So, Spider-Man: No way home, Yes? I, an insatiable fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, saw it last night. It may be a shock to hear I know, but it’s good – like, Yes, really Well. And not only is it a wonderfully inventive, heartfelt blockbuster, but it also features some of the MCU’s most mind-boggling credits stingers.
Like every movie (and some TV shows) in MCU canon, Spider-Man: No way home Contains clips after the credits: one immediately after the stylized credit crawl and one at the very end after the soundtrack and copyright notices have rolled out. If you’ve just wondered if it was worth staying around for the glare of the theater lights to come back on, yes, it is very much. But for those who have already seen the movie, here’s what the post-credits scenes mean for the future of the MCU.
Massive spoilers for the film Spider-Man: No way home, plus some milder ones for the video game Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, exist beyond here. You have been warned!
Since day one, Marvel’s primary MO has been about getting viewers to see every movie in canon, or risking missing references and not having a full understanding of MCU continuity. In the light of Spider-Man: No way homeHaving a subscription to the Disney + streaming service (or, uh, knowing a friend who can text their partner’s roommate to sign up) is as good as required to keep up with these things. Judging by the cash register numbers, it’s a fair bet that many of you have already seen Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and both former MCUs Spider Man Movies. But let’s be honest: have you kept up with the increasing number of TV series? No way homeThe end credits footage contains the shows exclusive to Disney + to an extent that previous MCU films do not.
First Spider-Man No way home Scene after the credits
We see Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock sitting in a beach bar hammering drinks like any interdimensionally teleported journalist would. He chats with the bartender about all of the apparently ridiculous events of the MCU’s past few years and questions the credibility of a rich man who flies around making things (Iron Man), a purple alien who wants to make up half of all living things to eliminate (Thanos), and a huge green dude who likes to hit things (Hulk). Brock stands up and announces his plans to find “that Peter Parker” guy (Spider-Man) before teleporting back into his own universe, a result of Doctor Strange’s multiverse repair spell that appears to have been successful. After Brock disappears, the camera pans to a drop of black goo on the bar blanket. Dun dun dun!
This obviously suggests that in some ways, Venom may technically exist in the MCU. What is less clear is what role this could be and whether Tom Hardy (who played Brock in the non-MCU or not) Poison Movies) repeat the character or when Marvel villains want a different actor for the role. Now that multiple timelines are an integral part of the MCU – formally set up over Loki, yes, but now also with a crossover of, Hm, a non-Disney company – the door is open to anything.
Required display as a result: Poison, Poison: Let there be carnage
Second Spider-Man: No way home Scene after the credits
The poison that may be present in the MCU is a big deal. A bigger deal is the future of Doctor Strange, who is next up on a tentpole show. Instead of a short clip, as is common for such guy stingers, No way home ends with a full-blown trailer for the coming Doctor Strange in the multiverse of madness, out next May. (Fun Fact: This is to be controlled by Sam Raimiwho directed the mid-2000s Spider Man Trilogy and leaves an indelible mark on the cultural iconography of our friendly neighborhood hero.) It’s quite a lot. Let’s break it down:
- Doctor Strange meets with Scarlet Witch, whose status and location remained ostentatiously vague after the finale of WandaVision. Turns out she’s hanging out on a farm. Strange needs her help with spells where timelines branch out from the multiverse.
- During a battle scene there is a brief glimpse of a giant tentacle monster. To me, it bore a strong resemblance to Dweller-in-Darkness – not the nightmarish, dragon-inspired version of the villain from Shang-Chi and the legend of the ten rings rather the one in which you fight as an early game boss Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (the videogame). CNET suggests it could possibly be the sea monster Throats, an archive villain from the comics. I’m not entirely sure I can see it, but the glimpse into the sting was too fleeting to say anything decisive in one way or another.
- Mordo who turned evil into a wizard Doctor Strange, fights Strange in a kind of chamber with anomalous dimensions. He has many speakers. Still seems pissed off … whatever he was pissed off in the 2016 movie.
- In the end, Strange Supreme, an alternate timeline version of Doctor Strange, exits a portal. In other words, yes, you have to check it out What if…who have favourited Disney + Anthology Series with Alternate Timeline Vignettes about MCU Characters. (Short version for those who don’t want it: This version of Strange is totally obsessed with resuscitating his wife Christine, who died in this universe. The non-trailer shows clips of Rachel McAdams who Christine in Doctor Strange, is wearing a wedding dress.)
In all of this, there is one blatant, persistent thread that will likely be answered in Multiverse of madness. At one point, Mordo voice-over reprimands Strange for dealing with the multiverse. In No way home, Strange did the whole “mess with the multiverse” on behalf of Spider-Man. And if you remember, Strange specifically casts a spell that will make anyone, including yourself, forget who Spider-Man is. So he’s supposed to just grapple with the fact that he manipulated the universe for … why exactly? On whose behalf?
From my point of view, there are not 14.00.065 possible outcomes here, but two. First, Strange just comes with the idea that he the heck smashed the multiverse and smashed it again. Second, he learns the truth by either reversing, weakening, or otherwise screwing up the illusion he created to collectively wipe out Peter Parker. (It secure seems like Tom Holland will repeat his role as Peter Parker for three more films.) Tom Holland will not be billed Multiverse of madness, but No way home cemented that actors can appear in significant roles in an MCU movie without appearing on the relevant IMDb page.
Required display as a result: Doctor Strange, WandaVision, Loki, What if… Episode four
In front Avengers: Endgame, the plot points of these films have been thought out so meticulously. The MCU production apparatus is, after all, the same sophisticated machine as it was in 2014 planned its storylines until 2028. Say what you like about their merits and themes, but the continuities of the MCU films were, by and large, dense.
Now that interdimensional space magic is irrevocably in the mix, all bets are made. The recent MCU productions have been full of moments to be questioned with all of Loki to Eternal shows action holes even with moderate pedantry. But I’m not saying that as a criticism. The entire canon is still a blast, and we’re still talking about adaptations based on thousands of characters spread across decades of literature. These storylines are sure to be rocky.
This massive and distinctive foray into multiple timelines isn’t limited to just the movies and TV shows. It’s also present in the blockbuster games. For example, there is a moment in the middle Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (which, by the way, is excellent) where Peter Quill and Co. travel through a pocket dimension with portals to unpredictable alternative realities. If you pass one you can hear Hulk smashing some things followed by Captain America yelling something about this team called “The Avengers” that is gathering. Quill and Co., for their part, tease the name of the team. It’s a beautiful moment that underscores an otherwise tense sequence of events.
Not sure if the dialogue is from the widespread 2020 Marvel’s Avengers Video game or from the largely unwashed movie board or just an Easter Egg that was explicitly included in development to get players to “Hey, wait a second …” a long time, long while it feels like anything is possible inside the MCU. To hell with the formula. There is no going back.
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