Spider-Man: No Way Home changed Peter Parker’s life completely, as by the end of it, he was left all alone and starting over from scratch, but this ended up quietly risking a big plot hole in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The MCU is currently exploring its multiverse and the many dangers of it, and one of its biggest multiversal adventures so far has been Spider-Man: No Way Home, which confirmed Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy and Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man movies as part of the MCU, introducing the variants of Tom Holland’s Peter Parker.
After accidentally opening the gates to the multiverse, Spider-Man asked Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to cast a spell that would make everyone forget Peter Parker, and so the gates were closed again, but Peter was left alone. No Way Home ended with Peter moving to a small apartment and making a new Spider-Man costume while listening to the Police Radio frequency so he can know when the neighborhood needs Spider-Man. However, Peter's current situation can create an MCU plot hole thanks to the extent of Strange’s final spell.
No Way Home’s Spell Erased All Evidence Of Peter’s Existence
Strange’s final spell was successful, and even though Peter promised to go back to MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon), he ultimately decided not to introduce himself to them and left. The extent of Strange’s spell was explored a bit further in the new post-credits scene of No Way Home, which showed how the physical evidence of Peter’s existence was altered, and he’s now missing from photos and videos or he’s hidden in different ways (such as his face being obscured by a pigeon flying in front of him). All this would mean that there’s no record of Peter’s existence, meaning that he doesn’t have any valid legal documents and thus wouldn’t be able to do a lot of things, including renting an apartment.
And yet, Peter was shown arriving at a new, very small apartment at the end of No Way Home, similar to the small apartment where Peter-Two (Tobey Maguire) lived in Spider-Man 2, and unless it was a slumlord who rented him the apartment, Peter wouldn’t be able to get a place to live so easily without a valid ID and more. As No Way Home didn’t explain the extent of the final spell, Marvel has had to gradually fill in those blanks, but there’s still a lot about it that doesn’t make sense and can create more plot holes, especially when seeing the spell from a more logical side.
Will Spider-Man 4 Reverse No Way Home’s Spell?
With no evidence of his existence and thus nothing to prove that he once knew MJ, Ned, Happy Hogan, and everyone else, Peter will struggle to get his friends and colleagues back. The reveals about the spell that came with the new post-credits scene in No Way Home made reversing the spell a lot more difficult for Peter, but it might be possible that the spell has a flaw that can help Peter reverse it in Spider-Man 4. The script for No Way Home describes MJ’s reaction to seeing Peter at the end as “a flicker of déjà vu on her face”, hinting at a possible way to reverse the spell and essentially give Peter his life back. Although no one remembering Peter Parker makes way for a variety of interesting stories for future Spider-Man adventures, it’s unlikely that the spell will remain for long and will be reversed as soon as possible.