No Way Home: How Spider-Man Gets His Secret Identity Back In the Comics

Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer and the comic Spider-Man: One Moment In Time.

The first trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home revealed that Peter Parker will have his secret identity restored using the same fix he utilized in the comics; Doctor Strange. This revelation surprised many fans, despite the last Spider-Man movie, Far From Home, ending with Mysterio posthumously exposing Spider-Man's secret identity to the world, and the promise that this would be a major part of the sequel's storyline.

The first trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home showed something of how being outed as a superhero had made Peter Parker's life more difficult, with the paparazzi hounding him on the streets and his relationship with Mary Jane suffering. This led Peter to approach Doctor Strange (whom he befriended during the events of Avengers: Infinity War) and ask the Sorcerer Supreme if he could cast a spell that would cause the world to forget that he was Spider-Man. Surprisingly, Strange agreed, but the consequences of that spell will apparently have dire consequences that both Strange and Spidey will have to cope with. This is essentially a streamlined version of the events of the Amazing Spider-Man comics and how Peter Parker's secret identity was restored following the events of Marvel's Civil War.

Originally, Peter Parker revealed his secret identity to the world intentionally, to help Tony Stark promote the Superhuman Registration Act. Shortly afterward, the Kingpin attempted to assassinate Peter, fatally wounding Aunt May in the process. This led to the controversial One More Day storyline, in which Peter made a deal with the demon Mephisto to save Aunt May's life, at the cost of his marriage to Mary Jane Watson. Ignoring that the story was based around the ever-responsible Peter Parker making a Faustian bargain rather than face the consequences of his actions, many also disliked One More Day because of the many continuity snarls caused by erasing Peter and Mary Jane's marriage from the timeline. Marvel Comics' Editor-in-chief Joe Quesada attempted to address these problems with a sequel to One More Day titled One Moment in Time, which revealed how Peter and Mary Jane's wedding played out and how the world came to forget that Peter Parker was Spider-Man after the events of Civil War in the new timeline.

Spider-Man Doctor Strange One Moment In Time

One Moment In Time revealed that Mary Jane had been fatally wounded after trying to protect her Aunt Anna from a second assassin the Kingpin had sent to take out all of Spider-Man's family. Taking Mary Jane to Doctor Strange for treatment, Peter asked the Sorcerer Supreme if he could work a spell that would rewrite reality so that nobody remembered he was Spider-Man. After consulting with Tony Stark and Reed Richards from the Fantastic Four, Doctor Strange agreed to help and everyone but Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson forgot who Spider-Man was, even if they had already known Peter's secret identity before he revealed himself to the world.

It was bold for the minds behind the MCU to end Spider-Man: Far From Home with Peter Parker's secret identity being ruined. However, it may be bolder still for them to reference a comic book storyline as widely despised as One Moment In Time in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Thankfully, while it is still uncertain just which villains will be appearing in the movie, it seems safe to say the demon Mephisto will not be among them; a fact sure to please many comic book readers.

More: Every Spider-Man: No Way Home Story & Character Reveal From New Merch