With the marketing campaign for Spider-Man: No Way Home in full swing, fans of Tom Holland's Web-Slinger have received several intriguing pieces of footage from the film, from both trailers and TV spots. And while these trailers and TV spots have been careful not to give too much away, they may have stealthily revealed an important plot point from Spider-Man: No Way Home, with several key moments hinting that the multiversal rogue's gallery may be using Stark technology to upgrade themselves.
The film's first trailer reveals Peter's confrontation with Alfred Molina's Doctor Octopus on a bridge. Peter is seen wearing the Iron Spider suit as he takes on the mad scientist, but the second trailer shows how their battle quickly goes wrong for the hero -- Doctor Octopus quickly manages to subdue Peter with his tentacles before absorbing the Iron Spider's nanotechnology into them. In addition to causing the arms to take on the suit's signature red coloration, the nanotech also presumably increases their durability and strength, much as the suit did for Peter.
In addition to Doc Ock's hostile takeover of the Iron Spider armor, Jamie Foxx's Electro will also be using technology originally designed by Stark. A recently-released TV spot reveals that Electro will be using an Arc Reactor in tandem with his new suit, presumably to increase his powers. This incorporation of Iron Man's technology may explain why Electro is no longer blue, as it seems that the Reactor helps him to better control his electricity, allowing him to change his physical appearance to more accurately represent what he originally looked like before gaining powers.
With two of the film's five confirmed villains having been revealed to be using technology designed by Stark, it seems probable that their fellow rogues may also utilize some Stark Tech, with the most obvious candidate being Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin. It stands to reason that the Goblin may want to upgrade himself to take on this strange new world, and since Oscorp seemingly doesn't exist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Stark Industries would be his next best bet. This utilization of Stark Tech may reveal that the other Green Goblin who appeared in the second trailer isn't actually a different character at all but instead Dafoe's Goblin with upgraded tech.
With Green Goblin, Doc Ock and Electro covered, this leaves Sandman and Lizard as outliers, but considering they don't use technology at all, they would have no use for Stark-designed gadgets. However, this puzzle could be answered by the fact that the two appear to have returned to their evil ways, despite having reformed in their debut films. Considering that the trailers have only shown Sandman as a giant sand creature and Lizard in his transformed state, it's possible that whoever is pulling the strings of the sinister team got their hands on some Stark tech and used it to essentially brainwash Lizard and Sandman, trapping them in their more monstrous forms to ensure that they won't rebel against the rest of the villains.
The reveal that Spider-Man: No Way Home's villains have all co-opted Tony Stark's technology would continue the recent trend of having Spider-Man's villains all be connected to Iron Man. This has been one of the most common complaints relating to the MCU's Spider-Man, with many feeling that it takes away some of the personal connection between Spidey and his villains. Despite these criticisms, it seems that Marvel and Sony are indeed going all-in on their connections to Tony Stark, which makes a certain amount of sense considering Tony's status as a father figure to Peter. With five incredibly powerful Stark tech-enhanced villains menacing New York, Peter may very well find himself out of his league, forcing him to rely on a bit of help from some friends in order to save the day once again.
To see how the multiversal villains utilize Tony Stark's technology, Spider-Man: No Way Home hits theaters on Dec. 17.