Peter finds out Fury has been off-planet for months, he’s baffled because, as far as he knows, he just spent a week on a European superhero adventure with him.
Maguire’s Spidey & MJ Made It Work
For the most part, No Way Home avoids revealing too much about the events of the Raimi timeline after the end of Spider-Man 3. But at one point, he explains to Garfield’s Spidey that he made it work with the MJ from his universe and that it’s possible to be a masked crimefighter and a committed boyfriend simultaneously.
Maguire’s Spidey and Dunst’s Mary Jane had a strained romance all throughout the Raimi trilogy, so it’s comforting to know that they made it work in the end.
“I’m Something Of A Scientist Myself.”
“The power of the Sun in the palm of my hand” isn’t the only oft-memed quote from the Raimi-helmed Spider-Man trilogy that gets repeated in No Way Home.
When Norman Osborn is imprisoned in Doctor Strange’s dungeon and Peter explains that he’ll use science to help the villains, Norman tells him, “I’m something of a scientist myself.” Willem Dafoe nails Norman’s smug, arrogant smile in his re-delivery of the line.
Garfield’s Redemption
After The Amazing Spider-Man 3 was canceled, No Way Home has provided emotional closure on the biggest cliffhanger from The Amazing Spider-Man 2: Garfield’s Spidey’s guilt over Gwen Stacy’s death. He saves Zendaya’s MJ in a very similar scenario to his failure to save Gwen.
He asks MJ, “Are you okay?” Seeing how distraught and moved he is, she replies, “Yeah… are you okay?” In one heartbreaking look, Garfield provides more closure on his Spidey arc than a whole third Amazing Spider-Man movie could. He can finally see the light and start to forgive himself.
With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility
One of the most controversial aspects of the MCU’s Spider-Man movies is their lack of acknowledgment of Uncle Ben, the father figure whose wisdom has always guided Peter in the comics. No Way Home makes up for this by giving the most iconic Uncle Ben moment to Marisa Tomei’s Aunt May.
When May is struck by the Goblin’s glider, she dies in her nephew’s arms and passes on the full version of Ben’s quote from the comics: “With great power, there must also come great responsibility.”