The Spider-Man: No Way Home Line That Is Making Fans Cringe
The latest trailers for "Spider-Man: No Way Home" have given rise to wave after wave of fan speculation, as the MCU-loving masses dissect these promotional materials for hints about what may (or may not) take place in the highly anticipated movie.
The second trailer has been particularly fecund, as it gives away large chunks of what appears to be the film's central conceit, wherein Peter Parker (Tom Holland), having had his identity exposed to the world by J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons), asks Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to magic the problem away. Peter, however, can't help but meddle with the spell, causing a chaotic portal to the multiverse to open and send forth a legion of Spider-Man's foes from other universes.
It is within this context that Doctor Strange must help Peter — along with Mary Jane and his friend Ned (Zendaya and Jacob Batalon, respectively) — to defeat the medley of villains and presumably close the giant hole they ripped in the fabric of space-time. Some fans have been puzzled by the way the Sorcerer Supreme phrases his request, while others find it laughable. Here's the one line from the "Spidey 3" trailer that has a certain subset of fans cringing.
Scooby-Doo, where are you in the multiverse?
Instructing Peter, Mary Jane, and Ned to clean up the mess they find themselves in, Doctor Strange says, "There are others out there. We have to send them back. So, Scooby-Doo this crap." Mary Jane tells him to ask nicely and Strange, with a hint of a smile, responds, "Please Scooby-Doo this crap." While this publication has pointed out that the line could be a reference to "The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo," wherein Scooby and the gang accidentally unleash malevolent spirits and must contain them, many fans still feel the lines seem a bit forced. Some even claim the writing is so bad that it breaks their suspension of disbelief.
Redditor u/wackarnolds65 pointed out that, "Sometimes the way they cut this stuff in the trailer, with bad timing, the jokes just don't land."
User Jaeblack420 added in response, "Its [sic] not even the timing, its [sic] just badly written in general."
Meanwhile, some were surprised to hear that the "Scooby-Doo" line wasn't well-received. "I laughed at that joke and now that it's gotten so torn up over the internet I'm just embarrassed. I'm never being myself again," wrote /u/BC04ST3ER.
The quippy stylings of MCU humor have long been a point of contention for Marvel fans, some of whom would prefer the movies take an even more self-serious tone. Of course, it all boils down to preference, and the box office numbers speak for themselves. One poorly written line is hardly enough to sink a Spider-Man movie.