Spider-Man: No Way Home is so not done! It is continuously making big money at the Box Office, and people are enjoying repeated viewings of this visual spectacle, throughout the world! But keeping all the fun parts aside, this movie has also left us with several questions. And some of those really need to be answered by the creatives behind the movie because they seem to be forming a few plot holes. For instance, how was Doctor Strange okay with the creation of new timelines in No Way Home? He shouldn’t have allowed Peter to cure the villains.
Spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home follow.
Among the many questions that people have from the film [Is Netflix’s Daredevil canon to MCU; Why was Strange dangling in the mirror dimension for 12 hours if the web solution dissolves within 2 hours; etc.], the one that has everyone confused is about the new timelines that all Peters created together. We all know that the Spider-Man villains were picked from different points in time on different universes. Most of them were supposed to die, but the Peters cured all of them before sending them back. So, doesn’t this change their fates?
New Timelines in No Way Home
Imagine Norman Osborn being pulled into the MCU sometime during his final battle against Maguire’s Spider-Man. He was supposed to die. But now if he returns to that very point in time in 2002, he would have no reason to fight Maguire’s Peter. He’d be cured and will go back home to take care of Harry. Or he’d surrender himself and atone for his sins in prison. Either way, a new branch in time would be created from the year 2002 in Tobey Maguire’s Universe.
Similarly, another branch would also be created from 2004 onwards, since Doc Ock would also return to this time after being healed. And speaking of The Amazing Spider-Man universe, the return of Max Dillon would also create a possible new branch from 2014 where Dillon isn’t dead. Those who didn’t die originally (Sandman & Lizard) may or may not create new branches upon returning.
Even if Doctor Strange sent all 5 villains back to their universes in the present day along with Maguire and Garfield’s Spider-Men, two new branches would still have been created. Electro, Doc Ock, and Goblin would not have created new branches in this case since they were already dead after 2002, 2004, and 2014 in their respective universes. But since Flint Marko and Dr. Curt Connors were originally alive in their timelines, their absence would have created new branches. So, either way, the multiverse would have had these new timelines. Now my question is, how was Doctor Strange okay with this???
It Does Not Make Sense After Endgame
Looking at the moral side of this, it is obvious that Peter wanted to do the right thing. He wanted to give the villains a second chance. But Strange was right with his original statement when he said, “It’s their fate.” He basically meant to say, “If they die, they die!” They were supposed to be sent back to where they were picked from because of what we learned from Avengers: Endgame.
You see, Endgame made a huge deal about this. The Sorcerer Supreme, aka the Ancient One asked Bruce to return every stone back to the moment it is taken from or else a bunch of nasty branches in time would be created. And, the creation of those new realities would ultimately doom the multiverse. That’s why Captain America went back in time and clipped all those new realities.
If the Ancient One knew that new branches aren’t supposed to be created, then how come Strange allowed it to happen? When he came back after dangling in the Grand Canyon, he allowed the three Spider-Men to cure all the leftover villains. At this point, he must have known that new branches would be created when these guys are sent home after being cured. And somehow, he was okay with all that.
So, was it a plot hole in the narrative? Is this what causes the Multiverse of Madness? Or did Strange deliberately allow it to happen? Well, here’s a plausible answer…
The Fix?!
We know that the TVA was responsible for fixing the Multiverse and restoring the sacred timeline. But ever since Sylvie killed He Who Remains, things at the TVA changed drastically. Now, they were freely allowing new branches in time to be created as there was no Sacred Timeline. In fact, the new realities No Way Home creates were possibly being watched by Mobius and Hunter B-15 at the end of Loki.
So, what if Doctor Strange and the rest of the mages knew about the TVA? What if Strange and co somehow sensed what Sylvie did and knew about the expansion of the Multiverse? Strange should only allow the creation of new branches if he knows that the TVA is also allowing that now. It’s either that or No Way Home created a big Endgame plot hole with Peter’s naivete.
Maybe Strange did not know that creating new timelines would have dangerous multiversal consequences. Or he was willing to risk the creation of new timelines. And because of the moral high ground he took by supporting Peter, the Multiverse would go fall into Madness. The bill always comes due, and it’s soon gonna!
There’s no other possible explanation really. What do you guys think about this situation? Is it a plot hole or there’s some other reason why Strange allowed the creation of new branches? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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