Spider-Man: No Way Home Reveals Tobey Maguire Easter Egg That We All Missed

By Aeron Mer Eclarinal Updated:
Spider-Man: No Way Home, Tobey Maguire

Spider-Man: No Way Home is a celebration of all things Spider-Man. The Tom Holland-led threequel included a plethora of callbacks to previous web-slinging films, which includes Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man trilogy and Andrew Garfield's pair of The Amazing Spider-Man movies. This all became possible due to the film's use of the Multiverse, bringing back the two Spider-Men and several iconic villains like Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin and Alfred Molina's Doctor Octopus

One films that was heavily referenced in the threequel was 2004's Spider-Man 2. Aside from Molina's emotional comeback as Doc Ock, No Way Home also included other Easter eggs such as the character's iconic "The power of the sun in the palm of my hand" line, as well as alluding to Maguire's Peter Parker having back issues. 

Now, another hidden reference to the 2004 superhero film has been unearthed.

No Way Home Includes a Spider-Man 2 Easter Egg

Collider posted an exclusive featurette for Spider-Man: No Way Home, revealing tons of hidden Easter eggs from the threequel. 

One hidden detail that fans missed is a scene referencing a key moment from Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man 2

At the beginning of No Way Home, Peter Parker's identity is revealed to the world by Mysterio. Amid the chaos, one bystander asks Spider-Man, "You're just a kid?" 

Tom Holland as Spider-Man, Zendaya as MJ, Spider-Man: No Way Home
Sony Pictures

The featurette confirmed that this is a reference to the scene in Spider-Man 2, where a civilian says “He’s just a kid. No older than my son” after lifting Maguire's Spider-Man into the train. This comes after the iconic scene where the web-crawler successfully stopped the moving train with his web.

Spider-Man 2
Sony Pictures

The full featurette can be watched below:

 

An Easter Egg-Filled MCU Adventure 

When the identity of Tobey Maguire's web-slinger during Spider-Man 2 was revealed, it served as an emotional moment as the train passengers promised not to reveal it to the rest of the city.

However, during No Way Home, the world of Tom Holland's Peter Parker is turned upside down, and the bystander's comment about him being a child only adds further insult to injury. 

It is unknown if Holland's Peter is the same age as Maguire's Peter from Spider-Man 2 during No Way Home. In the 2004 movie, Peter is in college while working other jobs on the side, meaning that he is older than Holland's Peter, who has yet to enroll in MIT during the threequel's events. Still, this doesn't change the fact that they are both young men. 

These kinds of Easter eggs make No Way Home stand out from the rest of the MCU films, as it explores interesting parallels that add more meaning to the characters' respective journeys. 

Given how massive of a film No Way Home is, hidden Easter eggs like these could still be uncovered as fans rematch the film numerous times in the comfort of their homes. 

Spider-Man: No Way Home is now available to stream digitally and via physical media.

- In This Article: Spider-Man: No Way Home
Release Date
December 17, 2021
Platform
Theaters
- About The Author: Aeron Mer Eclarinal
Aeron is a news/features writer and Content Lead for The Direct who has been working for the site since March 2020. From writing about the inter-connectivity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to having an extended knowledge about DC TV's Arrowverse, Aeron's expertise has since expanded into the realm of reality TV, K-drama, animated, and live-action shows from Netflix,  Disney+, Prime Video, MGM+, Peacock, Paramount+, and Max. When he isn't writing and watching all things MCU, Aeron is heavily invested with the NBA (go Celtics!) and occasionally watches thrilling matches in the WWE.