The second trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home dropped yesterday, giving us a full overview of the plot, showcasing some more villains, and explaining why they’re here. The one thing they all have in common is that they died during their battles with Spidey, meaning there’s likely to be a tragic element to these long-awaited comebacks.
One particularly surprising twist is that Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus isn’t the villain the first trailer teased him as. In that, we saw him ominously saying “Hello Peter…” before launching into a freeway fight scene. However, it appears that once Octavius realizes that this is a different Peter Parker, he has a change of heart.
Later scenes show that an uneasy alliance has formed between Pete, MJ, Ned, and Doc Ock, who may be using his considerable scientific genius to help repair the cracks in the multiverse.
All this will make sense to any fan of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2. In that film, Molina’s character was a good man, only turning to the dark side after the inhibitor chip on his robotic arms was fried. In the closing moments, Doc Ock had a revelation and sacrificed himself to save New York, so we really should have seen this face turn coming.
Thing is, good men tragically becoming villains applies to almost all the Spidey rogue’s gallery, and there are hints that this ‘Sinister Six’ want nothing more than to simply get a second chance after their untimely deaths. Whether that means they’ll get a reprieve and can remain in the MCU as the film closes remains to be seen, but right now it’s looking like No Way Home won’t be a simple supervillain battle royale.
Let’s hope for a few more peeks before Spider-Man: No Way Home hits theaters on December 17.
