Contains Spoilers for Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) #6!Spider-Man’s secret identity has always been a core part of his character, but the new Ultimate Spider-Man is turning Peter’s struggle on its head by revealing his identity to several characters very early on. It’s a sign of how this new book’s priorities are very different from those of its mainstream counterpart and fits perfectly with its characterization of a very different Peter Parker for the modern era.

Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) #6 – written by Jonathan Hickman, with art by Marco Checchetto – features Peter Parker’s revelation of his secret identity to his family, after failing to come up with a believable alibi for his superhero injuries.

This middle-aged, married Peter accidentally revealed his identity to his daughter May in issue #2, but chose to keep the secret from his wife Mary Jane and son Richard. However, when he struggles to explain away bruises to his family in this issue, and May practically blurts out his secret, Peter relents, telling his family everything after hiding it for several months.

Ultimate Spider-Man’s Family Learns His Secret, A Major Change From Classic Spidey Lore

Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) #6 – Written By Jonathan Hickman, Illustrated By Marco Checchetto; Colored By Matthew Wilson; Lettered by VC’s Cory Petit

It is hilarious that this Peter Parker’s alibi for being Spider-Man falls apart as soon as he fights his first real supervillain. This is in keeping with writer Jonathan Hickman’s characterization of Peter in Ultimate Spider-Man, starting with issue #2, where Peter was constantly tricked by the Shocker into letting the villain escape. This Peter isn’t good at being Spider-Man yet. There’s more to being Spidey than just power and responsibility, and superpowers don’t insulate the hero from making dumb mistakes. What’s different about this incarnation is that Peter can’t just get away with bad excuses.

This series also makes a moral argument about Peter revealing his identity: in Ultimate Spider-Man #4, Harry Osborn makes the case that Peter should tell Mary Jane, arguing that Peter won’t be able to keep his family safe from the inevitable consequences of becoming a superhero, and they need to know what they’re getting into. Peter not telling MJ is understandable, but selfish, and represents the easy option for the fledgling crimefighter. Telling his wife his secret shows Peter’s growth, and encapsulates his arc so far, which is a journey of self-actualization.

Spider-Man’s Ability To Maintain His Secret Identity Has Never Been Realistic

Hickman’s Ultimate Spider-Man Acknowledges That

Peter keeping his identity hidden in mainstream continuity is often less him being good at deception, and more a narrative convenience. The comics rely on Peter’s secret identity as a plot point, so Peter’s identity often sits on a knife edge. He’s always struggling to hide his secret, but in the majority of comics he succeeds in doing so. In Ultimate Spider-Man #6, Peter slipping up so easily and giving away his superhero secret shows how this comic’s story priorities are different, and it is a funny little moment that shows how trying to hide a secret identity would really go.

The question is whether these mostly comedic moments are only a prelude to a more serious, costly mistake. From this ‘reveal’ to his encounters with Shocker, Ultimate Spider-Man has a clear interest in playing with fan expectations, and making Spidey more ‘realistic’, at least within the world of the still-fantastical fiction. Dumb mistakes cost Peter, and he can’t just bluff his way through a comic invested in him keeping his identity. This is a world where Spider-Man has more to lose than ever, and as Ultimate Spider-Man continues, it’s hard not to worry that the next mistake could be deadly.