WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home, now playing in theaters.

When the Marvel Cinematic Universe first started, its primary focus was to establish an exciting new franchise to moviegoers, complete with characters sure to be loved by millions. After Phase One solidified the MCU's place in film, Phase Two had more fun with its content and even got more referential with its sister franchises like Star Wars. For most of Phase Two and three, there were many references to the series in subtle ways. But it wasn't until Spider-Man: No Way Home that the nods were brought back in small but impactful ways.

No Way Home follows Peter Parker's choice to erase his identity from the universe after Mysterio outs his alter ego to the public. But in doing so, a collection of villains from the multiverse come calling and risk destroying everything the MCU's Peter has established. Sadly, this forces him to uproot his life and live in hiding until the attention surrounding him dies down, leading to one of the first Star Wars references.

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As Peter waits for answers from the many colleges he applied to, he works on a LEGO Death Star. However, rather than the one from A New Hope, this one looks like the one from Return of the Jedi. The scene is a clever callback to when he and Ned were working on the original Death Star in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Except now, Peter is on his own, working on a LEGO set meant for him and his friend with the Return of the Jedi's incomplete Death Star, representing how fractured his life has become.

In the past, the MCU's Star Wars nods were shown by characters losing an arm, similar to how Luke did in The Empire Strikes Back. However, Spider-Man: Homecoming has Ned teasing the massive Death Star he got with a LEGO Palpatine Minifigure. This Minifigure isn't shown again after Homecoming, but it appears at the end of No Way Home on Peter's desk in his apartment. The brief callback also serves as an emotional nod to Peter's larger sacrifice at the end of the film.

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To save everything, Peter tells Strange to make everyone forget Peter is Spider-Man, including his loved ones, meaning Ned and MJ will not even remember he exists. Although they may not remember, Peter still does, and he keeps the Palpatine Minifigure as a way to remind himself to never stop fighting for those he cares about. As for the Death Star, it's destroyed by the villains, symbolizing Peter's evolution from adolescence to adulthood.

Marvel and Star Wars may be two of entertainment's biggest properties. As a result, seeing one reference the other is always a delight. But Spider-Man: No Way Home manages to take the love of Star Wars shared by the world and add an even greater emotional tie with Peter's own personal losses. So now, every time he and the audience see the LEGO Palpatine Minifigure, it'll be a fond memory and reminder to keep fighting.

To see the subtle Star Wars references, Spider-Man: No Way Home is in theaters now.

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