Tom Holland’s Spider-Man has had his fair share of tragic moments, starting from the death of his mentor Iron Man, but Spider-Man: No Way Home’s ending may have just made Tony’s death painfully more significant. Spider-Man, in all of his iterations, often has to deal with loss; it’s what solidifies the character as a symbol of hope and perseverance. In most of the previous movie franchises, this mentor has been Uncle Ben; however, the MCU has only hinted at his fate in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Instead, Iron Man took up Peter's mentor role and their relationship showed a vulnerable side to both superheroes.

While Spider-Man: Far From Home had already shown Peter learning to cope with his grief, following Tony’s death, the latest entry in the Spider-Man franchise sees the character pushed to his limits. Spider-Man: No Way Home brought back the murderous Green Goblin from Sam Raimi's trilogy, who ultimately ended up killing Aunt May. Despite her death, Aunt May was still able to help set Peter on the right path, delivering the iconic “With great power, comes great responsibility” line. She was the one that helped Peter realize that he would need to sacrifice his personal life in order to keep his loved ones safe, like Ned and MJ, even if it meant that he would have to give up everything. This was where the movie left Spider-Man, without any friends and without any aid.

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It was an ending that sorely highlighted Spider-Man’s detachment from Iron Man, both within the universe and to the audience, as the hero donned a homemade suit for the closing credits of Spider-Man: No Way Home. It’s upsetting as there are many parts of the movie where Peter probably could have used Tony’s direct advice, as a public superhero himself who could probably have kept Peter and his loved ones safe. Even certain throwaway lines seem to be stark reminders of this; the instigating reason behind why Peter went to Doctor Strange was after he and his friends were rejected from MIT, whereas in Spider-Man: Homecoming, Tony mentioned that it’s “not too late to think about college” and that he had some influence at MIT.

Tom Holland as Spider-Man in Spider-Man: Far From Home and Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark in Captain America: Civil War.

Instead, Peter now has to start from scratch with no one in the world knowing who he is. Armed with the gadgets and the suit that Tony gave him, the MCU has had a unique character arc for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man who started with everything yet had to learn the true essence of what it meant to be a hero. One of the key complaints that audiences had for this Spider-Man was his dependent relationship with Iron Man, however, that connection has been severed entirely now, albeit with some devastating consequences for the hero. Without Stark’s tech, there is a looming question of whether Spider-Man can still face threats at the same scale as he used to and that lays down questions about his status as an Avenger as well.

However, the most important question of all will be Peter’s character arc moving forward, as a hero who now knows that depending on his friends might end up getting him killed. The Peter Parker that Spider-Man: No Way Home ends on is completely alone, with both his support system and his identity ripped from him. While his interaction with Happy suggests that he might still be able to interact with the Avengers in his masked identity, it’s painful to be reminded that he’s left in a world where he’s completely alone especially when Tony might have been the perfect person to give him advice for his situation in the end.

Ultimately, the next appearance of the web crawler may explore new ground for Peter’s character that hasn’t been seen on a live-action platform before. Tony’s death may even have a silver lining, as it will finally be time for Peter to choose his own path in the MCU without having to remain under the shadow of another mentor. Spider-Man: No Way Home may have ended the character’s arc within the larger Marvel universe, however, the more grounded premise may become an opportunity to truly explore who Peter Parker really is.

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