Spider-Man: No Way Home recently brought to an end the first complete wall-crawler trilogy in over a decade. For the first time yet, Sony and Marvel Studios' ground-breaking deal allowed Spider-Man to interact with all corners of the Marvel world. Across the trilogy, Holland's Peter Parker ran into Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man, Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury, Cobie Smulders' Maria Hill, Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange, and even the Department of Damage Control.
Marvel once had big plans for Damage Control as ABC planned to develop a half-hour, single-camera comedy series starring the government agency as a group of underpaid workers clean up the fallout of superhero conflicts. Unfortunately, after an unsuccessful and unaired pilot, Damage Control never saw the light of day, having been planned to air in 2016.
The government department later made their MCU debut in 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming to salvage the alien artifacts left behind from the Battle of New York. Damage Control recently returned once again in No Way Home to arrest Peter Parker for his suspected involvement in Mysterio's London attack.
Arian Moayed's Agent Cleary led the arrest and interrogation during No Way Home, but he was joined by one familiar face from Spider-Man: Homecoming that almost everybody missed.
No Way Home Features Surprise Homecoming Cameo
Eagle-eyed Reddit user KostisPat257 recently spotted the surprise cameo of Spider-Man: Homecoming's Damage Control Agent Foster - played by Gary Weeks - in No Way Home during Peter Parker's arrest.
Foster was among the Damage Control agents to confront the pre-Vulture Adrian Toomes in the flashback opening of Homecoming.
Foster accompanied Damage Control Director Anne Marie Hoag to claim jurisdiction of the Battle of New York rubble from Adrian Toomes and his salvage crew.
The Damage Control agent ended up making a snide remark toward Michael Keaton's Vulture-to-be that led him to punch Foster.
Not only did Foster appear at Aunt May's door to arrest Peter Parker, but he was also present alongside Agent Cleary during Ned's interrogation.
The MCU Maintains Consistent Continuity
Gary Weeks' Foster made his first appearance in Spider-Man: Homecoming's 2012 flashback as the less-than-pleasant Damage Control agent seizing Adrian Toomes' job. With No Way Home taking place in 2024, Foster appears to have maintained his fairly average role in the department for the last 12 years - or seven if he blipped.
Having played such a minor role in Spider-Man: Homecoming almost five years ago, German-American actor Gary Weeks was probably shocked to get the callback for No Way Home. Nonetheless, his return marks yet another example of how Marvel maintains its strict canon continuity and continues to build a functioning world.
Although Foster's Homecoming debut scene created one of the MCU's biggest timeline mishaps yet as the 2012 flashback was followed by an "8 Years Later" message as it jumped forward only five years to 2017.
For those looking to experience Agent Foster's entire in-depth character arc, Spider-Man: Homecoming and No Way Home are available for digital purchase now.
