Why The MCU Probably Won’t Retcon Spider-Man’s Identity Being Known

Despite the big game-changer Spider-Man: Far From Home put into motion for Spider-Man: No Way Home, the MCU will likely not retcon Peter Parker’s identity problem. While Tom Holland’s iteration of the web-slinger stopped Mysterio in the last Spider-Man installment, Jake Gyllenhaal’s villainous character had one final trick up his sleeve before his death. The film concluded with Mysterio framing Spider-Man for his death while also outing the wallcrawler’s secret identity to the world. As Peter freaks out about Quentin Beck’s villainous move, No Way Home will deal with the aftermath which is bound to change Peter’s life forever.

Like most Marvel Studios projects, very little is known about how this will be dealt with in Spider-Man: No Way Home, other than Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus and Jamie Foxx’s Electro being part of the story. While the threequel will deal with the Multiverse in some capacity, it will most likely focus heavily on Spider-Man having to clear his name. This wouldn’t be the first time Peter has to make the world forget that he is Spider-Man. In the original “Civil War” comic book storyline, Peter actually did come out to the world as the friendly neighborhood web-slinger, which came with its own set of problems.

While comic book arc Spider-Man: One More Day undoes Peter’s reveal in “Civil War,” MCU fans shouldn’t necessarily expect that same outcome. The way One More Day retcons it is through Peter making a deal with Mephisto after Aunt May was shot and close to dying. In exchange for undoing the event, Mephisto wants to undo Peter’s marriage with Mary Jane Watson. They make the tough choice to agree to Mephisto’s deal while also retconning Spider-Man’s public reveal and making it so that the public doesn’t remember Peter’s identity. But undoing Spider-Man: Far From Home’s cliffhanger wouldn’t necessarily work for the MCU. Rewriting massive game-changers is a tired trope because it removes the sense of stakes from the story.

It will absolutely be necessary for Spider-Man: No Way Home to at least fix Peter being wrongfully accused as Mysterio’s murderer. But to erase Peter’s identity from being public to the world would decrease the seriousness of Mysterio’s final stunt. The retcon may work in comics, but that was under different circumstances. In the MCU’s case, Peter being known as Spider-Man to the whole world, surprisingly, fits where they have taken Holland’s character thus far. Since Iron Man was a big influence on Peter since Captain America: Civil War, it wouldn’t be shocking if Spider-Man: No Way Home ends with the teen hero still having his identity out there, wanting to follow in the footsteps of his late superhero mentor.

Even if Peter isn’t trying to be the next Iron Man anymore, it would make sense for Spider-Man to take Tony Stark’s approach and not bother keeping his identity a secret. The issue of Peter seeing Tony as a role model is a discussion for itself, but following Iron Man’s method would fit this specific iteration of Spider-Man. In general, the MCU hasn’t really focused too much on secret identities in the first three Phases and perhaps Spider-Man: No Way Home will continue that trend in the MCU, by not retconning Spider-Man: Far From Home.