The Devastating Moment In Spider-Man: No Way Home No One Saw Coming

Contains spoilers for "Spider-Man: No Way Home"

Many people associate the Marvel Cinematic Universe with jokes and good times. The heroes save the day, and the bad guys go home with their tails between their legs. However, that doesn't mean the massive franchise doesn't know when to get deathly serious. 

The best example of this is the ending of "Avengers: Infinity War." The movie concludes with Thanos (Josh Brolin) acquiring all six Infinity Stones. With a snap of his fingers, he wipes out half of all life in the universe, including half of Earth's mightiest heroes. This leads into "Avengers: Endgame," where everyone's dealing with the grief of their failure in their own ways.

If you thought that was bad, "Spider-Man: No Way Home" might just have those films beat in terms of being the darkest MCU film to date. It's a lot to take in, from Peter's legal troubles to Doctor Strange being all right with the casual murder of the classic Spider-Man movie villains. But one moment, in particular, has all of those beat in terms of making audiences the world over feel depressed.

Plenty of characters have died in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. From Yondu (Michael Rooker) in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" to Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) in "Avengers: Endgame," many heroes have given their lives for the greater good. However, there's just something about watching sweet Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) sacrifice her life so that Peter can learn that with great power comes great responsibility that hits different.

The devastating moment comes toward the end of the film's second act when Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) throws a bomb in her direction. Despite Spider-Man's (Tom Holland) best efforts, the bomb detonates, wounding both him and Aunt May. Initially, it appears that she's all right and even manages to give Peter that iconic speech. But when he tries to get her on her feet, it's obvious she's suffered a mortal wound. 

In the MCU, Aunt May has taken the spot normally reserved for Uncle Ben. She's the one who inspires Peter to give up the thing he wants most so that he can save as many lives as possible, even those of the villains. She gave her life so that Peter could be the best hero possible, and at the end of the movie, he makes a monumental decision that irreparably harms his own life so that the universe can be safe from interdimensional threats. 

Aunt May's gone from the MCU, but her legacy will live on in future "Spider-Man" projects.