Spider-Man: Far From Home was fun, intense, and surprisingly full of twists. We break down the five most unexpected moments from the film.
After the shocking events in Avengers: Endgame, Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) fans were looking forward to Spider-Man: Far From Home, a solo film that promised the return of some levity to the MCU. They certainly got more than they bargained for with the laugh-a-minute film.
But alongside the hilarity, there were plenty of unexpected twists that had audiences gasping and questioning the fate of certain characters in the MCU. We look at the five most surprising twists in Spider-Man: Far From Home. Spoilers ahead.
Young Hearts
Peter Parker’s (Tom Holland) main mission in Spider-Man: Far From Home is to confess his feelings to MJ (Zendaya) during their school trip to Europe. But he is thwarted at every attempt, even by his best friend and wingman, Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon).
On the flight to Italy, Peter enlists Ned’s help to arrange a seat next to MJ. But Ned’s excuse that Peter has a perfume allergy backfires spectacularly. Peter ends up being seated between his teachers, while MJ joins the attractive Brad Davis (Remy Hii), and Ned gets seated next to Betty Brant (Angourie Rice).
By the end of the flight, Ned and Betty are a couple and remain so for the duration of the film until their very amicable breakup in the final scene of the film.
Considering how much of the film’s focus revolves around Peter and MJ, Ned and Betty becoming a couple was not only a humorous twist but also serves as a reminder of how much Peter’s secret identity hinders his ability to live a normal life.
Mysterio’s Stark Connection
Following Tony Stark’s heroic sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame, Peter is expectedly at a loss. Tony was his mentor and father figure—Peter feels the responsibility of living up to Tony’s faith in him and to be the next Iron Man.
Which is why it isn’t surprising that when Peter meets Quentin Beck, aka Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), a hero from another dimension who is kinder to him than even Tony was, Peter instinctively trusts him. Not only does Peter team up with Quentin and share his deepest feelings with him, but when given the chance, Peter straight up hands Quentin the mantle of ‘the next Iron Man’, so he can go back to living his life.
And while Quentin has been the nicest guy up until that point, his true intentions are quickly revealed the moment Peter leaves. Turns out Mysterio isn’t from another world at all—he is very much a resident of Earth-616, and was in the former employment of Tony Stark.
In Captain America: Civil War, Tony Stark revealed holographic tech, which he nicknamed B.A.R.F. (because, Tony). The tech was actually created by Quentin, who was fired soon after for being unstable. Quentin has been plotting his revenge ever since, along with a host of other Stark employees.
What we have seen in the MCU is that the best villains are the ones with a personal connection to the heroes, and Mysterio once again proves it. He doesn’t want world domination—he just wants to show his terrible boss that he deserved better. We all know that feeling—we wouldn’t go about killing Spider-Man as a result of it, but we do get it. It makes Mysterio relatable and quite scary, but it’s also an excellent twist.
MJ Always Knew
One of the most frustrating aspects of superhero stories is how the love interest is left in the dark about the hero’s identity. The DCEU managed to subvert it by making Lois Lane a part of Superman’s journey in Man of Steel, and The CW’s The Flash brought Iris West into Team Flash soon after the first season.
Spider-Man: Homecoming used the secret identity story brilliantly by revealing to audiences that Peter’s love interest was the daughter of his nemesis. How was Spider-Man: Far From Home going to handle MJ’s story? By making MJ one of the smartest people in the film.
MJ’s interest in Peter was heavily implied in the first film, and in the sequel, we learn that she is definitely an astute young woman. She’s been watching Peter so closely that she has all but figured out that Peter is Spider-Man. And it isn’t long before Peter has no choice but to confirm his identity so he can bring MJ into his confidence. MJ gets to be a hero in her own right and enjoys the agency so long denied to female characters in comics.
The Daily Bugle
Mid-credits scenes are an extremely important part of the MCU, and Spider-Man: Far From Home delivers an absolute stunner. Spider-Man takes MJ on an uncomfortable ride—a nice bit of subversion right there—and just as he is about to leave for patrol, a massive screen announces the day’s breaking news.
Despite dying in the conclusion, Mysterio managed to get his crew to manipulate footage of the London battle. In the new footage, Spider-Man is shown to be controlling the battle drones. But, worse, Mysterio reveals Spider-Man’s true identity—Peter Parker.
Interestingly, the news is uncovered by none other than The Daily Bugle’s J. Jonah Jameson, with J.K. Simmons reprising his iconic role from Sam Raimi’s trilogy! What this shocking reveal will mean for Spider-Man’s future, and Peter’s, is anyone’s guess, but the MCU is clearly never going to be the same.
Fury’s Identity
After that shocking mid-credits scene, audiences needed some levity, which they got in the form of Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) driving in silence. Until it’s revealed that they are actually Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) and his wife, Soren (Sharon Blynn), the Skrulls who Captain Marvel had saved.
For the majority of the film, it seemed like something was off about Nick and Maria, but we assumed that it was because they had been dusted and returned to a world that had moved on without them. That was clearly not the case! Instead, Nick has taken a leave of absence, vacationing in space while Talos takes his place. Considering the events of Spider-Man: Far From Home, however, we would expect Nick to resume duties fairly soon. What a fun little twist to the end the film on.
Which twist was your favourite? Let us know in the comments.
