The following article contains spoilers forSpider-Man: No Way Home.
For several months there had been a pervasive notion that Marvel Studios movies could have possibly lost their Midas touch, this was due to every single film released in 2021 struggling to make money. However, when trouble arises and things start to look bad, it’s good to know the MCU can always call on its friendly neighborhoodSpider-Manto save the day.
Spider-Man: No Way Homehas absolutely taken the world by storm since its premiere, racking up -at the time of writing- over $800m dollars in box office revenue worldwide after a first week that saw many fighting to get early tickets to go see the movie. Although the vast majority of that money will not end up in Disney’s coffers instead boosting Sony’s fiscal earnings,Spider-Manwill ensure the entire MCU heads towards 2022 on much better terms.
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In all fairness,Black Widow,Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings, andEternalsmostly failed to turn big profits due to distribution complications and overall conditions imposed by the pandemic, thoughF9andNo Time to Diealso prove those hills could be climbed. Nevertheless, as stated in Disney’s latest earnings call, the MCU’s high marketing and distribution costs were ultimately to blame for the movies’ eventual losses. NotSpider-Manthough, he doesn’t play by those rules.
Running on the same reported budget asEternals'$200m, the closing chapter to Tom Holland’s first trilogy as Spider-Man is a resounding success for many reasons, but none more so than the fact that it’s a largely superior movie. Sure,Spider-Manhas been part of the movie industry for nearly two decades now, and months of hype-inducing rumors involving Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and their respective villains surpass the result any marketing budget can deliver, nevertheless,No Way Homeis winning over fansbecause it gets so many things right.
Ever since Iron Man and Cap said their goodbyes inAvengers: Endgame, the MCU has been looking for a new hero to fill their shoes and, with no disrespect to newCaptain AmericaAnthony Mackie, in Holland they seem to have found their man. Holland is exactly the millennial star Marvel needs right now, and the fact thatNo Way Homeis a coming-of-age storyfor his Peter Parker will only fuel that idea even more.
The reason whySony will never let go ofSpider-Manis the same way the studio got its hands on him in the first place: when it comes to Marvel, Spider-Man is king and there is no second best. However, for that same motive moviegoers are also ruthless when it comes to criticizing their movies, just askSpider-Man 3andThe Amazing Spider-Man 2for confirmation.
It appears then that producing a bad spidey film is an unforgivable sin, enough to toss out what’s been built and start over again, thus makingSpider-Manmovies the epitome ofUncle Ben’s “with great power comes great responsibility”. Maybe that’s whyNo Way Homehandles almost every aspect that went into its filming in such a delicate and thoughtful way, there’s a purpose to why all these characters are here as part of this story.
This movie could have brought back Maguire and Garfield for short cameos and that probably would have satisfied most fans, but instead, the filmturns the otherSpider-Man into full-blown supporting charactersthat are as crucial to the plot and Holland own character’s development. If indeed there’s one moreSpider-Man trilogy starring Holland, what these two actors brought to the table andNo Way Homeas a whole will be an integral part of Peter.
There are countless examples of this spread throughout the film: Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin being written to fulfill the actor’s demands for him to come back;Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock returningas if not a single day had gone by sinceSpider-Man 2;upgrades to characters that were grossly underserved in prior films like Electro, or even Aunt May; plus subtly usingNo Way Homeas thegrand stage for Charlie Cox’s return asDaredevil.
This is arguably the opposite of what Marvel Studios did with the other two films, where something likeBlack Widowcan barely justify its existence,Eternalssuffered due to its bloated cast and unsuccessful marriage between source material and Chloe Zhao, with onlyShang-Chifully passing the mark with critics and audiences. All three turned out to be flops by commercial standards and artistically they probably won’t be revisited by many further down the line.
Launching the MCU’s Phase Four with brand new faces wash never going to be an easy task, it never was back in Phase One, but withSpider-Manprovides much-needed proof that people will show up to see great movies, especially if they feature the few legacy characters that are still left from the Infinity Saga, such as Doctor Strange.
The fact thatSpider-Manis so deeply tied to Kingpin and Daredevil’s worlds should be something that Marvel Studios continues to use in the future to grow interest in brand new characters like Kate Bishop or She-Hulk, because even everyone else in the MCU had Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America to pave the way for them. Despite the complex nature of the two studios' agreement, Spider-Man the new Iron Man.
If anything,Spider-Man: No Way Home’ssuccess could drive home an uncomfortable truth for Disney, and it’s that as things stand today, the MCU needs Spider-Man much more than Peter Parker needs the MCU. The Marvel blockbuster remains safe in the current movie industry, but unless handled with care 2021 could just be the first of many underwhelming years for Disney’s business.
