# Spider-Man: No Way Home Movie Ending Explained (In Detail)
Spider-Man is back on the big screen - and this adventure has already broken trailer release records and set advance sales records. But what else does Spider-Man: No Way HomeE have to offer? We reveal that in our review.
OT: Spider-Man: No Way Home (USA/ICE 2021)

# The Plot summary
The media have revealed that behind Spider-Man's mask is schoolboy Peter Parker (Tom Holland). Worse, they unquestioningly adopt manipulated video footage depicting him as a cold-blooded killer. Peter is overcome by a wave of hatred and unwillingly drags his loved ones into misery with him. So he turns to Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and asks him to cast a spell that will make the world forget what Spider-Man's true identity is. But the spell goes wrong, which is why creeps are now hunting Spider-Man who are strangers to him, and who nevertheless pursue a very personal agenda against Peter Parker ...

# Review of Spider-Man: No Way Home
There are questions that could be discussed endlessly without finding an answer that satisfies everyone. These range from "What does Bill Murray whisper to Scarlett Johansson in 'Lost in Translation'?" to "Which came first: the hen or the chicken egg?" If one were to create a timeline about such questions, one would have to note in the middle: "Should a work be considered on its own, or must meta- and intertextuality be considered?" This question comes up in many art disciplines and can take myriad specific forms. Does it make a novel adaptation worse if it reinterprets important characters from the book? Are references to other films an added value or annoying crutches? Are sequels necessarily "lesser" works of art than original films because they rely on prior work already done - or is it presumptuous to blame sequels for this? And so on, and so on....
At least technically, Spidey (Tom Holland) is once again perfectly equipped...

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What are these questions doing in a review of "Spider-Man: No Way Home"? It's simple: the latest instalment in the Jon Watts-directed "Spider-Man" series takes one of the hallmarks of this saga within the monumental Marvel Cinematic Universe to the extreme. Namely, the play with meta- and intertextuality, i.e. cinematic self-reflection and references to other works. Intertextuality is generally an integral part of the MCU: an MCU film is almost always at the same time a sequel, spin-off and preparation for another MCU film - and pop culture references are added on top. In Watts' "Spider-Man" films, there is always a layer of meta-elements a metre thick. Not surprisingly, Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, who earned their spurs as part of the "Community" team, are involved as writers. So with an ingenious sitcom that not only refers to its own fictionality and origins in high numbers, but also to genre conventions, audience demands and the advantages and disadvantages of its media form. "Spider-Man: Homecoming" and "Spider-Man: Far From Home" consequently offered a parade of snappy sayings, self-mockery and MCU commentary thanks to McKenna's and Sommer's snappy, winking, ambiguous writing and Watts' sparkling, slightly ironic direction.

For example, "Homecoming" can be read as a commentary on the film's outlandish status as the product of a shared "custody" between Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios. And "Far From Home" smoothly fulfils Peter Parker's fondest wish on a tonal level: after the turbulent events of "The First Avenger: Civil War", "Spider-Man: Homecoming", "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame", the lively, flustered teenager wants to stuff his heroic existence, including the corresponding responsibility, into the wardrobe and just be a smitten, pubescent American for a holiday, travelling Europe, having fun and getting closer to his crush. So McKenna, Sommers and Watts drum up a parade of "Eurotrip"-esque goofs, which temporarily distracts Peter Parker and his audience from bigger problems - and blows up in the face of the friendly neighbourhood spider, while the people in the auditorium (and in front of the screen) are shown how easy and fatal it is to block out threatening real developments with non-stop escapism.

"An MCU film is almost always at once a sequel, a spin-off and a preparation for another MCU film - and pop culture references are thrown in for good measure."
# No Way Home Ending Explained

"No Way Home" starts immediately where "Far From Home" ended, so it initially provides peppy entertainment including the occasional media rant, as well as full of situational comedy and wordplay with the already familiar main and supporting characters. Except that Peter Parker is finally backed into a corner by the increasingly loud threat of consequences. As a result, in "No Way Home" there is formal and metafictional bragging instead of spilling: Peter feels as if his world is collapsing, so the "Community" veterans and Watts actually create cracks in the film world in which Peter finds himself. While normal teenagers imagine in youthful pathos that everything is coming apart at the seams and the logic of the entire world is becoming holey because they can't get what they want, Holland as Spider-Man is experiencing just that. Zack, already invaders from other universes are hunting him down.
Doctor Steven Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) gets his work cut out for him in "No Way Home"...

