Doctor Strange 2 Confirms What We Suspected All Along About The Ending Of Spider-Man: No Way Home
While "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" sees the Marvel Cinematic Universe travel into the multiverse, it's not the first time the franchise does so. Both the Disney+ series "Loki" and the 2021 film "Spider-Man: No Way Home" also deal prominently with the multiverse. The latter project even brings in Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire as alternate versions of Peter Parker, as both previously played the character in other films.
The ending of "Spider-Man: No Way Home," however, is bittersweet. To prevent people who know Spider-Man's (Tom Holland) true identity across the multiverse from invading their world, Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) initiates a spell that makes everyone forget who Peter is. This negates the reveal of Spider-Man's true identity as done by Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) in the previous film.
But some fans were left confused by the logistics of the spell and how much people would forget about Spider-Man and Peter. The film's screenwriters, Erik Sommers and Chris McKenna, addressed the ending in an interview with Variety, in which they said their focus was on the emotional heft, and the logistical questions may get answered in another movie.
Luckily, those answers are finally here, as "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" confirms what we suspected all along about the ending of "Spider-Man: No Way Home."
People in the MCU still remember Spider-Man
In "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," Stephen Strange talks about the multiverse-related issues he recently faced with Spider-Man when America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) asks if he has any experience with the multiverse. When America then asks who Spider-Man is, Strange says he's someone who has the powers of a spider, never actually naming Peter Parker throughout the conversation. This establishes that the character of Spider-Man has not been erased from the existing world, but only the memory of Peter. Furthermore, the things Spider-Man has already done, including fighting Thanos (Josh Brolin) as part of the Avengers, as well as Vulture (Michael Keaton) and Mysterio on his own, remain part of the canon in the MCU.
The new scene tracks with how the spell is portrayed in the climax of "Spider-Man: No Way Home," when Doctor Strange tells Peter that activating the spell will make everyone forget him. Strange forgetting Peter himself is what makes him hesitant to pull the trigger on activating the spell until Peter assures him it will be okay. The fact that Strange still remembers Spider-Man proves that it's only the memory of Peter that gets wiped as a result of the spell. This is also shown at the end of "Spider-Man: No Way Home" through the meeting between Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) and Peter at Aunt May's (Marisa Tomei) grave. Happy says he works with Spider-Man, but he but doesn't give any inkling that he knows who Peter is.