Spider-Man: No Way Home Credits Scene Explained: Well, That Didn't Last Very Long

"Spider-Man: No Way Home" is in theaters now! The latest installment of Tom Holland's webslinging franchise in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has arrived, and in keeping with the tradition of almost all Marvel Studios movies, there's a good reason to stick around through the credits (and not just out of respect for the thousands of people who worked tirelessly on the sequel). 

First of all, yes, there's a mid-credits scene for "Spider-Man: No Way Home." There's also something you'll want to stick around for after all the credits have rolled, but it's not actually a scene. In a surprising turn of events, Marvel Studios did something they haven't done since the credits for "Captain America: The First Avenger." Just as the arrival of America's ass ended with a teaser trailer for "The Avengers," after the credits are wrapped up on "Spider-Man: No Way Home," there's a trailer for the next round of multiverse shenanigans in "Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness." We'll save that breakdown for another time, but for now, let's dig into the "Spider-Man: No Way Home" credits scene.

The "Spider-Man: No Way Home" mid-credits scene directly follows the credits scene for "Venom: Let There Be Carnage." The scene in question saw Eddie Brock and Venom on vacation in Mexico, and just as the symbiote was about to reveal some of the secrets of the universe to the intrepid reporter, their crappy hotel room in Mexico phased and changed into a different, more upscale hotel room. But the real kicker was what was unfolding on television: J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons) had recently revealed that Peter Parker was Spider-Man. Yes, the scene established that Eddie Brock and Venom had somehow been brought into the proper Marvel Cinematic Universe.

This sequence in "Venom: Let There Be Carnage" made many Marvel Studios fans believe that Venom/Eddie were being set up for an appearance in "Spider-Man: No Way Home." While that's not entirely inaccurate, unfortunately, Venom did not make an appearance as one of the many multiverse villains that Peter Parker and Doctor Strange have to deal with in the MCU. 

Venom and Eddie still appear in the mid-credits scene, but it's only so the MCU can set up another future Spider-Man storyline that won't involve Tom Hardy's iteration of Eddie Brock and the blossoming romance with his symbiote pal Venom. In the scene, Eddie has made his way to the bar of the Mexican resort that he and Venom have found themselves in. He's been getting caught up on the events of this universe, reaffirming, albeit in drunken disbelief, that this universe is full of "super people." Venom mocks Eddie, who has apparently been asking the bartender (played by "Ted Lasso" co-star Cristo Fernández) about this for hours.

Eddie Brock recounts his understanding of a "billionaire with a tin suit" and "a really angry green man." Then he wants to hear about the "purple alien who loves stones" again. Eddie is getting a little frustrated at this point, because his experience with aliens has taught him that they only want human brains to eat. But the bartender confirms that Thanos made his family disappear for five years.

Eddie accepts that this is something that actually happened, and for some reason that makes him think that he should go to New York to speak with Spider-Man. I'm not sure why that's the first thing Eddie thinks should be done, but before Eddie/Venom can even get up to consider buying a plane ticket to New York, they're phased out of this universe, just as Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's iterations of Peter Parker (and the villains they fought) were at the end of "Spider-Man: No Way Home."

However, after Eddie/Venom disappear, the camera lingers on a small chunk of Venom that has been left behind on the bar. It remains still at first, but then suddenly, the goop begins to wiggle. And we all know what that means.

Well, the mid-credits scene for "Spider-Man: No Way Home" basically undoes what the credits scene for "Venom: Let There Be Carnage" did. It's kind of a bummer for anyone who was excited to see weirdo Eddie Brock and the Lethal Protector meet up with Tom Holland's Spider-Man. The "No Way Home" credits scene basically pulls the rug out from everyone while setting up the symbiote suit Spider-Man storyline for a future sequel (which may be in the works already, depending on who you talk to). Plus, it doesn't entirely make sense since Eddie/Venom didn't know Peter Parker was Spider-Man until they entered the MCU, which appears to go against the explanation for how the rest of the previous Spider-Man villains ended up in the MCU too. But I digress.

Personally, I think it's for the best that the Venom from the Sony Pictures universe of Spider-Man characters stays separate from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The "Venom" franchise is much more odd and goofy than what's happening in the MCU, and the characterization of Venom doesn't exactly fit in with the Marvel Studios vibe. This credits scene allows a new Venom to appear in the MCU and will hopefully give us a much better version of the symbiote suit story than we got in Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man 3."

Then again, we're still not entirely sure how the future of the MCU and Sony's separate universe of Spider-Man characters will play out. Let's not forget that "Morbius" is coming soon, and the trailer featured Michael Keaton reprising his role as Adrian Toomes, AKA The Vulture from "Spider-Man: Homecoming." It's possible that this is a different iteration of the villain than the one we've already met in the MCU, but I feel like that's going to be confusing for general audiences, even after they've experience the multiverse mayhem of "Spider-Man: No Way Home."

Whatever happens next for Spider-Man will likely depend on the events of "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness." Since "No Way Home" being bumped up on the release schedule resulted in some rewrites for the "Doctor Strange" sequel, there will likely be a variety of ramifications for whatever happens in Sam Raimi's return to Marvel Comics adaptations. After all, Tom Holland is contracted to appear in another Marvel Studios project outside of "Spider-Man: No Way Home," and a multiverse madness seems like a perfectly good reason to bring the webslinger back before he gets a new trilogy. We'll just have to wait and see what happens when "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" arrives in theaters on May 6, 2022.