On a simple story level, Peter Parker has to repair the damage he has done. However, because he just can't seem to get out of his skin (at least proverbially speaking), he refuses to take the easy and quick way out. Instead, he insists on approaching the dimensional aliens. This is honest, but is approached by him in an extremely naïve way, and so Peter, who always pays only half an ear to the advice of his role models, creates further escalating turmoil. A Spider-Man adventure unfolds with wit, dramatic twists (which the well-rehearsed cast knows how to present in a touching way) and with partly aesthetically impressive, partly somewhat grey-muddy-monotonous action. All of this takes place in the area of tension between "You have to initiate an improvement instead of beating up on everything that is not flawless" and "There are hopeless situations, and warnings about them have to be taken seriously", which the filmmakers act out plausibly from within the characters without any admonishing finger-pointing. In particular, Cumberbatch's ("The Imitation Game") balancing act between gravitas, sarcasm and snarky playfulness helps the cause, as does the authentic interplay between Zendaya ("Greatest Showman") and Holland.
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"Spider-Man: No Way Home" is, on another level, a trilogy finale garnished with fanservice, with Tom Holland's Spider-Man swinging from one throwback to past "Spider-Man" films to the next. Fortunately, all the nostalgia and Marvel self-references only sparsely get in the way of the actual story - and in the much more frequent, better moments, memories of "The First Avenger: Civil War" come to mind. The Marvel mega-crossover, which is also the third part of the "Captain America" saga, could have degenerated into a film in which the numerous other Marvel characters snatch the finale of his own trilogy from Steve Rogers. Instead, "Civil War" is a continuation of the previous Cap missions through and through: Steve Rogers' goals, concerns and dilemmas are at the heart of the film, and the actions and developments of other Marvel characters serve to dramatise and comment on his story. In No Way Home, while all the Marvel nostalgia undoubtedly also serves as fanservice, for the most part these elements propel Peter's character arc. Whether it's because they complicate his decision-making process, mirror his concerns in the angst of other characters, or they drive his character development.

"In 'No Way Home', while all the Marvel nostalgia undoubtedly also serves as fanservice, for the most part these elements drive Peter's character arc."

Lastly, there's the runaway "Community"-esque meta-level, in which the back- and cross-references serve the purpose of passionately sprawling self-reflection. The meta-reflection is so detailed that "No Way Home", especially in the second half of the film, could be stuffed with footnotes that relate the events to Marvel production backgrounds, events behind the scenes of other works, cast biographies and much more. To go through that already now, on the launch day of No Way Home, would violate spoiler etiquette, which is why we merely want to sprinkle a few breadcrumbs at this point. This is not only fair to those who don't want to have the film completely chewed over already, but can also be understood as a suggestion to go in search of further metafictional bon mots while watching the film:
Peter Parker and Doctor Strange try to find a solution.
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Tom Holland, for example, as Peter Parker, has isolated, fascinating parallels to Marvel Studios mastermind Kevin Feige. It may sound like a Feige belly-aching industry legend, but it is on record that he once sent Sony impassioned, detailed memos on how he would fix their self-imposed "Spider-Man" films, even though they were, in a sense, "competing projects". Holland's Peter Parker is similarly relentless in his approach to the antagonists summoned by Doctor Strange's magic, whom he could care less about because they have no connection to him whatsoever. And yet he wants to reach out to them, even if some of them express similarly strong opposition as Feige felt on the part of Sony Pictures. However, those responsible for "No Way Home" avoid a full-length Kevin Feige eulogy, because as already mentioned: Peter Parker makes mistakes and has to learn some much-needed lessons. Likewise, "No Way Home" doesn't hold back with self-mockery about the absurdities of the MCU and nods to the strengths of other superhero films. As the running time progresses, this meta-aspect of the film escalates completely, so that in between entire passages of dialogue, which in the "it's just popcorn action" reading are merely entertaining banter, become for meta-trivia hogs a self-critical exchange between role and actor:in.

