This beloved Spider-Man: No Way Home plotline will be undone, reports say

It may be hard to believe, but December will mark three years since the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home. The superhero epic not only brought together three different versions of the wall-crawler on the big screen but also featured a powerful arc for Tom Holland's Peter Parker. Many big storylines were tackled in the movie such as Aunt May's passing, Peter having no option but to move into an apartment alone, and Spider-Man's secret identity finally being... well, a secret.

The friendly neighborhood hero is in a position to stand on his own after having different mentors across his appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As such, fans expect the highly-anticipated Spider-Man 4 to resemble a more "classical" Spider-Man tale with the core aspects we've come to expect from the character. However, it seems those plans might be put on hold since a beloved storyline could be undone faster than expected.

The memory erasing spell of No Way Home will reportedly be broken

According to insider Alex Perez, via The Cosmic Circus, Spider-Man 4 will further explore the effects of the memory-erasing spell of No Way Home, only for it to be broken. That means the whole world will remember Peter Parker's existence and that he's the man behind the Spider-Man mask. If that happens, then Peter will surely get in touch with Jacob Batalon's Ned and Zendaya's M.J. once again. But is that the right call?

It seems like a strange turn of events considering what Marvel can do with the wall-crawler in the position he's in now. So far, Tom Holland's Peter Parker has been pretty easygoing about his secret identity. He revealed it to Tony Stark, Mysterio, Doctor Strange, The Guardians of the Galaxy, Nick Fury, Ned Leeds, and many other characters in the MCU without hesitation. At first glance, there weren't any major repercussions to this - which is why it wasn't his priority to play things safe. However, after Quentin Beck revealed Spider-Man's identity to the whole world, things quickly took a 180-degree turn.

Peter has now learned his superhero persona can be seen as a public menace in the eyes of New York City - and not only does that have big repercussions for him, but also for his friends. Remember how Ned and M.J. weren't accepted at MIT just because of how close they were to Spider-Man? As if it wasn't enough, supervillains will also target everyone close to Peter in order to bring the wall-crawler down. Norman Osborn specifically attacked Aunt May because she was Peter's family and her moral compass. Had the Green Goblin not known the web-slinger's true identity, then maybe May would still be alive (Granted, the supervillain learned this secret in a completely different universe from the MCU, but you get the idea).

Tom Holland's character now knows the dangers of giving his identity away. Going forward, he would have the perfect reason to keep a low profile at all costs. Undoing such an arc would be... honestly disappointing. Especially because it would also deviate from who Spider-Man is in comic book pages.

Just take a look at Daredevil: The Red First Saga Part 1. That issue perfectly explains how close and trustful Spidey and Daredevil are of each other. They fought together countless times, and the Man Without Fear even decided to leave New York for a while knowing the city would still be under protection thanks to his costumed partner. However, before bidding his farewells, Matt Murdock decides to take off the mask and show his true face to his friend. Spidey is very moved by this action and hugs him in return. But even then, the wall-crawler simply says: "I wish I could tell you who I am... but my secret identity is still alive. And I love you, man. But the way the past few years have gone for both of us..."

Peter knows his identity should always be safeguarded, even from someone as close as Daredevil. That's an attitude we haven't seen Tom Holland's character have in a long time, and that's okay. It's not like Spider-Man hasn't willingly told the whole world who he is under the mask in comic book pages. But just like the character evolved in the source material, the same should happen on the big screen. Spider-Man: No Way Home Home was finally heading in that direction, so now it would be interesting to keep exploring that arc instead of simply undoing it.

Do you think the wall-crawler's identity should remain a secret? Let us know on our social media pages! And stick around with Whatever A Spider Can for everything Spider-Man-related.