Spider-Man: No Way Home concludes Marvel Studios and Sony’s Homecoming trilogy. In 2007, Sony concluded Sam Raimi’s trilogy starring Tobey Maguire with Spider-Man 3. It was panned by audiences and critics alike for its mismanagement of characters, plot lines, and an awful dance scene, which, to be fair, isn’t as awful as the memes would make it seem (but more on that later). Like Spider-Man 3, No Way Home has a lot of characters revolving around Tom Holland’s webslinger.
As a follow-up to Far From Home, the film sees Peter Parker seek Doctor Strange’s (Benedict Cumberbatch) help make the world forget he’s Spider-Man. Inevitably, their spell goes awry and characters from Sony’s past are brought into the MCU, including (but not limited to) Spider-Man 2’s Doc Ock (Alfred Molina) and The Amazing Spider-Man 2’s Electro (Jamie Foxx). So, does No Way Home fail where Spider-Man 3 failed? Or, does it embrace “with great power comes great responsibility?” Our latest Mandatory Movie Battle features multiple Spider-Man (s) as we waste our time pitting No Way Home against Spider-Man 3. Major spoiler warnings!
Photo: Marvel Studios/Sony
Everything Spider-Man 3 does wrong, No Way Home does right, and then some. It’s more than just a movie, it’s an ode to Spider-Man, superhero cinema, and is one hell of a nostalgia trip. Yes, it’s also fan service but it’s fan service done right (as can be seen by its outrageous box office numbers). The decision to make the live-action Spider-Verse a reality may have been a monetary one. However, there’s something undeniably special about watching No Way Home in theaters and basking in the cheers/applause of audience members. This movie battle wasn’t even fair and we should be admonished for writing it.
Overall Winner: No Way Home
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No Way Home Wins
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Villains
No Way Home brings back Spider-Man cinema’s most memorable villains, including Doc Ock (Molina), Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), Electro (Foxx), Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), and Lizard (Rhys Ifans). Sandman is arguably Spider-Man 3’s best villain above Harry Osborn’s Goblin and Eric Foreman’s Venom—which isn’t saying much. While Sandman (and Venom, if you count that comedic credits scene) is in No Way Home, Ock, Electro and Goblin are essentially the main antagonists. Especially Goblin, who takes Spider-Man to church.
Dafoe ditches the mask, dons the hood, and steals the show with a performance that trumps what he did almost two decades ago. This time, you feel bad for Norman Osborn, who, despite his more violent half, is a pretty swell guy—which leads to No Way Home’s moral conundrum: send the baddies back to their universe, killing them, or find a way to save them from themselves? In its attempt to answer that question, No Way Home works because it knows who to spend time with and who to largely ignore *cough* Sandman *cough* Lizard.
Winner: No Way Home
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Action
Spider-Man and Goblin’s fight in No Way Home feels violent—with Spider-Man beating a smiling Goblin ala Batman pummeling Joker in The Dark Knight. Compile that with Ock’s bridge sequence, that finale at the Statue of Liberty, and No Way Home is even more impossible for Spider-Man 3 to beat. Spider-Man 3 certainly has some exhilarating action sequences but No Way Home steps it up a notch thanks to the exciting stunt work, stunning visual effects, and overall grittier fight scenes.
Winner: No Way Home
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Funniest Threequel
The older Spider-Man movies feel cheesy (especially Spider-Man 3, and maybe its meme-worthy moments tickle your fancy) compared to the MCU, which has cultivated a reputation for leaning into the humor. Something dark is happening? Throw in a joke. In many ways, No Way Home is like a stand-up comedy workshopping their material at a dive bar—not all of the jokes land, some are just straight-up memes, but the ones that work really work. While No Way Home’s first half offers up your typical comedic relief in Peter, Ned, and his friends, the film’s second half gives audiences what is now affectionately referred to as the “Spider-Bros.” Not only are Garfield, and Maguire’s scenes together comparable to a nerd’s wet dream, but they’re often hilarious—from Garfield exorcising cobwebs for Ned’s Lola to cracking Maguire’s back.
Winner: No Way Home
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Love Interest
Iconic upside down in the rain kisses aside, Maguire’s Peter Parker and Kirsten Dunst’s Mary Jane never really did it for us—the words “melodramatic," "contrived," and “cringe” come to mind. At the beginning of Raimi’s trilogy, MJ is way more interested in Spider-Man than Peter. Luckily for her, in Spider-Man 2, she learns they are one and the same. Unluckily for her, in Spider-Man 3, Peter/Spider-Man decides to kiss someone else while upside down.
In No Way Home, the relationship between Holland’s Peter and Zendaya's MJ feels much more organic. Not only did the latter pair start out as friends but MJ helps Peter with his friendly-neighborhood-Spider-Man-ing—which makes it all the more tragic when Peter decides it’s better if she forgot who he is. Fun fact: In that final dinner scene, MJ is still wearing the broken necklace Peter gave her in Far From Home (despite not remembering him).
Winner: No Way Home
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Supporting Characters
Throughout Raimi’s trilogy, Peter/Spider-Man more or less feels like a loner. This has never been the case in the MCU. The side characters in No Way Home, from Doctor Strange, MJ, Ned Leeds, Happy Hogan, and Aunt May to the other Spider-Men, all have a personality, shine when given time, and make Tom Holland feel like part of an ensemble. Even without the surprising chemistry of Maguire and Andrew Garfield, everyone in No Way Home helps make it a more layered experience. Shout out to Marisa Tomei for one hell of a death scene.
Sorry, James Franco. Harry sucked and deserved to die in Spider-Man 3.
Winner: No Way Home
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Spidey (s)
Yes, that’s a cam gif.
The consensus used to be that Maguire nailed nerdy Peter Parker while Garfield did right by Spider-Man’s humor. Then, Holland’s fresh iteration did a decent job with both the boy and his mask. Now, No Way Home brings together all three in a film that gives the OGs closure but never loses sight of Holland. One thing Raimi and Marc Webb’s films never did was give Peter Parker/Spider-Man a complete arc across its planned trilogy. No Way Home does this for Holland and then some by allowing his predecessors to lend a helping hand as he comes into his own as a hero. If Holland’s acting ability, dedication to the character, and stunts don't sell you in No Way Home, the film has the other Spideys anyway.
Winner: No Way Home (and Holland)
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Awful Dance Scene
Yeah, No Way Home doesn’t have one of these. So, point for Spider-Man 3? Explanation: Peter’s symbiote transformation in Spider-Man 3 prompts him to embrace his darker side and, in Peter’s nerdy mind, being “dark” and “cool” means emo fringe, finger guns, cringe-worthy dance moves, and threats like "I'm going to be put some dirt in your eye." Maguire’s dorky Peter Parker is why many consider his portrayal the best.
Winner: Spider-Man 3
