The first trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home contains a subtle reference to Gwen Stacy – and hints that tragedy may befall the MCU’s Peter Parker. Marvel has finally released the first trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home, delighting viewers with a glimpse of the Multiversal action to come. The trailer focuses on establishing the basic premise of the first act, with Peter Parker heading to Doctor Strange for help now his secret identity has become public knowledge – and proving unable to keep quiet long enough for Strange to weave a complex spell, resulting in some sort of interdimensional catastrophe.

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The trailer confirmed Spider-Man will be facing a Multiversal Sinister Six, with classic villains from across the Multiverse drawn into the main MCU timeline and confronting Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. It explicitly featured references to Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus, Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin, Thomas Hayden Church’s Sandman, and even a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it shadowy glimpse of Rhys Ifans’ Lizard. Jamie Foxx’s Electro will also be returning, and there will presumably be an as-yet-unseen sixth member of the supervillain team. But one detail in the trailer has gone generally unnoticed – an ominous hint that Spider-Man: No Way Home may cost Peter Parker the life of someone he loves.

Gwen Stacy was Spider-Man’s greatest love in the comics, a character who was created by Stan Lee and based on his beloved wife Joan. Tragically, she was killed during a battle between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin; her death is one major reason Spider-Man is so determined to keep a secret identity, because he fears his loved ones could be targeted by his enemies just as Gwen was. She was killed when she fell from the George Washington Bridge, and ever since this has been an iconic location in Spider-Man lore, always standing for tragedy. For years Peter returned to the George Washington Bridge on the anniversary of Gwen’s death to reflect on her passing, although he finally seems to have moved on from this in recent comics. So it’s quite disturbing to note a number of scenes in the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer show Spider-Man facing his enemies near the George Washington Bridge. Even the scene featuring Green Goblin’s pumpkin bomb is at this bridge, a particularly ominous connection.

Spider-Man has lost his secret identity in the MCU, with Doctor Strange weaving a spell that attempts to fix the problem. It’s impossible to say whether Peter Parker’s unwitting interference in Doctor Strange’s spell will mean that particular Pandora’s Box has been closed – but even if the magic works, it clearly hasn’t affected these Multiversal villains, because Doctor Octopus clearly still knows Peter Parker is Spider-Man. That means it would be quite easy for the members of the Sinister Six to figure out who Peter’s loved ones are, and hold one of them hostage in an attempt to manipulate the wall-crawler.

Marvel knows full well how important a location the George Washington Bridge is to Spider-Man lore. That means the glimpses of the bridge – particularly in connection to the Green Goblin – should be seen as an ominous hint Tom Holland’s Spider-Man is about to experience some sort of tragedy. The burgeoning relationship between Peter and Zendaya’s MJ has been a major part of the MCU’s Spider-Man films, and the trailer for No Way Home opens by revealing they’re still an item. Will the MCU’s MJ share Gwen Stacy’s comic book fate, killed because of the Green Goblin? Or will Spider-Man: No Way Home simply tease this tragedy, and then sidestep it somehow?

Key Release Dates
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  • Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)Release date: Sep 03, 2021
  • Eternals (2021)Release date: Nov 05, 2021
  • Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)Release date: May 06, 2022
  • Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)Release date: Jul 08, 2022
  • Black Panther: Wakanda Forever/Black Panther 2 (2022)Release date: Nov 11, 2022
  • The Marvels/Captain Marvel 2 (2023)Release date: Feb 17, 2023
  • Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)Release date: Jul 28, 2023
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)Release date: May 05, 2023
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Thomas Bacon
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Tom Bacon is one of Screen Rant’s staff writers, as well as a Peer Mentor for new writers and a member of the Care Team, offering support and a listening ear to members of the Comics group. A lifelong fan of major franchises including Star Wars, Doctor Who, and Marvel, Tom is delighted his childhood is back – and this time it’s cool. You can find him on Twitter @TomABacon.

A graduate of Edge Hill University, Tom remains strongly connected with his alma mater as a volunteer chaplain. He’s heavily involved with his local church, and anyone who checks him out on Twitter will swiftly learn he’s into British politics too.

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