With a handful of previous franchise actors returning to reprise their roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Spider-Man 3, the film needs to remember the importance of the hero's secret identity and the reveal at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home. Excitement is growing for the multiverse crossover movie. It's thrilling to imagine Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man characters teaming up alongside Tom Holland's current Spidey. They'll fight against villains like Jamie Foxx's Electro and Alfred Molina's Doc Ock, with Charlie Cox's Daredevil rumored to be joining the fray as well.

Unfortunately, the buzz over the multiverse concept is somewhat obscuring everything else, including the story set up at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home. In that moment, J.K. Simmons' unhinged J. Jonah Jameson accused Spider-Man of killing Mysterio but, more importantly, also revealed the identity of Spider-Man as Peter Parker. It's this, not the multiverse, that is the crucial storyline for the character of Spider-Man, and it can't be pushed into irrelevance by the multiverse concept or characters.

Related: All 8 Spider-Man Movies Ranked (Including Far From Home)

Anyone who is even a little familiar with the comics knows Spider-Man operates by two fundamental rules: 1. Be responsible and 2. Never take the mask off. The mask component is as central to the character of Spider-Man as responsibility and stems from the same place. Spidey knows if his enemies ever discover he's actually Peter Parker, all of his loved ones, particularly Aunt May and MJ, will be in constant danger. Thus, he guards his identity with the zealotry of Gollum holding onto the One Ring. It's an essential part of his character, which is why the magnitude of the Spider-Man: Far From Home reveal can't be forgotten.

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There's only one time in the comics that Peter Parker's identity has been revealed publicly, and it ties into how the MCU's Spider-Man 3 could adapt a modified version of the storyline. In the "Civil War" story arc, Peter himself revealed his identity to a live audience in order to prove his conviction for supporting the Superhero Registration Act (before later regretting his decision and switching sides). It was a watershed moment in Spider-Man comics and while it made sense at the time, it caused all sorts of problems later. Peter even went to Marvel villain Mephisto and bargained for him to erase the knowledge of his identity as Peter Parker from the public's consciousness. This is how Doctor Strange can factor into the third movie. Mephisto hasn't yet been introduced into the MCU, but Strange has. It's entirely possible Spider-Man 3 could find a desperate Peter Parker enlisting Doctor Strange's magical help with reestablishing his secret identity.

The idea of that story is equally exciting and ultimately just, if not more, important than showing off the multiverse. The same can be said of any stories relating to the fallout of Spider-Man: Far From Home. Despite the large number of characters appearing in the MCU's Spider-Man 3, Holland's Spider-Man is the one fans care about most. This means the crisis of Peter being outed as Spider-Man should absolutely not take a backseat to the multiverse stories in Spider-Man 3. It presents an existential problem that's foundational to the core of who he is. Such an important aspect of Spider-Man's character should be front and center in the third movie and cement Holland as the Spidey of this time.

Next: Spider-Man 3 Theory: How Doctor Octopus & Electro Return (After Their Deaths)

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