Even though the word "home" appears in the titles of all three of the MCU Spider-Man films, Spidey didn't feel like he had truly returned home until the very end of Spider-Man: No Way Home.
At that point, Peter Parker remembered his late parent-figure's advice on authority and responsibility as he entered a run-down flat in New York City and pieced together a homemade outfit. Why in the world is Marvel unclear about its next move?
Spider-Man has rarely been anything other than a down-on-his-luck hero.
From the original stories by Steve Ditko and Stan Lee to the married father of two in Jonathan Hickman and Marco Checchetto's Ultimate Spider-Man, the character has had to balance his personal life, a tight budget, and his Spidey duties.
Although the MCU Spider-Man films have incorporated elements of those standards, they have always been lessened by the fact that this Spider-Man has backing from other well-liked Avengers and a mentor in the ultra-rich Tony Stark.
By the end, Spider-Man: No Way Home has taken all of that away.
Peter begged Doctor Strange to erase all memory of him for the benefit of his friends, severing his final connection to Stark and the Avengers and providing him with a somber history in the form of Aunt May's passing.
But rather than ushering in a new age of Spider-Man films, No Way Home has left both audiences and studios uncertain about what comes next.