'Spider-Man: No Way Home' plays with time and space

In the surprising end of the 2019 film "Spider-Man: Far from Home," the second part of the trilogy starring actor Tom Holland as Spider-Man, it was revealed that a schoolboy named Peter Parker from the New York borough of Queens is behind the red mask.

That revelation turns Parker's life upside down: His family is harassed, the tabloids are after him and the New York police suspect him of being responsible for the death of villain Mysterio, featured in previous Spider-Man adventures.

Parker then turns to Doctor Strange (played by Benedict Cumberbatch), a powerful sorcerer from the Avengers series, and asks him to make the world forget that he is Spider-Man.

But things don't go according to plan. Doctor Strange turns back time with a spell, whereby various parallel worlds begin to merge with each other. Long-defeated supervillains from previous Spider-Man films, such as the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), return to wreck havoc.

The plot of the final part of the Spider-Man trilogy by director Tom Watts was leaked at the end of August 2021.

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Since then, speculation has abounded, with fans suggesting that several superheroes from the previous Spider-Man films will return. Actor Tobey Maguire, who played Spider-Man from 2002-2007 could reappear, as could actor Andrew Garfield who played the hero in the two movies called "The Amazing Spider-Man" from 2012-2014. However, production company Sony Entertainment has not confirmed these rumors.

Playing the nostalgia card

Regardless, it's clear that the movies' creators are playing into Spider-Man nostalgia and hope to build on the previous success of the series. B

British actor Tom Holland is the youngest Spider-Man to date and plays the shy Peter Parker for the third time in a Spider-Man film. As a supporting actor, he also appeared in this role in three of the "Avengers" films.

Over the past 20 years, the Spider-Man films have become the most commercially successful of Marvel's comic book franchise.

"Spider-Man: Homecoming," the first part of the trilogy starring Tom Holland, grossed around $117 million (€103 million).

The third and final part, which opens on December 17 in the USA, is expected to earn around $100 million domestically just on its first weekend.

An unlikely hero

The character Spider-Man was unwanted in the first place.

When his creator, Stan Lee, approached then-Marvel publisher Martin Goodman in 1962 with his idea for "Spider-Man," Goodman initially waved it off, thinking no one would be interested in a nerdy teenager who struggles with fears and complexes and is unpopular with girls.

But Lee, who died in 2018, persisted and convinced Goodman to publish an initial story with the new superhero in "Amazing Fantasy," a magazine that was to be discontinued.

At first, Lee had the well-known illustrator Jack Kirby — responsible for the Incredible Hulk, among other characters — draw up some sketches of the new Marvel hero. They were quickly discarded as they seemed too heroic to him.

Peter Parker was supposed to be the shy boy next door, an anti-hero with whom readers could identify.

In the end, Steve Ditko was the illustrator chosen to draw the first adventure of Spider-Man.

It became a smash hit for the fledgling Marvel publishing house in New York City, which launched its first series featuring Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, just a month later.

In the 60 years since, the Spider-Man universe has grown into an empire.

In addition to comic books, there are television series, major Hollywood movies and video games.

In terms of content, the creators of these offshoots have always remained more or less faithful to the original.

The trilogy with Tom Holland starts at Spider-Man's beginnings and features Parker as a 15-year-old schoolboy in the films, just as Lee had originally imagined him.

Throughout the years, the character has undergone a number of transformations in the comic series, due to the various illustrators and writers responsible for creating the hero.

Stan Lee cleared the terrain for younger colleagues in 1972 who aged Spider-Man, adapting him to the times.

In the 1970s, for example, Spider-Man comics dealt with socially relevant topics such as drug use, student protests, the Vietnam War and the American civil rights movement.

While the themes may have changed to suit the zeitgeist, Peter Parker was always supported by his Aunt May and a few good friends, above all Mary Jane Watson, known as MJ — his great love.

In a slightly different form, MJ, played by actress and activist Zendaya, also appears in the current Spider-Man series. However, viewers won't find out whether a love affair develops between her and Peter Parker until the middle of December, when the new adventure hits theaters.