The Marvel Cinematic Universe is about to take a very big step in terms of building its Universal ethos because of the true introduction of the multiverse. We got a glimpse at the capability of the concept with shows like WandaVision and Loki but now things are about to blow up with No Way Home. The movie’s trailer has all of primed and ready to go. It seems to be bringing back older villains from the previous iteration of Spider-Man, most notably ones from the Tobey Maguire trilogy. One of the most interesting parts of the trailer was the reveal of Alfred Molina reprising his role as Doc Ock. This has sent the fandom into a frenzy and some theorists are asking What If Doc Ock is the Good Guy in No Way Home.
This is a very interesting idea when you think about it. Reddit user u/Sib_Sib posted this theory in r/Fantheories :
“I’m starting to think the new Spider-Man trailer is a bit misleading regarding Doc Oc’s role. I don’t see them doing a dramatic villain reveal as this is already a big beat from the animated Miles Morales movie.
Instead, I think the twist will be that this will be a “good guy” version of Doc Ock. He will perhaps come from a universe where his Peter turned rogue (bully Maguire intensifies).
Other theories regarding that film :
– The film won’t be about the multiverse invading (our) Peter’s timeline but rather Peter traveling across many universes.
– The “Be careful what you wish for Peter” is William Dafoe. He gets defeated by doc Oc.
– The train scene with strange is fight between our Peter and an alternate strange trying to take the cosmic anomaly out.”
The Theory
The idea proposed by the Redditor is very interesting for the simple reason that it will act as an expectation subversion. We have known for a long time that Marvel lies in their trailer, they deliberately mislead fans so that we don’t guess the actual plot. This is a good way to keep your story under wraps but it also gives us false hope sometimes. The strategy has been ‘hit and miss’ over the years. It worked best in Thor: Ragnarok to keep Thor’s transformation and loss of an eye a secret. However, in places like Iron Man 3‘s Mandarin twist, it only accentuates the pain of the watcher.
Here, however, it seems that we have a scenario that can be brilliant if executed right. We all assume that Tom Holland will visit Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s universe and their villains will come for him. But the idea proposed by the user is that these Universes need not be the ones that we remember. The Multiverse is infinite and that is the great part. We don’t have to visit the same universe that we have already seen the play itself out in older franchises, instead, we can put our own amazing spin on it and call it a day.
That is what is proposed here, that the Doc Ock we see is not the same one that we met in Spider-Man 2. Instead, he is a multiversal doppelganger. To make matters even more interesting it is suggested that this particular Doc Ock is actually a good guy and in his universe, it was Peter Parker who went rogue.
The Analysis
This seems to imply that Doc Ock from this universe was working with Spider-Man like in the original movie and he stayed on the path of virtue while Spider-Man diverted. The idea is that Peter went rogue and Doc has to hunt him down. That is why Alfred Molina greets us with a smile. He thinks he is addressing his own rogue Spider-Man and not a man from the Multiverse. Not to mention that the intellect of Doc Ock far exceeds any of the other villains featured in the trailer and if someone can figure out the mess of the multiverse it is him.
It may take us longer to find out if the theory is true but it is certainly interesting. The expectation subversion would create massive interest and give us a completely new and fun spin on an old character. Whether this is something that will be actually realized in the movie or not remains to be seen. Spider-Man: No Way Home will release in theatres on December 17. Let us know in the comments if you think the theory is viable and keep watching this space for everything Marvel, DC, and Hollywood.
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