Before Spider-Man: No Way Home, numerous fans wondered if Ned would become the Hobgoblin. But the film seems to have taken a completely different direction for Ned’s character arc, and I must say, I’m pretty excited to see what more Ned has got in store for us.
So you can either feed your curiosity by reading this article without watching the film or be patient, watch the movie, and come back to this article. The choice is yours.
In the film, Peter Parker manages to steal Dr. Strange’s sling ring and trap him in the mirror dimension. He passes on the sling ring to his best friend Ned for safekeeping, and while he’s wearing it, he by mistake opens up a portal. In fact, he doesn’t do it just once but multiple times, and they are intentional.
So the question is, is this some kind of a hint given by the MCU, or just something written for comic relief/building excitement? Will Ned become a sorcerer as Dr. Strange’s disciple? Alternatively, has he forgotten everything he did, considering Dr. Strange cast a spell that made the entire world forget Peter Parker?
The MCU hasn’t confirmed it, but I have a theory that Ned might go on to become a sorcerer who will become Dr. Strange’s disciple and practice mystic arts under his guidance in future Marvel films.
In the Spider-Man: No Way Home, Ned claimed how his grandmother always told him that his ancestors were people who knew magic and magic is in a way in his blood. While Dr. Strange passes this off as a kid’s fantasy, Ned unintentionally opens up a portal while wearing the Sling Ring.
In fact, he later opens multiple more portals trying to search for Tom Holland’s Peter Parker. Instead, we see him opening portals to Andrew Garfield and Toby Maguire’s Spider-Man. Furthermore, in the climax fight scenes, as he is falling, he is somehow able to get Dr. Strange’s cape’s help to break his fall. The cape wraps itself around him as he slowly glides until landing on the ground.
Now, there were multiple hints of Ned becoming Hobgoblin as well. For instance, when he asks Tobey Maguire if he had a best friend, Toby tells him how he did and explains how he died in his arms while trying to kill him. At this point, he is referring to Harry, Green Goblin’s son. Besides this, by the end of the film, Ned even forgets Tom Holland’s Peter Parker, thanks to Dr. Strange’s spell.
Does this mean that he forgot about everything he did with the sling ring? After all, he was there with Peter Parker while in the climax fight scene. While there’s still some clarity we all need on this, here’s what I think.
Ned might remember fighting alongside Spider-Man and not Peter, his best friend. This means he probably remembers everything he did with the Sling Ring, which could be the Marvel way of setting up Ned becoming Dr. Strange’s disciple in future films.
While I think there is a very slight chance of Ned appearing in Dr. Strange 2 for a brief cameo, his arc will most likely be developed further in future Spider-Man films. Furthermore, Spider-Man: No Way Home’s mid-credits scene shows a part of symbiote being left behind as Tom Hardy’s Venom gets transported back to his own universe. This hints that Venom could be the next Spider-Man villain in the upcoming film.
Well, while most of this is mere speculation, we all know Marvel is very good at setting up character arcs with just a few moments. This means that Ned with the Sling Ring and the cape is pretty significant and will help build Ned’s character in future films, irrespective of what the direction is.
About Spider-Man: No Way Home
Spider-Man: No Way Home is an upcoming American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. It is intended to be the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home.
The film was directed by Jon Watts and stars Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man. He is joined by Zendaya, J,B. Smoove, Jacob Batalon, Marisa Tomei, Jamie Foxx, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Alfred Molina. The film is not yet available for streaming on Disney+ but the BluRay package is set to arrive March 22.
It will pick up from the events of Spider-Man: Far From Home whose ending revealed Peter’s Spider-Man identity to the world. Numerous villains from previous movies such as Doctor Octopus and Electro are also set to return.
No Comments on Will Ned Become a Sorcerer, or Will He Forget Everything?