Marvel Studios artist Phil Saunders shared some concept art for 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home that shows Tom Holland as Peter Parker at his most tragic and emotional.
Saunders posted an image to his Instagram, including several zoomed-in views of the same piece, which depicts Peter in the back of an ambulance with his dying Aunt May. Peter is in costume as Spider-Man, sans his mask, and tears are streaming down his face as he holds May’s hand. Burns are visible on her body, although her facial expression isn’t fully visible.
The caption on the art explains, “#Spiderman #nowayhome has one of the most poignant moments in the #mcu, the death of #peterparker’s beloved Aunt May. In an earlier version of the script, this moment took place in an ambulance racing to the nearest hospital. I always like to capture the emotion of a scene in my keyframes, so this was a wonderful shot to be assigned.”
The impact of Aunt May’s death in Spider-Man: No Way Home
In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, May Parker has been portrayed by Marissa Tomei since the first film in the Spider-Man trilogy, titled Spider-Man: Homecoming. True to Spider-Man’s comic book origins, May raised the young superhero from a young age, but the movies adjusted his beginnings by making no overt reference to his Uncle Ben.
Most versions of Spider-Man’s story have Uncle Ben teach Peter the mantra, “With great power comes great responsibility,” soon before Ben is killed by a criminal and Peter accepts his duty to become a hero. In Spider-Man: No Way Home, this line is given to May, who also imparts the lesson shortly before her tragic death.
Spider-Man: No Way Home, the conclusion to Spider-Man’s first MCU trilogy, saw Holland’s Peter Parker unite with Tobey Maguire’s and Andrew Garfield’s versions of the characters from earlier films to battle villains from across the multiverse.
