Here's how the ending of Spider-Man: No Way home will forever change the MCU

Phases one through three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe always felt like they were building towards something bigger than themselves. While not every single movie released during this period was tied to the Infinity Stones and Thanos, there was a clear direction moving forward. Unfortunately, that has changed since the beginning of The Multiverse Saga as there have been no Avengers movies yet where all the heroes come together, Kang's storyline serves no purpose now that Doom will enter the picture, and the multiverse was broken loose like three separate times. However, things will soon change for the better.

With Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars on the horizon, the overarching MCU narrative will finally start to converge. In fact, Marvel might have already planted the seeds for what's to come all the way back in 2021. A New report suggests the ending of Spider-Man: No Way Home set up upcoming incursions and even the motivations of Doctor Doom as a character. Finally, it all starts to make sense.

No Way Home reportedly sets up Clea's quest and Doom's motivations

In the post-credits scene of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Clea and Strange embark on a crusade to stop an incoming incursion. At the time, it wasn't specified how that cataclysmic event came to be. However, according to renowned superhero insider Alez Perez, that is the same incursion caused by the ending of Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Furthermore, it's claimed that Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars will explore how every incursion has one common denominator: Doctor Strange — the very same man who cast the spell to make the whole world forget Peter Parker is Spider-Man and provoked this whole mess to begin with. Earth's Mightiest Heroes' upcoming movies will paint Strange as an antagonistic figure who's tearing the multiverse apart. Doom will then be sort of an anti-hero: someone who just wants to save us all by undoing all of Strange's mess-ups.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness already depicted an alternate version of Strange being behind the annihilation of an entire universe after using the Darkhold to traverse other realities and inadvertently causing an incursion. The beloved Marvel hero was turned into a threat — one that the Illuminati were forced to put an end to. In the words of Peggy Carter herself: "We made the difficult choice because we knew what our Strange was capable of. What, perhaps, every Doctor Strange is capable of". Those words came true, as MCU's Strange was responsible for yet again another incursion, even if his intentions were pure by trying to help Peter Parker.

Multiple reports indicate that Battleworld — an amalgamation of every Marvel Universe in existence — will be formed in Avengers: Doomsday. With that in mind, perhaps Victor Von Doom's motivations will be to combine every branching reality in existence into a single one to stop the multiverse from tearing itself apart thanks to the incursions. In that sense, Doom will be depicted as somewhat of a savior (even if he's the one to rule Battleworld) and Strange will be the culprit behind the events of Secret Wars.

On a personal note, I feel this potential storyline could perfectly portray Victor's recurring determination to achieve an "altruistic" goal no matter the cost. Besides, it would tie in with previous projects such as Spider-Man: No Way Home making it feel like the MCU had a bit more direction and consistency in its latest phases. Finally, it could add more depth to Strange's arc, as he sees himself as the good guy but might have to come to terms with an opposing reality. I just hope he eventually goes back to his superhero days and we can finally watch him become the Sorcerer Supreme in his next stand-alone movie.