Spider-Man: No Way Home Ending Explained: Why That Leftover Venom Goo Seemed A Little Strange

One thing that struck us as a little strange after going through Erik Voss's New Rockstars breakdown of the Spider-Man: No Way Home ending and post credits scenes is simple. If Doctor Strange's spell sent everyone home, why did a little smudge of Venom goo get left behind? Before that, a word for the people who got up and walked out as soon as the credits hit: "have you not been to a marvel movie before why are you leaving"

The Venom goo makes Doctor Strange's spell look selective

In the first post credits scene, Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock glows and fades back into his own universe, but one bit of symbiote stays in the MCU. We wondered if it could end up with Flash Thompson, which is the obvious route to go. Still, it is a little strange that piece did not get pulled back too.

The spell wiped Flash's books about his friendship with Peter Parker and erased Spider-Man's identity from the hard drives at the news stations, "but not that little bit of venom". Good job, Doctor Strange.

Only a few villains squeaked through Strange's spell

Strange explains in the film that he managed to contain most of the spell but a few squeaked through. So for us, what we see on screen are the only ones who got through, and anyone else would simply have been sent back. Unless, we joked, someone was in the bathroom when everyone else went home.

We felt kind of sad looking at the image of Irrfan Khan, who passed away and so could not get the call.

Tobey Maguire's Peter left his back wide open

In the shot where Osborn comes to Spider Jesus, the only thought was how unfortunate it is that Willem Dafoe's face is right by Tobey's backside. There was also a basic mistake: exposing your back is fighting 101. Then again, he was focused on not letting Tom Holland's Peter fall and on saving him from the biggest mistake of his life.

Comic book logic only goes so far

It is a comic book film dealing in fantasy, so you need some logic but not all of it. It's a struggle when you start breaking it down, like Tobey's Peter curing Sandman without affecting his cellular makeup. But web cartridges that last a whole swing across the city are impossible too, and anyone who has run out of printer ink knows it. Put simply: "if i can accept that i should accept the sandman thing", and the leftover Venom as well.

Mordo, the Kang vibe and Cumberbatch in the Multiverse of Madness teaser

The breakdown also covered the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness teaser. We read Mordo as being about purity, almost like Martin Luther breaking from the Catholic Church, basically an overcorrection. The dark Strange variant's room was reminiscent of He Who Remains' room in Loki; we agreed it at least signalled something foreboding. Good job, set designers. And it was cool to see someone as talented as Benedict Cumberbatch fully embracing it, theatrical in the best of ways.

So what do you think: should that leftover Venom goo have been sent home with Eddie?