WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home, now playing in theaters.
One of the most heartbreaking aspects of Spider-Man: No Way Home was how it raised the stakes and reminded Tom Holland's Peter Parker life could be impermanent. After the deaths of Uncle Ben and Tony Stark, Petre turned on Doctor Strange because he didn't want to send villains back to Sony's Spider-Verse to die, hoping he could save them from similarly tragic fates. Unfortunately, one person close to Spidey does perish, but while it's a tender, heart-warming moment which fans do care about, it's not enough, as the character wasn't developed properly in the series.
This occurred when Norman Osborn/Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) flipped on Peter at Happy's apartment and tried to kill him. It led to an explosive brawl with Goblin ramming his glider into Marisa Tomei's Aunt May as the building took damage. He'd flee, but sadly, Aunt May's injuries were fatal as she bled out from the stomach.
It was pretty crushing as Peter begged her to stay awake, reminding her how it was two of them fighting through adversity in New York. As she died, while fans felt the pain, it was too little, too late to really connect with May emotionally as the previous movies didn't expand on her character much.
Sure, audiences saw her as the young hip aunt, cursing and talking to Peter about stuff like love and whatnot, but there weren't as many sentimental moments per the Mays in Sam Raimi and Marc Webb's movies. There, Peter spent a lot of time with her because she was his guardian, but in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, May's more a friend than a parent, which positioned her as a supporting afterthought.
Meanwhile, Peter spent more time with Ned and MJ as he unlocked his powers, and even when May found out he was Spidey, there weren't too many bonding sessions with him that gave insight into her and even her past with Ben. Admittedly, No Way Home did have her reminding Peter that saving villains counted too, which made him human and is why he decided to turn on Strange. Plus, when she died, she gave him the "with great power comes great responsibility" speech a la Uncle Ben, but it's like all her big lines are shucked into this film when they could have been spread out over the others.
Taking him to Europe in Far From Home also helped make them distant, but Homecoming needed more depth into their struggle for this death to truly resonate. It's well-executed, but it did feel like some context was missing as May just came off like a character that was only explored on the surface. Kudos must be given for her having a charismatic personality, but what also feels off is how the MCU felt that a superficial romance with Happy was all the nuance she needed.
That didn't play well either because when she broke it off with him at the beginning of No Way Home, it was a tad confusing as she initially made their romance seem like more than a fling in previous movies. There's no filler or depth to explain it all, which is why when Happy mourns with Peter by her grave, it just felt flat. Ultimately, May did service the franchise well but she didn't come off as pivotal over the years, which leaves her as nothing more than wasted potential and a plot crutch where collateral damage is now forcing Peter to be grow up without family.
Directed by Jon Watts, Spider-Man: No Way Home is now playing in theaters.