The Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer was stunning in every way! It revealed 5 villains and plenty of action. On top of that, we did get the confirmation for Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield‘s arrival as Spider-Men, even though they did not appear in the trailer. But what if the trailer did more than just reveal these characters? What if it gave away a big secret about the villains? Well, according to my No Way Home theory, the trailer hinted that the Fatal 5, or perhaps, the Sinister Six are time variants of their alternate versions which we saw before MCU’s Spider-Man made his debut.
The Appearances
Director Jon Watts told Alfred Molina that Doc Ock is coming back from “that moment” in the river, from Spider-Man 2. Now you see, what happened in Spider-Man 2 was that Doc Ock realized his mistake and sacrificed himself to save the city from his own creation. And now, even if he has been picked up from the river, or from just moments before that and brought into the MCU, then how have his appearance and motivations changed? I’ll come back to this question in a short while.
Green Goblin killed himself while trying to kill Peter. But now, he seems to have returned with slight tweaks on his suit, and an entirely new glider. Besides him and Doc Ock, Electro has got the biggest makeover. This version of Max Dillon that Jamie Foxx is playing seems completely different from the one we saw in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Not only is his Electro state different (as the new one has Stark tech and isn’t blue), but even the pre-Electro phase Max Dillon is totally changed.
The Potential Plot Hole
So far, the villains mentioned above have only differed from the past versions based on their appearances. But focus on what Doctor Strange said in the trailer. He revealed that all the multiverse villains are destined to die fighting Spider-Men in their respective Universes. Now those who have seen the past movies know that this isn’t true at all. It actually seems like a bit of a plot hole because apart from Doc Ock, Green Goblin, and Electro, all the villains don’t really die in Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s stories.
The Lizard and Sandman survived in their respective Universes. Their looks are almost identical to their past versions, but their motivations seem completely different. Flint Marko changed! Tobey Maguire’s Peter forgave Marko aka Sandman, and he got to live another day. Meanwhile, Dr. Curt Connors, aka the Lizard saved the life of Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man when he turned back into his human state. Then, he was put in prison. So clearly, their stories are different from what Strange is telling us. But why is that? Well, here’s the solution.
No Way Home Theory: Past Villains or Time Variants??
I believe that all 5 of these villains coming into the movie are actually “Variants.” The Loki series introduced us to this term. We were told that the same versions of an individual from a different Universe/Reality/Timeline are called Variants. The Spider-Men/Peter Parkers of Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland are all variants of each other. Mobius told us that no two Variants are totally alike. So, using that logic in No Way Home, we can say that all the 5 villains coming in are variants of the versions we saw.
This theory would solve all the problems and confusion that one might have about the villains. These variants could be coming from Universes that are almost identical to the ones we saw in the Raimi and Webb movies. That’s why some of these villains differ in appearances (Doc Ock, Goblin, and Electro), while others must have had different fates in their realities (The Lizard and Sandman probably died fighting Spider-Man on their Earths).
In fact, even if Venom comes in and becomes the Sinister Sixth, then he’d also fall in the same category. He will also be a variant of Topher Grace’s Eddie Brock. But the only difference between him and the other 5 is that all those villains would have the same faces as their variants from the past movies. You see, Kevin Feige likes to keep things original. So this way, he would get to showcase originality.
But What About The Spiders?
Now coming to the end, I’d say that Tobey and Andrew’s Spider-Men won’t be variants of their past versions. Unlike the villains, they would be the same versions we followed in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy and The Amazing Spider-Man duology. Why??? Well, there are 2 reasons.
First, the people coming to watch this movie want to see those same characters return from the past. If they’d be variants, then the fans might feel betrayed and there’d be a huge backlash! In fact, doing the whole multiverse thing with them would become pointless.
Secondly, they won’t be variants because they have already defeated the variants of the villains we’d see in No Way Home on their Universes. So, Doctor Strange will specifically call them in to help Holland’s Peter as their expertise would be priceless!
Okay, that’s all. What do you guys think of this No Way Home theory? Are the Spider-Man villains time variants? Or do you have some other answer for the confusing ways these villains are being called into the MCU? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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