Spider-Man No Way Home: Ranking All Main New Players and Cameos in Tom Holland and Zendaya’s Marvel Movie From Worst to Best (SPOILER ALERT)

Do yourself a favour and stay away from this article if you have not seen Spider-Man: No Way Home and are planning to do so ahead. If you have watched it, join us in discussing what Marvel's new movie brings in to our battered world that is nothing less than magic. Directed by Jon Watts, Spider-Man: No Way Home is the concluding chapter in the trilogy that began with the 2017 film Spider-Man: Homecoming and has Tom Holland's Peter Parker deal with the serious consequences of his identity revelation that happened during the mid-credit scene of Spider-Man: Far From Home. Spider-Man No Way Home Movie Review: Tom Holland’s Marvel Film Is a Multiversal Celebration of the Iconic Avenger!

In trying to repair the damage this caused to his family and friends, Parker takes the help from Doctor Strange in making everyone forget he is Spider-Man. But the spell gets botched and it ends up with the multiverse getting breached. Strange closes the breach before anything more serious could happen, but by then, certain characters had already crossed over from other universes to this one who know Peter Parker.

Yes, Spider-Man: No Way Home brings some fan-favourite characters not only from this franchise, but also from the franchises that have been done and dusted. The movie is not only a capper to the MCU trilogy but also a fitting tribute to the cinematic Spider-Man legacy that began from 2002's Spider-Man. But the best part about Spider-Man: No Way Home (the title will make a lot of sense towards the end) is that the legacy-tributes do not overshadow Peter Parker's story, nor does the presence of a popular Avenger.

In this feature, we look at all the new players making their entry in Tom Holland's MCU trilogy, including characters he interacted with Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, and rank them from Worst to Best based on the impact they created in No Way Home. Again, I am warning you... MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!

Honourable Mention - All Doctor Strange 2 Characters

The second post-credit scene is a teaser for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, that brings in Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olson), Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams), Karl Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and glimpses of America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) as well as the tentacled monster, Shuma Gorath. The teaser, while interesting and follows up on Strange's arc from No Way Home, is a separate chapter altogether. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Teaser Featuring Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen Leaked on Social Media Post Spider-Man: No Way Home Release.

Wong

Played By: Benedict Wong

Let's offer some congratulations to Wong, who is also a secret underground fighter, for being the new Sorcerer Supreme, after Strange got Snapped away. But his presence in the film hardly matters much, as he disappears to Kamar Taj after warning Strange about the spell he is to use. Wong also appears in the End-credit scene.

Matt Murdock/Daredevil

Played by: Charlie Cox

While his nemesis Kingpin aka Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio) made his entry into MCU, well almost, in Hawkeye earlier this week, the blind vigilante Daredevil aka Matt Murdock made his entry, as many leakers had predicted, as Parker's lawyer, who represents him in defending the murder charges. While it is a welcome sight to see Cox back and the scene ends with him showing a glimpse of his power, the whole cameo felt shoe-horned for pure fan-service and doesn't really matter much to the plot. Hawkeye Episode 5 Review: Florence Pugh Proves To Be Scene-Stealer Again; Disney+ Series Heralds Return of Fan-Favourite Marvel Villain… Well, Almost!

Eddie Brock/Venom

Played by: Tom Hardy

Continuing on the surprise mid-credit scene in Venom: Let There Be Carnage, we see Eddie Brock in the mid-credit scene struggling with the fact that he is in a new universe (because Venom knew about Peter Parker). Just about when he decides to meet Spider-Man in New York, much to Venom's chagrin, Strange's spell causes him to return to his universe (aw, shucks!), but leaves behind a little Venom (yay!). Even though it was brief, it was quite fun to see the Brock-Venom camaraderie.

J Jonah Jameson

Played by: JK Simmons

Pretty sure, many of you, like me, were excited when Simmons returned as JJJ in the mid-credit scene of Far From Home. In MCU, he is the editor of the controversial internet conspiracy channel, The Daily Bugle.net and is frequently attacking Parker. But the roguish charm that made the character an MVP in Sam Raimi's trilogy is sorely missing here, despite Simmons' best efforts. Hopefully, if he is making future appearances, expecting him to return to his scene-stealing form.

Dr Curt Connors/Lizard

Played by: Rhys Ifans

The problem with Lizard and Sandman, whom we mention ahead, is that not only do they get secondary treatment compared to the other three villains in this list, but also we only see their human forms much, much later. It is hard to take them seriously as human characters, when we mostly see them as CGI creations.

