Spider-Man: No Way Home is a celebration of three generations of cinema and a beloved character that touched the hearts of many. Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland each brought something unique to the character of the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, and seeing them all together on the big screen made their individualities even more special.
While there were evident differences between the three versions of Spider-Man/Peter Parker, there were several similarities as well. One of the best was the "Peter-Tingle," also known as the spidey sense, which was a major aspect of the character's powers. Throughout every live-action Spider-Man movie, this particular superpower featured in some epic moments of the superhero's life.
Peter Saves Mary-Jane's Lunch
Early on in Spider-Man, Peter's spidey sense kicked in during a scene in the cafeteria as Mary-Jane slipped on spilled juice while carrying her lunch tray. Peter not only managed to catch her before she hit the ground but also saved all her food using the tray he'd caught mid-air.
The scene, while seemingly simple on the surface, was an impressive portrayal of Peter's spidey sense without relying on over-the-top theatrics. According to the Independent, none of it was CGI and it took Maguire one hundred and fifty-six takes to pull off the awe-inspiring move.
Doc Ock's Attack At The Cafe
Just as Peter and Mary-Jane were about to kiss at the cafe in best villains in the Raimi trilogy, came in shortly after, giving Peter an ultimatum to find Spider-Man in order to save Mary-Jane.
Throughout the second movie in his trilogy, Maguire's Peter kept losing his powers and struggled with balancing his personal life and superhero identity - a theme explored in depth again in Spider-Man: No Way Home. This scene was beautifully shot and enhanced by the return of Peter's powers just in time to save the city and Mary-Jane.
Spider-Man Stops The Derailed Train
After Doc Ock kidnapped Mary-Jane, Spider-Man went after him, having regained his powers. During their fight, Doc Ock sabotaged a train full of people, leaving Spider-Man to save it. The stakes became even higher when the hero's spidey sense showed him that the train was on an incomplete railway line and was quickly hurtling towards a dangerous plunge.
Spider-Man managed to stop the train after a struggle by going to the front and using webs he attached to the nearby buildings to slow it down until it stopped. It was one of the most heroic acts and the bravest moment in the live-action Spider-Man movie, especially considering the emotional and mental struggle Peter was going through at the time.
Spider-Man Discovers His Powers On The Train
The 2012 film, The Amazing Spider-Man introduced Garfield as the web-slinging superhero, delving deep into his backstory and how he gained his powers. In one scene, Peter was asleep on the train when another enger balanced a bottle on his face. At that moment, Peter's powers kicked in, his spidey sense in particular, and he unintentionally stuck to the ceiling and fought off the men attacking him.
A lot happened in that scene, with Peter's reflexes and senses heightened, combined with his utter confusion regarding the onset of these new abilities. It was a good, believable portrayal of how overwhelming that moment must have felt for him, infused with humor as he kept apologizing for his actions.
Spider-Man Fights Electro On Times Square
One of the biggest opponents Spider-Man faced in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was Electro and their first fight scene was in Times Square, while the latter was still trying to understand what was happening to him. When Electro sent a surge of electric waves across the street, Spider-Man's spidey sense helped him save several civilians from being electrocuted.
The scene was shown in slow-motion and the combination of the waves of electricity coursing through the street and Spider-Man flipping a police car and slinging webs with just the right timing to save the people around him made it an iconic one. Even the humor added at the end when the scene cut to Spider-Man firing a hose at Electro with the help of some firemen while donning one of their hats rang true for fans of Spidey's quippy character.
Spider-Man Versus Mysterio's Drones
Spider-Man: Far From Home had Holland's Spidey going up against Mysterio to expose the elaborate ruse he pulled off with the use of drones. One of the most memorable scenes was during the final confrontation between the two on Tower Bridge. Mysterio used his illusion tech to shield himself from Spider-Man, making the area appear as a dark empty space.
After taking a deep breath and muttering, "come on, Peter Tingle," Spider-Man was able to sense where each drone was and took them down, along with Mysterio's illusion. Apart from the cool aesthetics of this scene, what made this moment more satisfying was Peter overcoming his struggle with reconnecting to his tingle and overall identity as Spider-Man and the world's expectations of him after Tony's death. The scene showed impressive character growth, a prominent feature in each movie making up Holland's trilogy.
Doctor Strange Separates Spider-Man From His Physical Form
The Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer showed Doctor Strange separating Peter from his physical form. In the movie, the scene continued to show Peter's body ducking Strange's attempts to get back the box containing the botched spell, much to the latter's surprise.
Peter's spidey sense was the reason he was able to evade Doctor Strange and it was both comical and intriguing to watch the sorcerer get bested by what appeared to be Spider-Man's suit. The scene also led to speculation and fan theories over the extent of Spider-Man's powers in the MCU.
Spider-Man Sensing Green Goblin's Betrayal
In Spider-Man: No Way Home, Peter's mission to cure the villains drawn into his universe went horribly wrong when Green Goblin took control of Norman. Just before disaster struck, Peter sensed that something was wrong and looked at each villain in Happy's apartment trying to understand what he was sensing.
Thanks to his spidey sense, he realized it was the Green Goblin but that realization came late and he lost the fight, along with Aunt May. Although it was too little, too late, Peter's spidey sense here was impressive, having picked up on the Goblin's presence without any other clue to indicate his impending betrayal.
MJ & Ned Meet The Other Peter Parkers
One of the most Spider-Man: No Way Home was the appearance of Garfield and Maguire, reprising their roles as Peter Parker/Spider-Man. The film's recently released script revealed their MCU names as Raimi-Verse Peter (Maguire) and Webb-Verse Peter (Garfield). When Webb-Verse Peter appeared, MJ asked him to prove he was truly Spider-Man and threw a piece of bread at him to see if he had the 'tingle thing,' similar to a scene with a banana in Far From Home between May and Peter.
It was a hilarious scene, made even better by Zendaya and Garfield's brilliant performances. When Raimi-Verse Peter ed the scene, he and Webb-Verse Peter had a moment where they sensed each other's spidey sense too, both responding by shooting webs at each other and flipping in the air.
Three Spider-Men In The Final Battle
The final battle in Spider-Man: No Way Home had all three versions of Peter Parker teaming up to fight and cure the villains. Their efforts were clumsy at first as they kept getting in each other's way, plus the confusion of which Peter was which.
Thanks to his experience fighting as part of a team with the Avengers, MCU-Verse Peter suggested coordinating their attacks by relying on their spidey-sense. His plan worked, leading to one of the best scenes in the movie of the three Spider-Men fighting alongside each other.
