Marvel Just Fully Explained Why Spider-Man Kept His Secret Identity for Four Years

The ending of Spider-Man: No Way Home is one of the most emotional moments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Realizing what’s necessary to preserve the stability of the multiverse, Peter Parker makes the choice to sacrifice his personal life, telling Doctor Strange to cast a spell that will make the world forget about Peter. The young hero momentarily contemplated reintroducing himself to Ned and MJ but ultimately opted against it, feeling his former friends would be better off without him. At the time, Peter’s decision was rooted simply in his desire to let his old companions thrive at MIT, but subsequent events in the MCU illustrated he made the right call for several other reasons.

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Following the events of No Way Home, Wilson Fisk became New York City’s mayor. As established in Daredevil: Born Again, Fisk has a very strong anti-vigilante platform and has made it his mission to eliminate costumed heroes from New York. His task force runs rampant and unchecked through the city, targeting not just vigilantes, but also those who help them. In the Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 premiere, there is a shot of a poster calling for the arrest of Karen Page, who’s wanted for merely assisting vigilantism. This colors Peter’s decision to maintain a secret identity in an entirely new light.

It’s been confirmed that Spider-Man: Brand New Day picks up four years after the events of No Way Home. In that time, Spider-Man has remained an active hero on the streets of New York, taking down a variety of villains, but Peter Parker is drifting further and further into isolationism. The Brand New Day trailer shows that he’s basically maintaining a one-sided relationship with Ned and MJ, keeping tabs on them through social media (which only exacerbates his feelings of angst and loneliness). One can’t help but wonder why Peter seemingly hasn’t attempted to build a new life for himself in the four years since No Way Home. Daredevil: Born Again provides the main answer to that question.

Across Spider-Man media, it’s always dangerous to be someone who’s close to Peter Parker. There’s an inherent risk involved because if one of Spider-Man’s enemies were to discover the truth, Peter’s loved ones would become the next target. Considering the current state of the MCU, it’s even more dangerous than usual to be closely associated with one of the costumed heroes. Fisk’s task force is ruthless and has free reign to do whatever it wants. Karen needs to disguise herself to just walk around New York City, illustrating how high the stakes are for anyone who’s helped a superhero in Fisk’s New York.

It remains to be seen how connected Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Daredevil: Born Again are, but Fisk already made a very obvious reference to Spider-Man in Season 1. The mayor is aware of the web head’s exploits, and Spider-Man is one of the vigilantes he’s looking to take down. This means Peter likely knows about Fisk’s Safer Streets Initiative, which serves as confirmation that he was right to not pursue a new personal life after No Way Home. It’s a depressingly lonely way for someone to live, but Peter would rather operate as a hero alone than recruit a “guy in the chair” who could find himself in Fisk’s crosshairs. Not only has he abandoned any hopes of reconnecting with Ned and MJ, he seemingly hasn’t made any new friends in all this time.

This all ties into the main lesson Peter learned in No Way Home. By going through that experience and working like hell to undo his mistake (unintentionally sabotaging Doctor Strange’s original spell), Peter came to truly understand what “great responsibility” meant and what was required of him to be a hero. As he says in the Brand New Day trailer, sometimes Spider-Man has to make hard choices “even if it means breaking Peter Parker’s heart.” With Fisk’s task force running around, Peter knows it isn’t safe for him to get close to anyone. If Fisk somehow found out Spider-Man had help with something and hurt (or killed) that person, the sense of guilt Peter would feel would be tremendous even for him.

Why Does Peter Try to Reconnect With His Friends in the Brand New Day Trailer?

Daredevil: Born Again going out of its way to show how dangerous things have become for people who aid vigilantes raises a very interesting question about the Brand New Day trailer. At the end of the preview, Peter has a humorous interaction with MJ at a housewarming party, indicating that he is trying to re-establish a connection with her and Ned. Why would he attempt this while New York is under the “protection” of Fisk’s Safer Streets Initiative? The simplest explanation might be that the Safer Streets Initiative is no longer in effect by the time the main events of Brand New Day take place.

Some Marvel fans are convinced the shot of Spider-Man receiving the Key to the City spoils the end of Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 because it’s an instance of New York politicians honoring heroes rather than hunting them. However, Peter’s brief moment with MJ in the Brand New Day trailer may be the bigger Daredevil spoiler. There isn’t much context for the Key to the City scene; it easily could be from a montage depicting Spider-Man’s heroics during the four-year window between films. It’s plausible that he received the Key prior to Fisk becoming mayor. Seeking out MJ to talk is something else entirely. It can be interpreted as a sign that Fisk is no longer the mayor, meaning Peter feels it’s safe (relatively speaking) to pursue personal relationships again.