After the world-breaking success of Avengers: Infinity Wars and Avengers: Endgame, I felt like the Marvel Cinematic Universe should wrap it up. They already brought together most of their iconic heroes, intertwined over a decade of movies into a cohesive whole, and managed to tell an epic storyline that actually delivered on all of its promise. The climax has been reached; what’s the point of doing more? Surely, I thought, everything else will seem underwhelming in comparison.

In a way, Marvel Studios and MCU head honcho Kevin Feige felt the same. For the next phase of their MCU, instead of trying to build up for another decades long epic story line, they looked around at the myriad colorful characters and outlandish possibilities of the comic book world and said, “Let’s have some fun.”

As first seen with the genre-bending WandaVision TV show, the MCU is getting very creative and meta. Pretty much everyone knows all these superheroes now, we don’t need more exposition on them. Everyone is familiar with superhero movie tropes and the often-discussed “MCU house style.” So they are playing fast and loose wit the formula and fans’ conceptions of “canon.” As a result, the new Marvel releases are much more fun than they have any right to be.

The biggest, grandest example of this is the newly released Spider-Man: No Way Home. Spider-Man has long been one of the most popular superheroes on the roster (and one of my personal faves). He has also had the most onscreen success: the 2000s Sam Raimi directed trilogy starring Tobey MacGuire that largely set the template for the genre’s modern success, the less successful but not terrible duology with Andrew Garfield as the webslinger, then the current MCU official Spidey with Tom Holland in the role. There is also Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, the surprisingly fantastic 2018 animated movie that follows an alternate universe Spider-Man that in several ways sets the table for No Way Home. The public has a great love for all things Spidey, and Marvel uses this love, as well as the over-saturation of Spider-Movies in the cultural consciousness, to great effect in No Way Home.

So I’m going to list my ten favorite parts of the movie, and explain why they show that Marvel is handling the character (and franchise, and ur-franchise) well. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, and plan to, please stop reading. It’s impossible to sufficiently analyze No Way Home without touching on major spoilers.

