The Tom Holland Spider-Man Scene That Went Too Far
Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Spider-Man swung into pop culture on the pages of "Amazing Fantasy" #15 way back in 1962. Since then, the web-slinger has earned his place as not only one of Marvel's most popular names but one of the most popular in the entire comic book world. Naturally, this immense love from fans across the globe has made him a leading man at the movies, too, with Tobey Maguire's interpretation of the character taking over the cinema in the early 2000s. He passed the baton to Andrew Garfield in 2012, who later handed the reins to the current Spidey actor, Tom Holland.
Holland's take on Spider-Man hit the big screen for the first time in 2016 for "Captain America: Civil War," bringing the wall-crawler into the Marvel Cinematic Universe proper. In the years that followed, he'd appear in two "Avengers" films — "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame" — in addition to a trilogy of his own. During these appearances, Holland's Peter Parker would do everything from taking down dangerous street-level villains to helping the likes of Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and the Guardians of the Galaxy save the universe, proving himself time and time again as the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Although, his tenure on the big screen isn't free of rough patches.
Of every MCU scene involving Tom Holland's Spider-Man, this one definitely went just a bit too far. Here's what happened, what caused it, and what it means for his story heading into the future.
Holland's Spider-Man nearly went over the edge during his fight with the Green Goblin
Throughout "Spider-Man: No Way Home," Tom Holland's Spider-Man faced a myriad of villains from across the multiverse. However, he never intended to kill them, rather he wanted to heal them of their various ailments. He successfully did so — with the help of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's Spidey incarnations, of course — by the time the credits rolled, but this didn't come without some trial and error. This holds especially true when looking at the case of Norman "Green Goblin" Osborn (Willem Dafoe), who wreaked some serious havoc in the MCU and turned the life of its Spider-Man upside down in the worst way.
Not only did Osborn help his fellow baddies go rogue while Holland's Peter Parker attempted to heal them, but he killed one of the most important people in his life: Aunt May (Marisa Tomei). Naturally, the loss of his sole parental figure sent Peter into a downward spiral that he hoped would end if he took the life of the Green Goblin himself. As they clashed in the rubble of the Statue of Liberty, the typically jovial, quippy Spider-Man fought with terrifying ferocity and had every intention of murdering Osborn with his own glider. Thankfully, Maguire's Spidey stepped in to prevent him from going through with it.
Holland's Spider-Man losing control was crucial to his character development
Just because Tom Holland's Spider-Man took his desire for revenge too far in this moment, that's not to say that this scene was bad. In fact, it's actually an integral piece to any Spider-Man character arc as they go from kids with unique powers to bonafide heroes. Both Maguire and Garfield's versions went through similar struggles following the deaths of their respective Uncle Bens, and in the latter's case, Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone). However, their decision to act on their anger offered them no comfort, hence why they were so adamant about preventing their "little brother" from making the same mistake.
Following Maguire's intervention, Holland's Spidey does end up impaling the Green Goblin, but instead of using the glider, he administers the antidote via syringe. He then makes the life-changing decision to allow Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to wipe everyone's memory of Peter Parker and his heroic alter-ego, which sends all of the villains home in the process. Thus, he's left with pretty much nothing except for his secret life as Spider-Man, and while that may seem like a horrible situation to end up in, he seems ready to make the most of it.
Instead of dwelling on what he lost, the closing moments of "Spider-Man: No Way Home" showed us a revitalized Spider-Man — one that looks to keep New York safe from threats big and small and honor May's legacy by heeding her advice and using his incredible power responsibly. He has looked evil in the face and had the means to exact vengeance upon it, yet he took the high road and grew as a person because of it. Had he not crossed the line during his battle with the Green Goblin and let go of his rage, his next steps in the MCU would likely look much different.