Warning: This article contains full spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home! If you're just curious whether the sequel has any post-credits scenes, the answer is yes. As with most MCU movies, there's a mid-credits scene and an end-credits scene, both of which tease major developments to come for Marvel Studios.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is a real treasure trove for Spidey fans, bringing back a number of fan-favorite heroes and villains and capping off Peter Parker's MCU journey so far. A lot has changed for our Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, and not necessarily for the better.
Did the finale of No Way Home leave you scratching your head? Are you confused as to how Peter's restored secret identity works or whether Spider-Man is still an Avenger? Let's break down exactly what happened and why Spider-Man's MCU future will be very different from what we've seen up until now.
No Way Home Ending Explained: How Does Doctor Strange's Spell Work?
No Way Home ends on a pretty bleak note for an MCU movie. Having successfully dealt with the invading multiverse villains and bid farewell to Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's Spider-Men, Spidey successfully enlists Doctor Strange's help in making the world forget his secret identity. However, there's a pivotal catch. The world remembers Spider-Man, but no one seems to have any memory of Peter Parker. That includes his two closest friends, Ned and MJ.
This worldwide mind-wipe is reminiscent of how Marvel Comics restored Spidey's secret identity in the aftermath of 2006's Civil War comic. In that case, Doctor Strange, Mister Fantastic and Iron Man collaborated on a hybrid magical spell/technological machine that made everyone in the world forget who's under the mask. But the key difference is that, in the comics, no one was made to forget Peter's existence, just that he foolishly outed himself as a superhero at an internationally televised press conference.
But in the MCU it seems Peter Parker has basically become a nonentity. Peter even reneges on his promise to reintroduce himself to Ned and MJ, deciding his friends are better off no longer being caught up in Spider-Man's drama. He's now entirely alone in the world, which is a pretty depressing way to end a superhero movie, if we're being frank.
The question that will no doubt be explored in future Spider-Man movies is what Peter does with this "gift." Does he devote himself fully to becoming Spider-Man? Does he try to rebuild his private life, even having lost Aunt May and becoming a stranger to Ned and MJ? Is this where other iconic supporting characters like Harry Osborn and Gwen Stacy will come into play? Is there still a place for Ned, MJ, Flash Thompson and Peter's other lost friends? We'll find out in Spider-Man 4.
Is Spider-Man Still an Avenger?
If the entire world has forgotten Peter Parker's existence, what does that mean for his connections to the Avengers (or whatever shell of the team even exists post-Endgame)? Based on what we know of the effects of Strange's spell, the world still remembers Spider-Man's past exploits. The Avengers will remember fighting alongside Spidey in Infinity War and Endgame, but they no longer remember who was underneath the mask.
Essentially, Spider-Man's history as an Avenger remains intact, but the team would have no way of contacting him in the event of another emergency. The ball is entirely in Peter's court as to whether he still wants to serve alongside Earth's Mightiest Heroes. That may play into his future MCU character arc. Does he try to go it alone, or does he open himself up to new allies again?
This outcome may even be a case of Sony and Disney hedging their bets regarding Spider-Man's cinematic future. Spidey nearly exited the MCU after the release of Far From Home, and at one point No Way Home almost followed a completely different plot as a result. The two companies are clearly on much better terms now, but this ending could theoretically have been used to justify Spider-Man's sudden disappearance from the larger MCU. Let's just hope that never becomes necessary.
The Avengers will remember fighting alongside Spidey in Infinity War and Endgame, but they no longer remember who was underneath the mask.
Spider-Man's New Status Quo
Whether you view this giant mind-wipe as a happy or depressing ending to the current Spider-Man trilogy, it's clear No Way Home is setting up a new status quo for Holland's Peter Parker going forward. The MCU seems to be veering in a more comic book-inspired direction here.
Previously, Holland's Spider-Man has always stood out for being different from the classical Spidey. He's never really been the struggling, blue-collar hero who hides his double life from Aunt May and pays the bills with photos of Spider-Man. This version has instead been portrayed as the heir apparent to Tony Stark, with plenty of high-tech tools and the support of powerful allies in the Avengers. But by choosing anonymity, Peter has basically abandoned that destiny in favor of going it alone.
Future Spider-Man movies in the MCU may start to draw more heavily from the classic Amazing Spider-Man stories of the '70s and '80s, a time when Peter was juggling his superhero adventures, his college career and his chaotic romantic life. We may see more of that classic Spidey supporting cast finally be introduced, including Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborn.
The same goes for Spider-Man's villains. It's unclear how many of those characters are available to Marvel Studios and what's permitted under the current terms of the agreement between Marvel and Sony, but we have to imagine the MCU will eventually get its own versions of characters like Norman Osborn and Otto Octavius. And don't forget, we still don't know who bought Avengers Tower from Tony back in Spider-Man: Homecoming. There's always a chance the fan theory about Osborn being the new owner could pan out in future Spider-Man sequels. (Though Norman must be keeping a low profile if he exists in the MCU, as Willem Dafoe's version of him says there's no Oscorp in this universe.)
This shift toward a more traditional status quo is embodied in the scene where Peter stitches together a new costume. This suit is decidedly low-tech compared to his various Stark-designed costumes, and it has a brighter, more comic-book faithful color scheme. After all those years spent dreaming of making it to the superhero big leagues, Spidey is now content to focus on his little corner of the MCU. We'll see if that lasts.
Does Spider-Man: No Way Home Have a Post Credits Scene?
No Way Home contains both a mid-credits and post-credits scene (well, not really a scene, but we'll get to that in a second), and the former in particular offers a very intriguing tease for the future of the franchise. That scene basically acts as the sequel to Venom: Let There Be Carnage's stinger, touching base with Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock and the Venom symbiote as they continue to hide out in Mexico -- the MCU's Mexico, that is, where they were transported to last we saw them. After marveling at the number of superhumans present in this alternate universe, Eddie is dragged back to his home universe along with the other Spider-Man villains, apparently the result of Strange's spell zapping everyone home.
The twist, though, is that part of the symbiote is left behind. This seems to hint at an ongoing role for Venom in the MCU, whether or not Hardy continues to voice this symbiote offshoot. We may see Peter stumble across the symbiote fragment in a future sequel, setting the stage for the MCU's take on the Black Costume Saga. Check back with IGN soon for a more detailed look at this scene and its implications for the franchise.
The post-credits sequence, meanwhile, is actually a sizzle reel/teaser for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. This footage offers a glimpse of the major players in the film, including Benedict Cumberbatch's Stephen Strange, Chiwetel Ejiofor's Karl Mordo, Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff, Xochitl Gomez's Miss America Chavez and Benedict Wong's Wong.
The big reveal in this footage is that at least one other version of Doctor Strange will appear. This character appears to be Strange Supreme, who originally appeared in Marvel's What If...?: Season 1. This version of Strange transformed himself into an unholy fusion of man and demon in order to amass enough power to save his version of Christine Palmer. Instead, Strange Supreme wound up destroying his entire universe. He may well be the main villain of the new movie, and will likely see Wanda as a magical tool worth exploiting.
IGN has a deeper breakdown of the Doctor Strange teaser and why the animated series What If...? has just become essential viewing.
For more on No Way Home, be sure to check out IGN's review of the Spider-Man sequel, dig in on our 10 biggest No Way Home WTF questions, catch up on what Spider-Man: No Way Home's mid-credits scene means for Venom, and learn more about how Sony considered keeping the multiverse elements a secret.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
