The Confusing Aunt May Moment In Spider-Man: No Way Home Explained
Contains spoilers for "Spider-Man: No Way Home." Reader beware!
When Marvel Cinematic Universe fans last saw Peter Parker (Tom Holland), he couldn't have been in a worse spot. Despite defeating Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) and kicking off a relationship with MJ (Zendaya), he was framed for the former's death and had his secret identity made public by The Daily Bugle's J. Jonah Jameson (JK Simmons). Thus, the mind-blowing cliffhanger at the end of "Spider-Man: Far From Home" perfectly set the stage for its sequel, "Spider-Man: No Way Home," to cover his next steps in dealing with such issues.
When it comes to his legal woes, a very familiar-looking lawyer named Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) helps clear him of just about all charges. However, Peter wasn't so lucky when it came to repairing his public image, which remains in shambles and has prevented him from living anything close to a normal life. Nevertheless, for as hard as it has made their lives too, his friends and family have stuck by his side no matter how tough things got. MJ, Ned (Jacob Batalon), and Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) have all done their share to help, but none could hold a candle to Peter's Aunt May (Marisa Tomei).
For a good chunk of his life — pre and post-spider bite — May has been Peter's biggest supporter, and that was no different in "No Way Home." Although, there was something about her guidance that didn't make a lot of sense this time around.
Did May guilt Peter into playing God?
Following a botched spell from both Spider-Man and Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), various villains from across the Marvel multiverse converge on the MCU timeline. Considering it's largely his fault that this happened, Strange sends Spidey off to go round up these bad guys while the former Sorcerer Supreme figures out a way to send them home. Peter is 100% on board with this plan until he finds the man in a menacing green suit that had attacked him earlier sitting with Aunt May at the nearby F.E.A.S.T. shelter — distraught over his mental anguish.
Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe) has confided in May that he is tortured internally by the Green Goblin and that his nefarious acts aren't his doing. Moved by his testimony, May convinces Peter not to send him and his fellow bad guys back to their timelines to be killed by their respective Spider-Men, but instead heal them of their ailments and potentially save their lives. On the surface, this is a noble cause for May and Peter to undertake, and it's well-established by now that they both have a strong desire to help people. But, one can't help but notice that she effectively guilted her nephew into playing God.
To make matters worse, her optimism in their ability to heal all of the villains got her killed and left Strange no choice but to make everyone in the world forget who Peter is. All in all, it seems as though May did more harm than good with her urge to get Peter to help out Norman and company — ignoring the potential multiverse-spanning issues it could cause. At the same time, though, Peter did manage to heal everyone in the end and use his power responsibly, just as May had told him. It's just too bad she couldn't be there to see it.