The shine of the striking blues and bright, heroic reds. The bold, iconic white eyes. A return to basics, and a bold reimagining of the origin of the iconic web head. A story of loss, courage, sacrifice, and responsibility. On December 17th, 2021, Marvel’s most recent film, Spider-man: No Way Home released. 

In an age of cookie cutter superhero films, on a roster of standard superhero cinema, a title stood out to original fans, and newcomers to the scarlet spider’s iconic origin story. Over the past 2 solo films, and a slew of crossover films, Spider-man has finally received the origin story deserving of the character. Since his introduction in 2016’s Civil War, many complained about the lack of origin story given for marvel’s most popular character. Even after the release of the hero’s first solo film in the MCU, many still voiced their concern about the apparent lack of defining character development. The most common statements being, “he’s just Ironboy” and “he hasn’t lost anything”.

While it was revealed in Marvel’s What If? that the famous web swinger did in fact lose his Uncle Ben in the MCU, the realization we wouldn’t see this moment in future films angered many. However after rumors cropped up that Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, the actors who portrayed Spider-man in the previous films, would be returning to play their incarnations, excitement for the film skyrocketed. Denying it in every interview, Garfield was asked repeatedly and more frequently until the release of the film. As more leaks and rumors spread, the film became among the most popular searches on google, and most popular topics on social media.

So, I sat in my seat and watched as fans in the cinema were brought to tears by seeing the return of fan favorite characters. In the third act of the film three Spider-men swing together, Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland. In no more than an hour, Spiderman: No way home managed to easily surpass Infinity War, as my personal favorite MCU film to date. The web swinging trio battle each’s most iconic villains, The Lizard, Electro, Sandman, Doc Ock and Green Goblin, from across all of the previous Spider-man films.

As a big fan of the 02’, 04’ and 07’ Raimi films, I was ecstatic to see such iconic characters played by the actors from the original films themselves. While Alfred Molina’s and Tom Holland’s performances were certainly astounding, Willem Dafoe stole the show. With a portrayal rivaling that of Heath ledger’s Joker, Dafoe’s Goblin was a very welcome addition to the film, tightening the tension, and the action throughout. Seeing the return of arguably Spidey’s most iconic villain certainly helped the film become what it is, and it likely would not have succeeded as much as it has, had it not been for Dafoe.

One of the best additions to the production of the film itself is the thing that allowed Dafoe to return. The award winning actor only agreed to return if he was permitted to perform all of his stunts, so in order to work around this, a physical glider was created to allow him to perform with the least cgi as possible. This as well as the use of actual suits for Maguire and Garfield’s characters, heightened the film beyond the bland overly cgi movies the MCU is now known for. 

Amazing actors, spectacular effects, incredible writing, and reat directing, Spider-Man: No Way Home swings past all of its competition as easily the best MCU film to date. The return of iconic heroes and villains, dynamic action, and incredible performances, what more could you ask for? What more could they possibly do to take this film to the next level?

Simple, bring the character back to basics. Reboot the character in universe, yet also allow for so many new stories. With Strange’s spell removing all memories and evidence of the existence of Peter Parker, Spider-Man is finally fully introduced into the MCU. With a somber, satisfying, and melancholic ending we see marvel’s most iconic character, in the most comic accurate iteration brought to the silver screen.

And as the film comes to a close, we end one story, but begin another. As the films started back in 2002, we end on Peter in a crummy apartment, working paycheck to paycheck, getting through college, and fighting to keep the people closest to him safe.

Spider-Man: No Way Home does so much more than bring in fan favorite icons, it gives us the greatest live action version of Spider-man to date.