“Spider-Man: No Way Home” was epic in every way possible but the film also featured two post credits scenes that hint at the future of the MCU…
SPOILERS AHEAD IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME
As if everything that unfolded in “Spider-Man: No Way Home” wasn’t enough, there were still two post credits scenes after the film ended to tease what’s coming next in both the Spider-Man and Marvel Cinematic Universe.
When the movie concluded, Peter Parker had sacrificed anybody knowing that he was Spider-Man, which meant he lost both MJ and Ned as his friends after their memories were wiped in order to protect the multiverse from ripping open. A heartbreaking scene closed the film as Peter attempted to reconnect with MJ at her job only to see a bandage on her head covering a wound she suffered in the final battle where a trio of Spider-Men from across the multiverse fought back against a group of villains including the Green Goblin, Electro, Sandman, Lizard and Doctor Octopus.
Realizing that perhaps MJ was better off without him, Peter left her job without saying a word or attempting to reintroduce himself to her before returning to a one bedroom apartment where he seeks to start a new life in the aftermath of the events in the film.
That led to the first post credits scene….
VENOM CROSSOVER TO THE MCU
At a bar in a undisclosed beach location, Eddie Brock is sitting and having a drink while talking to the bartender about the weird, wild world he’s just joined while learning about Thanos and half of life across the universe being blinked out of existence just a few years earlier. Of course, Eddie is also having a full conversation with Venom — the alien symbiote that shares his body.
In the post credits scene from “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” Eddie goes on a vacation with his alien buddy and they are suddenly transported into a beachfront hotel where the TV reveals the moment when Spider-Man’s true identity is revealed as Peter Parker. Eddie and Venom are immediately drawn to the news story, which then sets up what happens in “Spider-Man: No Way Home.”
The sudden change in scenery from “Venom 2” was obviously Eddie being transported across the multiverse and landing in the world where Tom Holland is Spider-Man and his identity as Peter Parker has been revealed to the entire world thanks to Mysterio and J. Jonah Jameson.
At the bar, Eddie decides that he should go to New York and talk to this Spider-Man but before he can pack his bags, he’s suddenly transported back to his own universe, presumably at the moment when Doctor Strange finally cast his spell to repair the multiverse.
But Eddie leaves something behind when a very small part of the Venom symbiote is still laying on the bar after he’s gone and the alien blog moves just a bit before the scene ends.
This is obviously a teaser that would hypothetically introduce a Venom character into the Spider-Man version of the Marvel Cinematic Universe — perhaps a villainous Venom rather than the anti-hero created in the truly terrible films starring Tom Hardy.
Yes, folks, those “Venom” movies have been bad but “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” may be one of the worst films of the year.
Regardless, the left behind Venom symbiote could potentially find Peter Parker, which would then set up his dark turn as a different kind of Spider-Man or perhaps it just means a new Venom will arrive as part of the MCU. That remains to be seen.
Of course, Eddie crossing over in the multiverse didn’t make much sense considering Doctor Strange’s spell got botched when Peter asked him to not erase the memories of anybody who already knew he was Spider-Man. That led to anybody across the multiverse who already knew Peter Parker was Spider-Man crossing over into the MCU universe, which means Doc Ock, Norman Osborn, etc.
That doesn’t quite explain why Eddie Brock would be brought over because he didn’t even know Spider-Man existed until he crossed into the other universe. Then again perhaps it’s the Venom symbiote that somehow knew about Peter Parker and Spider-Man — there’s a line in “Venom 2” where the symbiote tells Eddie it’s connected to symbiotes from across the multiverse — and that would explain how they crossed over as well as a small part of the alien matter ended up staying behind.
Maybe that leads to the long awaited Secret Wars epic that’s been talked about for years?
We’ll see if that ends up being addressed in the next “Spider-Man” movie.
As for the second post credits scene…
DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS
The second post credits scene was really just a mini-trailer for the upcoming “Doctor Strange” sequel directed by Sam Raimi that will see Benedict Cumberbatch take center stage for the second time in his own film.
This time around, Doctor Strange is dealing with the fallout from his disastrous spell that split open the multiverse and it appears he wasn’t able to stop all these different worlds from colliding after all. So with the multiverse fractured, Doctor Strange seeks out help from Wanda Maximoff, who is living in seclusion after th events in “WandaVision.”
Strange is quick to tell Wanda that he’s not there to talk about Westview — the town she turned into a sitcom fantasy land so she could bring Vision back to life in her own head — but instead he needs her help to deal with this multiverse problem.
The trailer ends with the revelation of what appears to be an evil version of Doctor Strange that could have ties back to the “What If” animated series on Disney+.
In one particular episode, Doctor Strange is the featured lead and the Watcher asks what would have happened if he lost his heart instead of his hands in that car accident that led to him eventually becoming the Sorcerer Supreme. In that alternate universe, Strange’s girlfriend Dr. Christine Palmer dies in the car crash and he becomes obsessed with traveling through time in an attempt to stop the accident from ever happening.
Despite warnings from the Ancient One that Palmer’s death is an absolute point in time and cannot be changed, Strange refuses to accept it. Finally, the Ancient One is forced to split Strange into two separate entities — one who accepts Palmer’s death and the other who refuses. Unfortunately, it’s the Strange who refuses to let Palmer go who wins out by overpowering his counterpart, absorbing him and then using the combined power to resurrect his girlfriend as Strange Supreme.
Sadly, Strange Supreme discovers that the Ancient One was correct because reality is ripped apart in the wake of Palmer’s resurrection. The universe collapses, Palmer ends up dying anyway and Strange Supreme is left grieving all alone in a cold and empty world.
Based upon that trailer, it would appear that Strange Supreme has returned.
We’ll obviously learn more in the coming months as we prepare for the next major Marvel movie to be released with “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” due out on May 6, 2022.
