Movie review
December 15, 2021 · 148 min · PG-13 · Sci-Fi · Action · Adventure
Peter Parker's secret identity is public after the prior film. He, MJ, Ned, and May face arrests, media attacks, and school rejections. Peter asks Doctor Strange to erase the world's knowledge that he is Spider-Man. The interrupted spell pulls in multiverse villains who know his identity, and later alternate Spider-Men. The story asks whether to send those villains home to die or try to cure them first. After May is killed, three Peters team up, and Peter has Strange wipe everyone's memory of him so the multiverse can stabilize.
What audiences see is secret identity versus normal life, great power and great responsibility, sacrifice, redemption, grief, and multiverse fan service. The plot is not about race, gender systems, queer identity, or activist framing. A diverse supporting cast appears in a modern New York high school setting, but identities are not the story focus and Peter remains the clear lead. There are no queer characters and no speeches on race, gender, privilege, or systemic oppression. Light satire of tabloid media and bureaucratic Damage Control shows up as plot obstacles, not as a broad attack on Western culture.
Community feedback
Was our 27% Woke rating accurate?
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Woke representation / casting
A modern New York MCU high school setting can support a diverse cast, so this is not a historical mismatch. Prominent roles still show a clear pattern with Zendaya as MJ, Jacob Batalon as Ned, Tony Revolori as Flash, and Jamie Foxx as Black Electro. That mix looks like deliberate diversity casting more than pure story need, yet Peter stays the clear lead and identities are not the plot focus.
30%
Woke political dialogue
Not present. No audience-facing speeches on race, gender, privilege, DEI, systemic oppression, or queer politics.
0%
Identity-driven story themes
Not present. The story is about secret superhero identity, moral responsibility, and multiverse consequences, not identity-politics arcs.
0%
Western institutional / cultural critique
There is light satire of tabloid media through J. Jonah Jameson and the Daily Bugle. Damage Control also works as a bureaucratic plot obstacle. This is not a modern activist attack on whiteness, patriarchy, Christianity, capitalism, or traditional family norms.
5%
Woke character or canon changes
This film continues trilogy-era race reimaginings of supporting figures such as Ned, Flash, and MJ relative to the comics, plus Black Electro from earlier films. It does not overhaul Tobey or Andrew Spider-Men or core villains for DEI reasons. Aunt May speaking the great power line is a mentor transfer, not an ideological rewrite, and the unused lesbian Aunt May idea is not on-screen canon.
15%
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Most right-leaning coverage treated the film as not woke and praised it as entertainment first. Some residual franchise grumbling about the MJ race swap still tags this title online. Claims that this film itself pushes DEI propaganda remain thin, so the score stays low.
8%
Creator track record context
Director and writers score low on activism while Marvel leaders and casting add a stronger institutional diversity signal. Feige, Alonso, and Finn raise the context score more than Watts or the writers. Overall this sits as moderate Marvel DEI context around a low-activism creative core.
30%
Production
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