"As the running time progresses, this meta-aspect of the film escalates completely, so that in the meantime whole passages of dialogue, which in the 'it's just popcorn action' reading are merely entertaining banter, become for meta-truffle pigs a self-critical exchange between role and actor:in."

Sometimes this merely has the added value of making you think "I understood that reference!" in your cinema seat. Other times, thanks to committed performances and spot-on word choice, it has an almost heartbreaking effect - if you understand the reference and have sufficient emotional investment. Which brings us back to the great, surely never-ending debate: "Should a work be considered on its own, or should meta- and intertextuality be considered?"
Thanks to MJ (Zendaya) and his best friend Natt (Jacob Batalon), Peter is not alone...

It is a question that knows how to tease the worst out of film fans and film critics:inside. One extreme wants to see all remakes, sequels, spin-offs and adaptations (made after a point in time determined by individual sentimentality) simply burn. The other extreme flicks the running picture joyfully and inhibitedly like Leonardo DiCaprio in "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood", simply because there is something flickering that it already knows, and equates every little "I know that!" to a stroke of genius. These are worlds that are difficult to reconcile. Hoping to find a diplomatic answer for those caught between the trenches: Quantity and delivery are key. If "No Way Home" simply strung together nostalgia element after nostalgia element without telling a story and staying true to its characters, it would be outrageously bizarre. Equally bizarre, mind you, are demands that today's (blockbuster) filmmakers cease all references to other works. No matter whether in painting, literature, film or music, where the question "Are samples idea theft or creative tool?" is even negotiated in court: There is no art without references to other art or the circumstances around it.
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Perhaps the truth is that some people are not chafing at the question being addressed here, but merely at the primeval German division between "E and U", seriousness and entertainment. If you ignore the unbreakable E-versus-U dichotomy for a moment, however, "No Way Home" is the bombastic Marvel counterpart to films such as the golden-smooth art-house drama "Gemma Bovery - A Summer with Flaubert". Anne Fontaine's Gemma Arterton vehicle is a splendid, delicious commentary on Gustave Flaubert's novel of manners and society "Madame Bovary", which was once despised as trash but has long been considered an important part of world literature. Those who are not familiar with Flaubert's work will completely miss a narrative level of this insider tip from 2014 - which some would call a cinematic weakness. Elsewhere it would be: "It's your own fault if your ignorance keeps you in the dark - it's a strength of the film to comment on Flaubert in such a smart way". In between, there is the thesis: anyone who deliberately chooses "A Summer with Flaubert" will in most cases already belong to the target group of this film and will therefore have a clue. In the end, however, "Gemma Bovery" is so shrewd, well-acted and entertainingly written that the film doesn't collapse in on itself anyway if you experience it clueless. Background knowledge, however, intensifies the experience enormously. The same is true for "Spider-Man: No Way Home":

"'No Way Home' the bombastic Marvel equivalent of films like the golden-smart programme cinema drama 'Gemma Bovery - A Summer with Flaubert'.

Anyone who watches the latest superhero spectacle about one of the most famous superheroes of our time will already know what to draw from the meta-level. And the more you can draw from it, the richer the experience. But even broken down to the minimum, you're left with a mammoth popcorn project. One that, despite some half-baked effects and a stuttering narrative tempo in the middle of the film, will give most genre fans thrills, fun and goosebumps thanks to its wit, coherent and sympathetic characterisation and emotional depth. Let the people in other universes beat their brains in about all the other conceivable levels!

Conclusion: "Spider-Man: No Way Home" is both a nostalgia and meta-commentary scavenger hunt as well as an imaginative superhero adventure with sparkling humour, minor visual blemishes and a lot of heart for its characters. Impressive!

"Spider-Man: No Way Home" is now showing in many German cinemas.