Why No Way Home's Big Death Can Never Be Undone
Mia Walsh Aunt May’s death in Spider-Man: No Way Home might be an absolute point in the MCU, which was why Doctor Strange’s spell ended up backfiring.
Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Spider-Man: No Way Home
Aunt May’s death in Spider-Man: No Way Home was crucial for Peter Parker to understand what he had to sacrifice to be a superhero, which is the exact reason why it can never be undone. The beloved character died defending her belief that the villains brought in by Doctor Strange could be saved. It’s a lesson she made sure to impart on Peter, as she gave the iconic “With great power comes great responsibility.” line in her final moments. One Marvel theory suggests that this scene may redefine Peter’s character and play a much more vital role in the MCU as a whole.
The theory hinges on Doctor Strange’s actions, much like Spider-Man: No Way Home itself. Another iteration of Doctor Strange appears in the Marvel animated series, What If…?, as Doctor Strange Supreme, a version of the sorcerer who tore apart the universe trying to save his true love. It’s significant because this episode introduces absolute points, points in the timeline that cannot be changed, including the death of a loved one. This can be compared to Doctor Strange’s questionable actions in the latest MCU entry, casting a spell that resulted in an irreversible fracture in the universe, which will apparently be explored further in Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness.
Following from the understanding of absolute points established in What If...?, it may be that Aunt May’s death marks another of these crucial moments in time. Furthermore, this could also indicate that the importance of this moment is the real reason why Strange’s original spell misfired. It would explain why Strange risked the universe’s stability on something relatively insignificant since the spell was probably harmless unless it tampered with an absolute point. From Matt Murdock's brief cameo, it's clear that if Peter hadn't gone to Doctor Strange, Aunt May would have been killed by the general public. When Doctor Strange's spell almost succeeded, creating a reality where Peter and all of his loved ones would have been safe, it prevented Aunt May’s death. Since the spell shattered an absolute point, it created rips in the fabric of reality. The different Spider-Men and villains traveled through this tear before Strange contained the spell in a box, which briefly fixed things since it now created a reality where Aunt May would still die, murdered by Green Goblin.
The theory also highlights a detail near the Spider-Man: No Way Home finale, where Doctor Strange is trying to hold back other characters from coming through the tear. The rips are never shown to be expanding and audiences never get to see the exact moment when they reappear. It suggests that the rips were caused by the original spell. More importantly, while Doctor Strange was able to stop the characters from the multiverse from coming through, the rips are still present. This fractured universe will be the main plot point for the upcoming Multiverse of Madness and it would also explain the Strange Supreme cameo, who would be the only one who can explain the concept of absolute points in the upcoming movie and why the spell messed up.
Ultimately, it does draw more attention to Aunt May and why her message was so important for Peter to hear. As the Spider-Man: No Way Home ending shows off Peter in a brand new homemade suit, it suggests that Spider-Man’s upcoming foes will be more grounded and may make him question his own values. One of these might be the Kingpin who has mainly dealt with Daredevil, another superhero with a no-killing rule. While it isn’t too clear what creates an absolute point, it’s possible that Aunt May’s death was so vital because it redefines how Spider-Man will deal with his villains in the future.
This interpretation puts an interesting lens on May’s death, however, there’s no doubt that the next Spider-Man entry will explore how Peter deals with his grief. While Kevin Feige has confirmed that the sequel to Spider-Man: No Way Home is already under development, there may not be any new information released on the web-slinger for a while. Regardless, the MCU has set an interesting landscape for the next Spider-Man movie and the possibilities for where the sequel might go are endless.
