How Iron Man’s Death Set Up Spider-Man: No Way Home’s Ending
The sad end of Endgame which saw the demise of Iron Man to save the world from Thanos perfectly sets up the ending of No Way Home. Endgame saw Tony Stark bow out of MCU, sacrificing his life to use the Infinity Gauntlet to stop Thanos before he obliterated all life on Earth for his sense of Greater Good. In this very moment, Iron Man lived up to his role of mentor to Spider-Man.
Peter lived in Iron Man’s shadow for most of his part
For most of it, Iron Man’s relationship with Peter Parker was quite reductive as MCU’s Spider-Man lived in the shadow of Stark, even including the technology provided on his homemade suits. Stark stood in for Uncle Ben in the MCU, offering advice to him and trying to keep him in line. Unfortunately, due to his own shortcomings, Stark ended up balancing the paternal instincts that he held for Peter with some inappropriate choices. Not only did Stark have Peter’s suit with an instant kill mode, but he also forced Peter to become an Avenger way before it was needed.
It was only after Iron Man’s death that Peter stepped out of his shadow, however, even then, Stark had a major role in Peter’s life, which led to the Mysterio plot in Far From Home. Not just this, but Peter was also saddled with the tag of “next Iron Man” and while he becomes that in the future remains to be seen, but Peter’s self-isolation at the end of No Way Home makes him more like Iron Man than he had ever been. In fact, Peter’s decision to have himself wiped out from his loved ones seems like the final lesson of Tony’s life. And this was born out of Stark’s last moments in Endgame – in his death, Stark gave Spider-Man the guidance that he required to save the whole world.
Holland’s Peter learns a lot from Iron Man
Although Peter never met the earliest version of Iron Man as a role model, the biggest lessons that Stark would have offered through his own experiences would be about sacrifice and doing whatever it takes for the bigger picture. Even during 2012’s battle of New York, Iron Man almost sacrificed himself to end the fight and was more than willing to give his life in Infinity War. Tony may have been quite reckless in his life choices and while all of it may not be the greatest example, but MCU’s Iron Man had a life that was close to Spider-Man’s motto: with great power, comes greater responsibility.
Spider-Man’s decision to rip his own heart in No Way was similar to Iron Man’s willingness to put his family aside in Endgame, only to stop Thanos. Yes, it is painful for Peter, but making a sacrifice like that was a testament to what Iron Man meant to Peter and how he would impress his morals into a younger Avenger.
