Warning: This post contains spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Spider-Man: No Way Home plot holes and biggest questions answered. For a while, it was unclear whether the Marvel Cinematic Universe would include another solo Spider-Man entry, so it makes sense that No Way Home brings together the MCU and Sony’s legacy Spider-Man characters for an adventure that opens the gateway to the multiverse.
Following the events of Spider-Man: Far From Home, Peter’s identity as Spider-Man has been outed to the public and it put him and his friends and family under a lot of unwanted scrutiny. That is, until Peter sought out Doctor Strange for help fixing things by erasing his identity from the minds of the world. When the spell doesn’t go according to plan, the multiverse cracks wide open, bringing with it villains who knew Spider-Man from other worlds, including Doctor Octopus and Green Goblin.
While the film’s multiversal team-up between Tom Holland, Tobey Maguire, and Andrew Garfield’s versions of Spider-Man has brought fans much joy, Spider-Man: No Way Home isn’t without its fair share of plot holes. Here are the ten biggest plot holes, with the attempt to answer what the film ultimately leaves out.
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How Can The Multiverse Resurrect Dead Villains?
Doctor Strange’s spell broke open the multiverse, bringing in the people who knew Peter’s identity. But considering most of the villains who emerged were dead in their own worlds, it’s unclear how the multiverse could resurrect them at all. It’s possible, however, that the timelines of other worlds work differently — as in, the events of Spider-Man 2 could have just happened and that’s why Doc Ock doesn’t remember dying at all. Conversely, it could be that the spell got so out of hand the villains were pulled out of their timelines right before they actually died. As Doctor Strange says, the multiverse is something about which very little is known, so the rules (and all the timeline inconsistencies) reflect as much.
Why Did No One Investigate Quentin Beck/Mysterio?
With all the accusations lobbied against Peter in Spider-Man in No Way Home, it’s surprising no one (not even the public who believes Mysterio) questioned Quentin Beck’s actions or looked into his backstory as a Stark Industries employee who was fired. Did everyone just assume he was from another world? Why do they think Spider-Man had a vendetta against him at all? It’s possible many really just wanted to make a villain out of Spider-Man. People were still reeling from the Blip and the return of half the world’s population; the tension was high. There are also many who don’t question the information they’re being given, painting Mysterio as the innocent one without much thought to the contrary. If they had, the investigators would have probably done a lot more digging instead of bringing Peter in immediately for questioning.
How Did Aunt May & Happy Meet If Not Through Peter As Spider-Man?
May Parker and Happy Hogan met through Peter. In fact, Happy really only worked with Peter because he knew he was Spider-Man and he probably wouldn’t know his aunt if they’d never crossed paths at all. Without the knowledge of his secret identity, it could be that Happy and Aunt May met under different circumstances, perhaps her work for her non-profit organization saw her cross paths with Stark Industries at some point and that’s where she and Happy met. Either way, the scenario implies the past changed somehow to accommodate the lapse in everyone’s memories since Peter Parker/Spider-Man played a big role in the lives of many.
How Did Electro Know Peter Parker Was Spider-Man?
Electro died at the end of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, his body overloaded with power. He never got the chance to learn Spider-Man’s true identity. Spider-Man: No Way Home also reaffirms the fact the villain didn’t know Peter’s identity — when Garfield’s Spider-Man goes to remove his mask, Electro is surprised he’s a young man and jokes about thinking he was Black. Considering Electro’s second appearance still doesn’t bring awareness regarding Peter’s identity as the web-slinging hero, it’s strange he was pulled through the breach in the multiverse at all. It’s possible Electro absorbed so much power right before his death in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 that he also managed to learn Peter’s identity. Perhaps he remembers Peter’s name somehow and that’s why he was pulled in, which explains why he figured MCU’s Peter was the right guy he should be after.
How Did Venom Know Peter Parker Was Spider-Man?