1. Let’s get the big one out of the way first – yes, despite repeated denials and deflections, No Way Home’s major plot twist is the reveal of the two previous Spider-Men from past series. Andrew Garfield and Toby MacGuire show up about two-thirds of the way through the film (to massive cheers from my theater audience) as a result of Tom Holland and Dr. Strange’s multiversal meddling. I for one avoided online talk about the movie so was genuinely in the dark about whether they would show up or not. When they look through that first portal to see a Spider-Man who doesn’t look quite like their Peter, I felt a jolt run through me. YES. So far the MCU does such a great job of satisfying fan expectations in a way that doesn’t fall into overdone fan service, and this is a prime example. The three different Peter Parkers play off of each other perfectly. They are believably the same person who has had different experiences as a result of their different dimensions. Both MacGuire and Garfield bring great humor and pathos to their roles. Garfield deservedly gets room to shine despite the lackluster reputation of his movies, and MacGuire is given the appropriate respect as the OG Spidey. Everything about their presence elevates the movie, from their showing up to comfort and motivate Holland!Spidey, to their three way science lab, to the thrill of seeing all THREE Spider-Men swing into battle. These movies are made to be comfort food – fun, whiz-bang entertainment, and the reunion of these three great actors kept a smile on my face throughout. 
2. Speaking of surprise appearances, I was genuinely shocked to see Matt Murdock, portrayed by Charlie Cox, show up to defend Peter when Spidey’s identity is revealed. The Netflix Daredevil show starring Cox was fantastic, a gritty and exciting take on the character that successfully addressed the title’s running themes of justice and guilt. I’d venture to say that Daredevil is the best live-action superhero show that’s been made, and in Cox they found the perfect actor. When Disney acquired Marvel, they cancelled all 4 Netflix shows and it was widely assumed that they were scrubbed from MCU canon. But here he is, and I could not be more thrilled. I can’t wait to see Daredevil suit up and get back into action. Also, he had one of the best lines in the movie: “I’m a really good lawyer.”
3. With great power comes great responsibility: This quote is the ongoing thesis of all Spider-Man stories, and I hadn’t realized that it hadn’t been said yet during Tom Holland’s tenure. It comes up here, said this time not by Uncle Ben but by Aunt May. It’s what Peter needs to hear to understand that he can’t have his cake and eat it too; the life of a superhero calls for personal sacrifice. Then Aunt May is killed by Green Goblin, which adds more weight to her words. Marissa Tomei has done a fine job of portraying a younger yet very relatable Aunt May in the MCU, and it is sad that she won’t be around any more. But her words to Peter are what save him, by helping him to connect to the other Peter Parkers through their shared experiences of loss, and help give him the focus needed to be a hero. I also like how the responsibility in this film is to help “fix” the villains to save them from inevitable death. It speaks to the idea that not all heroes have to just beat up bad guys – redemption is possible if we see the humanity in each other. On that note, it was powerful to see MacGuire!Spidey stepp in to stop Holland!Spidey from delivering the death blow to the Goblin. He knew that that was a path you don’t come back from, and the wordless exchange between the two spoke more about power and responsibility than any dialogue.
4. As always, a hero is only ever as good as his villains, so it’s a good thing that they brought back the franchise’s best. Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), Dr. Octopus (Alfred Molina), Electro (Jamie Foxx), The Lizard (Rhys Ifans) and the Sandman (Thomas Haden Church) are all brought back from past movies to plague Spider-Man’s New York, and each character is done great justice. Yet it’s Dafoe and Molina who really do the heavy lifting. It’s telling that the most developed villains are from the first two Raimi movies. Molina has a good bit of gravitas as Doc Oc, and his turn in the middle of the movie feels both natural and welcome. Dafoe’s Norman Osbourne is the real antagonist of the film, and when you first hear the Goblin’s cackle and see the pumpkin bomb a real sense of dread rises. We all know what a deadly enemy the Goblin has been to Spider-Men past, and there is no exception here. Dafoe’s portrayal walks the line between unnerving, vicious, and sympathetic, proving once again that he’s one of the best actors around.
5. I love how they included a meme in the movie. Dafoe’s line delivery of “You know, I’m a bit of a scientist myself,” in the first Raimi film has for some reason become a meme in online circles (as things inexplicably do). When he said it again in No Way Home, he delivered it almost the same way, and rather than being corny or try hard, it was a fun acknowledgement of they broader cultural love for the series. I mean, the movie is a about a guy in tights with spider powers, it’s okay to have a little camp.
6. This is a minor thing, but I like how they improved Electro’s look. His original blue glow in the prior movie was a…take, but I wished that they took inspiration from his actual look in the comics. In this one they did, with his wires resembling the outline of his suit, and when he powers up to unleash energy an electric halo forms around his head that resembles his iconic lightning mask. Very cool modern take. This shift shows that the filmmakers acknowledge aspects of past films that could have been done better, and they do their best to rectify that here. (See also Green Goblin wearing a hood instead of the outdated mask to reflect a common fan complaint of his first appearance.) I also think Spider-Man’s fight with Electro in the Garfield film was one of the best parts of the underrated movie, so I’m glad to see him get more screen time here.  
7. My past couple comments have touched on specific and notable examples of this film taking a very meta look at the Spider-Man franchise. Of course, the literal metaverse brings in characters and actors from other “dimensions” (aka past movies that technically had nothing to do with the current MCU). But this opened them up to wink at the public discussion around these films. Garfield!Spidey having a crisis of confidence about his ability and worth, and needing MacGuire!Spidey to talk him up (“You’re amazing! You are amazing!”) was a funny way to nod to the fact that Garfield’s movies were not well received, and also at the fact that they were titled The Amazing Spider-Man. Also, Electro’s musings on if there is a black Spider-Man in some other alternate dimension is a great wink at Miles Morales, seen in Into the Spider-Verse. Hopefully we’ll see Morales show up in the MCU at some point. However, as this movie now makes clear, any representation of Spider-Man is part of the MCU through the multiverse. Far out!
8. I thought it was very touching to have Garfield!Spidey save MJ (Zendaya). Firstly, having Holland!Spidey prevented from getting to her in time added a moment of real suspense that she may actually die. Secondly, Garfield coming in to catch her in time mirrored his failure in saving Gwen Stacey (Emma Stone) in his film. Garfield and Stone’s acting chemistry is what really carried those films, so her death worked as a gut punch that actually felt tragic. He was able to redeem himself here, and the emotional catharsis displayed when he touches down with an unharmed MJ was very much appreciated. 
9. Then there’s the sad ending. Peter saves the city and his friends, gets all the interlopers back to their dimensions, and helps Strange repair the multiverse.But in order to do so, everyone he knows forgets his existence. Aunt May is dead, and MJ, his best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon), and even Jon Favreu’s Happy do not know him. It’s heartbreaking to witness them going on with their lives, going to MIT, with Peter now alone. Zendaya is a very likable MJ and they’ve done such a good job of developing their relationship, so it’s especially painful to think that it’s all lost. Now Peter is in a crappy apartment, applying to community college, and still vilified by news commentator J. Jonah Jameson (the always fantastic J.K. Simmons). It’s a dark way to end things, but effective: we are left with the weight of responsibility. I wonder where things will go next? You’d think he will try to re-befriend MJ and Ned. Will he finally become a photographer to play Jameson both ways? We’ll see.

10. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Marvel movie without the post-credit scene/s to set up future installments. The first feature’s Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock from the Venom movies. He’s in a bar as he gets told about Spider-Man and the Avengers. (Does he know Spider-Man’s identity? How did he get to the MCU universe?) I haven’t seen the Venom films yet, but have heard good things. I will now have to, as before Brock gets sent back to his own universe, a little bit of the Venom symbiote gets left behind. Is the next Holland movie going to introduce the Black Suit?? The second scene is really more of a trailer for Dr. Strange 2, but it looks pretty cool. Scarlet Witch is going to play a large role, and the movie promises to be suitably trippy. But the big reveal is the quick shot of the alternate Evil Dr. Stragne from the What If…? series on Disney+. They really are tying everything together, and I’m excited to see two Sorcerer Supremes magically battle it out.