Spider-Man: No Way Home post-credits explained: what each scene means for the MCU’s future

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Spider-Man: No Way Home post-credits explained: what each scene means for the MCU’s future

No Way Home's post-credits scenes give us more questions than answers
                                                                               
                                                                                                                               
                           
                           

                               

Spider-Man: No Way Home has a new post-credits scene for fans as part of its 'More Fun Stuff' re-release. 

While the original came bundled with one post-credits scene and a trailer for the (now-released) Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the replacement manages to clear up any lingering questions over the No Way Home ending and gives Spidey a proper clean slate for any potential sequel. Pretty good going, if you ask us.

Below, we’ll break down each scene and present some of our biggest Spider-Man: No Way Home post-credits theories as Spidey swings into a new era.

Major spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home follow!

Spider-Man: No Way Home post-credits scenes, explained

(Image credit: Sony/Marvel)

So, there are two No Way Home post-credits scenes in the original release. The first features Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock and Venom – now in the MCU – speaking to a bartender (Ted Lasso’s Cristo Fernandez) and trying to comprehend the amount of super-powered beings in this universe. 

The second is a now out-of-date Doctor Strange 2 trailer. We'll cover the replacement, featuring Betty Brant, further down.

The bartender, it seems, has been doing a Luis-style recap of the major events in the MCU for a tipsy Brock and Venom. There’s talk of a "billionaire in a tin suit" (that would be Tony Stark), Hulk, and "an alien that loves stones" (Thanos).

Brock decides he should just go to New York to talk to Spider-Man, but a drunk Venom suggests they go skinny dipping. They do neither. Instead, Doctor Strange’s spell – the one cast at the end of the movie – puts everyone back in their original universes and Eddie disappears in a flash of light, leaving a bemused bartender and probably a hefty tab.

In one final kicker, it’s revealed that a tiny puddle of the symbiote is left behind – and it starts to move as we cut to black.

Spider-Man: No Way Home's Venom post-credits scene: How did Eddie Brock get to the MCU?

(Image credit: Sony Pictures Releasing)

If you haven’t seen the Venom 2 post-credits scene, it might be unclear about how Eddie Brock got to the MCU. In fact, even with that knowledge, there appears to be a serious plot hole that needs filling.

Essentially, the Venom 2 post-credits shows Eddie Brock sitting in a hotel suite, then being randomly transported to a new universe and finding out, via J. Jonah Jameson on television, that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. 

We originally assumed that scene was taking place in the MCU. However, the entire point of Spider-Man: No Way Home is that these characters are brought into the MCU because they already know that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. Eddie Brock does not seemingly already know this piece of information.

One explanation could be that Eddie's actually transported into a non-MCU place first, finds out who Spider-Man is, and is later transported again into the MCU. That seems overly complicated. Perhaps Venom somehow already knew that Parker was Spider-Man thanks to his alien knowledge. Neither Venom 2 or No Way Home has the answers. It’s possible that it could be a topic that’s broached in Venom 3 because, as of right now, there’s no real logical reason why Eddie Brock would enter the MCU and then find out Peter is Spider-Man.

Where does Venom go?

(Image credit: Sony Pictures Releasing)

Venom goes back to its own universe along with its host, Eddie Brock. For now, that universe is very much separate from the MCU – so don’t expect to see Hardy's Venom punching Holland's Spider-Man anytime soon. It’s also unclear if Brock will retain memories of his very brief stint in the MCU. Again, another question for a potential threequel to answer.

What is that black goo at the end?

(Image credit: Sony/Marvel)

That’s the symbiote that makes up Venom. If you aren’t familiar, it’s pretty much a sentient black alien goo that bonds to hosts. You may also remember it from Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 and Tobey Maguire’s ill-fated black suit.

If that’s now in the MCU, there are a few outcomes: it could attach itself to Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, or even the MCU variant of Eddie Brock. There’s also a chance it could find its way to Spidey’s fake BFF Flash Thompson – who took up the moniker Agent Venom in the comics. Or it could attach itself to another host entirely – perhaps the barman?

Spider-Man: No Way Home's More Fun Stuff post-credits scene

(Image credit: Sony Pictures/Marvel)

The new post-credits scene shows Peter Parker's fellow student Betty Brant presenting her "Betty's Corner" segment on Midtown News. During the broadcast, she shows pictures of her school year's time at Midtown High, including their trip to Europe (as seen in Spider-Man: Far From Home). Spider-Man: Homecoming's Liz even makes an appearance, though Peter is notably absent from the photos. There's one picture that sees a bird flying across his face to obscure him from the shot, but the implication is clear: nobody remembers Peter Parker.

In effect, Doctor Strange's spell worked flawlessly. No one remembers Peter Parker was Spider-Man and no one remembers Peter Parker. Period. If Tom Holland returns to the role in Spider-Man 4, he'll be doing so with all of the baggage of the character's MCU history left behind.

For more from Spidey’s epic threequel, check out the likelihood of Spider-Man: No Way Home on Disney Plus and all of the Spider-Man: No Way Home Easter eggs, references, and cameos we’ve discovered so far.

                                                           

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