What does the ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ ending mean for Peter Parker?

Warning: This article contains major spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Spider-Man: No Way Home is finally out and delighting audiences all over the world. It more than delivered on its promise to blow minds and offered MCU fans plenty to speculate about. One of the more open questions is what the future holds for Tom Holland’s Peter Parker following the film’s events. As mega spoilers lie directly ahead, now is the time to click out if you have yet to see the film.

The finale of No Way Home sees the multiverse beginning to magically collapse as a result of Doctor Strange’s spell, with the MCU about to be inundated with villains from infinite other dimensions. Holland’s Peter realizes that this is only happening because the characters know Spider-Man’s identity. The painful solution is another spell to make absolutely everyone forget he ever existed.

That means everyone, including MJ and Ned. In a tear-jerking scene following Strange’s spell, we see Peter visiting his friends, who now have no idea who he is. Peter is about to explain everything but realizes that the pair has a chance at a happy future without him. After all, No Way Home teaches him that friends and family of Spider-Man don’t have a long life expectancy no matter what universe they’re in.

Now that fans have had plenty of time to wipe their eyes, many have been wondering about the exact effects of Doctor Strange’s spell. It’s clear that it didn’t erase everyone’s memory of Spider-Man, meaning every hero that’s interacted with the webslinger will remember his actions from Civil War, Infinity War, and Endgame. Plus, judging by MJ still having her Black Dahlia necklace and Peter’s ability to pack up his possessions, the spell didn’t wipe out Peter’s physical presence even if he himself has been forgotten.

We can safely assume that the spell deleted all of the newspapers, books, and internet pages talking about Peter Parker being Spider-Man. After all, it’d be a bit pointless to wipe everyone’s memories but leave all the media referencing Parker as one of the most famous people in the world intact. However, it has also wiped official records of him, as demonstrated by his need to once again get his GED.

The ending is effectively a blank slate for Holland’s Peter Parker, with upcoming directors and writers able to tell whatever story they like with him. Whether that’ll happen anytime soon is unknown, though I sense it’ll be quite a while before we see Holland back in the Spidey suit.

Let’s just hope that we get a reunion between MJ and Peter someday, as I don’t want to live in a world where they don’t end up together.

Spider-Man: No Way Home is now in theaters.