WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home, now playing in theaters.
One of the most anticipated components of Spider-Man: No Way Home was the return of Alfred Molina's Otto Octavius. His Doc Ock was so impressive in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2, whether as a cocky scientist or that sympathetic tyrant who eventually helped Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker. But while the newest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe follows suit, making Doc Ock an ally of Tom Holland's Spidey, at film's end, it's clear the film redeems the wrong villain.
Otto turns face after Holland's Spidey comes up with a chip that heals him and his tentacles, making them partners as opposed to angry antagonists jostling for control. As such, he works with Pete and the other wall-crawlers to stave off Green Goblin, Lizard Electro and Sandman in the finale.
However, this angle feels predictable and makes one wonder what could have been if Norman Osborn were the one who got redeemed. His Goblin was an intimidating staple of the Raimi franchise, after all, casting a pall that couldn't even be compared to in the Marc Webb movies. And while this film does make it seem like Norman wants to be healed of his split personality, it was Goblin all along, using Peter to make weapons and a serum that will fix his Jekyll and Hyde syndrome.
This leads to Goblin beating Pete senseless and killing Aunt May, leaving the MCU's web-head contemplating murder as revenge. But this direction was obvious, lacking tension and suspense as it followed what the trailers promised. Instead, the film could have flipped the dynamic by having Peter cure Norman of the Goblin.
And the potential showed in powerful exchanges between Norman and Peter where they together worked as scientists, leaving Norman beaming about how proud he was of Holland's Peter. In that moment, Norman took pride in his work, remembering the good he held within as a man. Had Otto been the main villain, trying to break the magical box so they could stay here and grab power, it would have aligned with the evil, superior Doc Ock from the comics and acted as perfect misdirection for those who thought Goblin would be the main enemy.
But more than that, it would have been brilliant seeing Norman working with Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man when he and Andrew Garfield's version entered the fray. The genius did consider Maguire's Spidey a son, after all, so not only would their emotional connection have been organic and sentimental, but it also would have helped Norman get over the mistakes he made with Harry, becoming the hero his son always thought his dad was.
In the end, having Norman turn face would prove May was right when she begged Pete to give him a second chance. Instead, however, Norman as the villain misses the mark, especially because there was so much more potential to mine with a Goblin atoning for all the blood he shed and relationships he broke.
To see the film redeem the wrong villain, Spider-Man: No Way Home is now playing in theaters.