Spider-Man’s Secret Identity Doesn’t Mean Anything in the MCU Anymore

Spider-Man is one of the most prominent characters currently active in the MCU, yet the writing of his character faces one major narrative challenge. Spidey is one of the characters most closely associated with his secret identity, with the hero’s entire appeal being his struggle to balance his superhero and personal lives. This is a trait that has been adapted into almost every iteration of the character. However, it isn’t going to work in Spider-Man: Brand New Day without some major changes.

Spider-Man’s secret identity was a core aspect of his character throughout the MCU up until the events of Spider-Man: Far From Home‘s ending. The film ends with Mysterio revealing to the world that Peter Parker is Spider-Man, changing the character’s life forever. Spider-Man: No Way Home dealt with the fallout of this, with Peter going to Doctor Strange for help, and ultimately, the world forgetting that Peter Parker is Spider-Man.

Peter Parker’s Secret Identity Is Now A Problem

While Peter’s identity being forgotten was a satisfying ending for No Way Home, it raises a major problem for Spider-Man stories going forward. The entire point of Peter’s identity is that he has it in order to keep his loved ones safe. In other pieces of Spider-Man media, Peter is afraid that a maniacal villain like the Green Goblin will attack Peter’s family and friends if they find out his true identity. Thus, the stakes make the secret identity necessary.

The issue is that, after the events of No Way Home, these stakes don’t exist. Peter literally has no family or friends, meaning that he has nobody to protect but himself. Aunt May is dead, and there is no way that a new Spider-Man villain could find out who Peter’s friends are, because his former friends don’t know who he is. There is no reason for Peter to go through the trouble of keeping his secret identity, so viewers of Brand New Day will wonder why he does that.

One justification is that Peter is also protecting himself with his secret identity. A villain could hypothetically attack Peter while he’s at the grocery store or while he’s stuck in traffic if they know who he is, and Peter keeping a secret identity makes this less likely. After the events of No Way Home, however, Peter doesn’t have much of a life outside of being a superhero. So why go through the trouble?

In order for the MCU to keep this core attribute of Spider-Man, this problem has to be addressed in Brand New Day. Peter’s secret identity is why Spider-Man is so interesting, and he cannot go through a whole film without the stakes that necessitate it.

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How The MCU Can Fix This Spider-Friends Problem

Very little is known about the story of Spider-Man: Brand New Day outside of the involvement of the Punisher and Bruce Banner. So, if the movie is going to fix the secret identity problem, it hasn’t yet been revealed how. There are several paths that the next film can take to address this issue, but some are better than others.

The simplest way to fix this issue would be to have the No Way Home spell get undone in Brand New Day. Having MJ and Ned remember Peter would give them their friendship back, making his secret identity necessary. However, undoing the previous film’s story isn’t the best option. Resetting things to the status quo would feel cheap, taking away from the impact of the previous film.

So, the clear option is for Brand New Day to give Peter some new friends. Gwen Stacy is a major character that the MCU hasn’t introduced yet, and giving Peter a new love interest would be the perfect way to raise the stakes. If Peter doesn’t want to date a normal civilian yet, Black Cat could also fill this role while creating an interesting dynamic involving their secret identities.

Another option is to finally introduce Harry Osborn. In the MCU, Ned has filled the role that Harry traditionally does. Now that Ned is out of the picture, it is the perfect time to introduce Harry. Peter and Harry’s dynamic would also be more interesting this time around, thanks to Peter having met Norman Osborn from the Raimi movies. This would force Peter to be suspicious of his new friend while also knowing that they aren’t the same Osborns as the ones from the other universe.

These are just some of the many paths that Brand New Day can take in order to fix this issue. While it seems like Peter will befriend Frank Castle and Bruce Banner in the next film, he needs some non-superpowered loved ones to protect. Whether it be Sadie Sink’s mystery character or a different character entirely, Peter must make some friends in order to justify his secret identity.

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