The excitement of seeing Tom Hardy return as Eddie Brock in Spider-Man: No Way Home’s mid-credits scene aside, it makes little sense that Venom would be pulled in through the multiverse breach and into the MCU. Following the events of Venom and Venom: Let There Be Carnage, there’s zero indication that the character knows who Spider-Man is and seems to have never heard of Peter Parker. Venom was rather confused by the multiverse and struggled to understand Thanos and the Blip before being sent back to his own world. All told, it could be another iteration of Eddie Brock/Venom who was in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Similar to how Loki had a variant who looked just like him in his self-titled Disney+ series, the same could be said of Venom in the MCU. A different version of the same character could explain the plot discrepancy, at the very least.
How Did Doc Ock Know Green Goblin/Norman Osborn?
When Spider-Man mentions Green Goblin, Doc Ock explains that his arrival is inconceivable given he’s been dead for years. However, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy never confirmed the public ever knew Norman Osborn became Green Goblin. Despite Dr. Otto Octavius having been an employee of Oscorp and knowing Osborn’s son, Harry, there’s no explanation for why he would be privy to Green Goblin’s secrets, which were kept under wraps. It could be that Doc Ock did his own research at some point and figured out Green Goblin and Norman were one of the same. He could have also stumbled upon the information working at Oscorp and kept it to himself out of respect for Harry. Either way, it remains unexplained in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Do MJ And Ned Remember Working With Spider-Man?
MJ and Ned have been working with Spider-Man and it’s a big part of the trio’s relationship throughout the films. Not remembering Peter suggests they may not have worked with Spider-Man at all despite the fact he’s still a very public superhero. If they did work with Spider-Man, would they just recall aiding the superhero with his mask always on? At the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Peter notices MJ (whose full name is Michelle-Jones Watson) still has a scar from the battle atop the Statue of Liberty, but all she says is she barely even feels it anymore. This suggests she could have worked with Spider-Man despite not knowing who Peter was. To what extent, however, remains uncertain.
Why Didn't Holland's Spidey-Sense "Tingle" Notice Daredevil's Brick And Green Goblin Stabbing Maguire?
Spider-Man is famous for his Spidey-sense, which allows him to become aware of any near and present danger before it actually happens. However, there were a few moments in Spider-Man: No Way Home when the superhero’s ability utterly failed him. So why didn’t Peter’s tingle sense the brick being thrown through a window (that Daredevil caught) or Green Goblin stabbing Maguire’s Spider-Man before it happened? The easiest explanation here is that the plot required it to be as such to give Daredevil a moment to shine and for the shock to sink in regarding the fate of Maguire’s Peter. After all, Spider-Man was able to sense Thanos’ snap before it actually happened. However, an in-world explanation here could be simply be that Peter was distracted by other things and his emotions were heightened to the point that he wasn’t able to think beyond that.
How Did Doctor Octopus Know Where To Find Spider-Man?
Doctor Octopus showed up at a rather inopportune time on the bridge: Peter was trying to give his friends a fighting chance to get into MIT and talk to the chancellor to do so. But what doesn’t track is how the villain knew exactly where to find Peter. The only explanation is that Doc Ock had arrived through the crack in the multiverse at that exact location; since the spell draws in people who know Peter’s identity, it explains why Doc Ock likely arrived in the one spot where Spider-Man was already conducting business. And since it's also near the water, which is where Doc Ock was last seen, popping back in on a bridge makes sense.
How Can Ned Open Portals With No Training?
Ned Leeds, Peter’s best friend, claimed he had magic in his family and that proved to be correct when he used Doctor Strange’s ring to open up a portal to other worlds. But how could Ned do something so powerful with absolutely no training? After all, it took Doctor Strange a long time to learn how to properly wield magic (and he still messed up the spell to erase Peter’s identity). However, Spider-Man: No Way Home teased Ned’s family history with the mystic arts, so it’s possible magic came far more naturally to him because of his lineage. He might not have known exactly what he was doing, which is why the last portal didn’t close, but when he genuinely wanted to find Peter he was able to do so fairly quickly. This suggests the combination of magic in his blood and connection to Peter allowed Ned to open portals successfully.
Key Release Dates
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Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness
Release Date:2022-05-06 -
Thor: Love and Thunder
Release Date:2022-07-08 -
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Release Date:2022-11-11 -
captain marvel 2
Release Date:2023-07-28 -
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Release Date:2023-05-05 -
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Release Date:2023-02-17