Flint Marko/Sandman

Played by: Thomas Haden Church

Didn't understand why Sandman couldn't revert to human form, when he could so in Spider-Man 3. But he scores slightly above Lizard, as he has more dialogues and we are also reminded of his tragic arc of wanting to be with his daughter. Let's not forget that when we first see him in No Way Home, Flint actually tried to help Parker in capturing Electro, before the other villains convince him into thinking it is better to side with them. Spider-Man No Way Home Ending Explained: Decoding the Climax and Post-Credits Scenes to Tom Holland’s Marvel Film and How the Secret Cameo Teases an Exciting Future!

Max Dillon/Electro

Played by: Jamie Foxx

More than the character, it is Jamie Foxx's performance that made more of an impact here. Electro in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was a very forgetful villain, more so because the Oscar-winning actor felt lost in that horrible CGI blue mesh. Here, we not only see him in a human form, but Foxx also get to have fun with the role. Like he says in the film, this universe suited him really well, so it felt bad to see him go back to his own universe. We just wish that he would have met Miles Morales, and be happy to learn that there is a black Spider-Man too in some universe!

Sam Raimi's Spider-Man

Played by: Tobey Maguire

It is now a known secret that both the previous iterations of Spider-Man are in No Way Home. And I am also pretty sure that Maguire's entry would have elicited a theatre-full of cheers and claps. Maguire, who has taken a semi-retirement from acting and is rather happy as a producer, seems to know the rockstar cult image that his iteration now holds, and you can almost see a strut in his act. He is older, and so is his Parker, and his organic web-shooters leave other two Spideys baffled and impressed. We are curious to learn that his history with MJ is still complicated, and towards the end of the climactic battle, our hearts were in our mouth when he got stabbed by the Green Goblin. Thankfully, his Spidey powers kick in only leaving him injured. Not sure if it would happen, but I am all for an Old Man Spider-Man movie focussing on Tobey Maguire.

Doctor Strange

Played by: Benedict Cumberbatch

Doctor Strange's presence in No Way Home is quite interesting, I must say, a very mixed bag. It isn't entirely believable why he would use a spell for a teenager that could cause serious ramifications without checking out the alternative solutions (wasn't he a surgeon before?). Also not convincing is the way he screws up the spell and thus breaching the multiverse. But Strange is responsible for that fantastic mirror dimension sequence, and the movie smartly keeps him out of action just so that it can focus on the emotional aspect of Parker's arc, allowing him to deal with his moral decisions on his own.

Dr Otto Octavius/Doc Ock

Played by: Alfred Molina

Despite the jarring deaging effect on his face, Alfred Molina reminds you why his Doc Ock has been one of Spider-Man's best villains on the big screen, if not the best. But let's also remember, that he wasn't a villain. It is the tentacles controlling his neural receptor that make him do the dastardly deeds. Molina once again does justice to that complicated arc of the supervillain, while also bringing some much-needed humour to his plotline.

The Amazing Spider-Man

Played by: Andrew Garfield

Andrew Garfield may have been unfortunate enough to be in the weakest Spider-Man franchise, but he has been spectacular as the webbed-crawler. The regret of not seeing him in better films is clearly felt in the brief screentime we see the actor here. Especially in the emotional scenes, where he reminisces about the death of his lover, Gwen Stacy. Andrew also nails the funny quips and is easily the most watchable Spidey, when the trio get together. Like Foxx, it is the performance that truly shines here, reiterating why Garfield is one of the best actors we have!

Norman Osborn/Green Goblin

Played by: Willem Dafoe

Easily, the biggest scene-stealer in Spider-Man: No Way Home is Green Goblin, and the actor who plays him. If No Way Home has to anoint a main antagonist, it would be him. Dafoe's demented cackle and his split-personality performance, that impressed us in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man, once again enthrall us here. And he plays a very crucial part in MCU Parker's most emotionally conflicted struggle - of whether revenge feels better than helping his enemy to redeem themselves. Green Goblin is mean, he is dangerous and he is also imbibes the nuance of a man who regrets not being a good father, and therefore, ranks the top in this list!

What do you make of our ranking of these Spider-Man No Way Home new players? What do you think of the whole movie? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 16, 2021 02:04 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).