Minor Things In The Spider-Man: No Way Home Trailer That You Might Have Missed
After months of anticipation, comic book fans finally saw the first trailer for “Spider-Man: No Way Home” this week, thanks to a leak that pushed Marvel and Sony to release it sooner than they would have liked. Fortunately, the trailer proved to be well worth the wait. The “Spider-Man: No Way Home” trailer, which is just over three minutes long, contains plenty of awe-inspiring and exciting moments, including a last-second appearance by Alfred Molina’s Otto Octavius AKA Doc Ock and hints that Willem Dafoe will reprise his “Spider-Man” role as Norman Osborn AKA Green Goblin in the film. Those scenes don’t even make up the majority of the “No Way Home” trailer, which is largely concerned with establishing the film’s fundamental narrative. To say it’s a teaser worth viewing several times would be an understatement. The trailer is absolutely bursting at the seams with Easter eggs and references, all of which serve to bolster the film’s already immense potential. With that in mind, here are all the little elements in the “Spider-Man: No Way Home” trailer that you most likely missed.
A familiar train:
One of the more intriguing moments in the “Spider-Man: No Way Home” teaser is Peter Parker (Tom Holland) riding a train across a desert environment while Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) uses magic to replicate and spin the train while Peter is still standing on it. The scenario (seen at the 2:14 point of the trailer) appears to be a fight between the protagonists, but the circumstances are too unclear right now to declare that’s what’s going on between them. However, it is not the acts of either character at the moment that have piqued the interest of certain Marvel fans online, but the vehicle in which they are both travelling. The train, in particular, resembles the one on which Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man and Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock had an epic brawl in 2004’s “Spider-Man 2.” Given Molina’s confirmed participation in “No Way Home,” as well as the reported inclusion of Maguire’s Peter Parker, there’s plenty of reason to assume the train is the same one from “Spider-Man 2.” Assuming that’s the case, it’s difficult to predict how the train will fit into the broader plot of “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” If it is the “Spider-Man 2” train, it seems probable that it is spilling over into the same world as Holland’s Peter as a result of his and Strange’s failed attempt to alter history, similar to how many believe Molina’s Doc Ock will emerge in the film. But, whether it’s truly crucial to the narrative or simply a fun Easter egg for fans, it appears quite probable that Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Holland will be shown on the same exact train in “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which Tobey Maguire and Alfred Molina performed in “Spider-Man 2” over 15 years ago.
The influence of one infamous Spider-Man comic:
Building on the events of 2019’s “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” which concluded with J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons) revealing Peter Parker’s secret identity to the world, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” focuses primarily on Peter Parker attempting to return to normalcy. The major way Peter tries to achieve this, as revealed in the “No Way Home” teaser, is by asking Doctor Strange to perform a spell that reverses what happened at the conclusion of “Far From Home.” Things, predictably, do not go as planned. The narrative of the film is remarkably similar to what happened in the famed “Spider-Man” comic book tale “One More Day.” Peter Parker and Mary Jane made a pact with Mephisto to erase their marriage in exchange for saving Aunt May’s life in that comic arc. For what it’s worth, it doesn’t appear that the directors of “No Way Home” are ignorant of these connections. In the teaser, there’s also a poster of Tom Holland’s Peter Parker with devil horns and the words “devil in disguise” written beneath his portrait, which appears to be a nod to Mephisto’s involvement in the “One More Day” comic. That aside, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” appears to address some of the shortcomings of the original comic book plot, specifically, by making the source of the film’s issues Peter’s refusal to sacrifice his connection with MJ (Zendaya), rather than it being a price he gladly pays.
The return of Damage Control:
We see Peter Parker being grilled by police early in the “Spider-Man: No Way Home” trailer for his suspected participation in the “death” of Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal). At first glance, the situation appears unremarkable, but those aren’t just any government people Peter is chatting with. They are, in reality, Damage Control (D.O.D.C.) operatives, as evidenced by a jacket worn by one of them, which bears the organization’s name on the front. The organization, which was created by S.H.I.E.L.D. and subsequently became a joint venture between Stark Industries and the United States government, specialized in cleaning up the devastation left by superhero fights, as well as the upkeep of any weapons and artefacts left over from those conflicts. Damage Control is, of course, the same corporation that leads Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton) along his villainous road in 2017’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming.” While the organization’s presence in “Spider-Man: No Way Home” doesn’t reveal anything new about the plot that we didn’t already know, it’s a fun Easter egg for Marvel Cinematic Universe fans and serves as yet another link between “No Way Home” and the previous two Tom Holland-led “Spider-Man” films.
Peter’s newest Spider-Man suit:
There’s a quick image of Tom Holland’s Peter Parker racing through a cafeteria while dressed in a black-and-gold Spider-Man outfit at 1:15 minute in the “Spider-Man: No Way Home” trailer. The cafeteria is remarkable for its own reasons (more on that later), but it’s Holland’s black-and-gold outfit that has Marvel fans buzzing. For quite some time, it has been known that “No Way Home” will include a black-and-gold version of the conventional Spider-Man outfit. With the picture believed to include not just Tom Holland’s Peter Parker, but also Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s versions of the character, it wasn’t always clear which Spider-Man would really appear in “No Way Home.” Prior to the trailer’s release, several fans speculated that Garfield’s Peter Parker might be the one to don the intriguing new costume in the film. With the official release of the “Spider-Man: No Way Home” video, we now know that this is not the case. While it’s still possible that Garfield and Maguire’s Peter Parkers may wear their own distinct super costumes in the film (if they’re in it), the “Spider-Man: No Way Home” teaser appears to indicate that Holland’s Peter will wear the previously shown black-and-gold suit.
A F.E.A.S.T. for comic book fans:
The same scene in the “Spider-Man: No Way Home” teaser that shows Peter Parker in his new black-and-gold outfit also has a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it comic book Easter egg. The Easter egg in question is a banner spotted on the wall behind Peter that says “F.E.A.S.T.,” prompting some Marvel fans to believe that the cafeteria Peter is racing through in the trailer is part of an F.E.A.S.T. shelter. This is significant because it paves the way for a “Spider-Man” villain called Martin Li, AKA Mister Negative, to emerge in “No Way Home.” How? In the comics, F.E.A.S.T. is a charity established by Li to serve as a front for his criminal operations as Mister Negative. Even after May Parker takes up the charity on her own, Li remains inextricably tied to it for many comic book readers. That makes F.E.A.S.T.’s appearance in “Spider-Man: No Way Home” all the more thrilling, especially considering the continuous rumors and conjecture about the film’s villain roster. Mister Negative might be one of the film’s unexpected villains. It’s hard to say for sure right now, but the presence of an F.E.A.S.T. banner in the “Spider-Man: No Way Home” trailer clearly suggests that. Fortunately, when “Spider-Man: No Way Home” is released, Marvel fans will be able to find out the solution to this and all of their other questions. On December 17, the film will be released in cinemas.
