Spider-Man is one of Marvel’s most popular characters. His relatable struggles over money and relationships, youthful angst over his secret identity, and funny wise-cracks whilst fighting an iconic rogues gallery have all helped keep his popularity alive. So, fans were excited when Disney and Sony arranged a deal to integrate him within the MCU, starting with Captain America: Civil War (2016). Then his solo feature Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) successfully modernized Peter Parker (Tom Holland) while still focusing upon his balance of high-school life and heroic aspirations. Homecoming even included a direct homage to Amazing Spider-Man #33, where Spider-Man is buried beneath heavy rubble, to demonstrate its comics fidelity.
But despite this faithful creation of classic Spider-Man, Homecoming’s final scene majorly subverted the status quo. As Peter puts on a brand-new Spider-Man suit, made for him by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) walks in on him and exclaims “what the f***!” In Civil War, Peter had been adamant that Aunt May never discover his secret, and no other cinematic Spider-Man adaptation (except perhaps Into the Spider-Verse (2018)) has shown this revelation. Yet future MCU Spider-Man films never capitalized on the fallout of this discovery.
Aunt May has been a staple of Spider-Man’s supporting cast ever since his creation and has been included in every single adaptation. She is often depicted as a doting, maternal figure whom Peter feels he has to “protect” from his shocking secret, especially since his “origin” is so intertwined with the death of her husband, Peter’s Uncle Ben. Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2 (2004) toyed around with this, as Peter (Tobey Maguire) admits to Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) his “responsibility” in letting go of the robber who later killed Uncle Ben. May is initially stunned and betrayed, but later reconciles with Peter and delivers a speech about “the hero in all of us,” potentially hinting she knows the full story of his secret life.
Aunt May’s knowledge has also been addressed in the comics. Once, in Amazing Spider-Man #400, Aunt May reveals she’s known Peter’s secret “for a long time,” before passing away that same issue. But this was later retconned that Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin, had hired a “genetically-altered actress” to simulate Aunt May’s death, while the real one was unknowingly stashed away (as happens in the comics). Aunt May was therefore restored, again not knowing Spider-Man’s true identity.
However, the “real” Aunt May also discovers the truth. After an exhausting battle with the interdimensional “energy vampire” Morlun, Peter collapses onto his bed, and Aunt May walks in and sees him sleeping with a bloody Spider-Man costume. After taking a few issues to process it, Aunt May confronts Peter in Amazing Spider-Man vol. 2, #38. The entire issue is a lengthy, heartfelt conversation between the two of them about their shared burden over Uncle Ben, one which was decades in the making.
Kevin Feige has personally expressed his admiration for this issue, and how he’d wanted to including something like it since Spider-Man 2 (which he was an executive producer on), before winding up in Homecoming. Although the comics’ Aunt May would again have her knowledge of Spider-Man be erased, ironically after Peter publicly unmasked during the Civil War comic event. Because of this, Aunt May was fatally wounded in an assassination attempt, and Peter saved her life by “resetting” the status quo in a deal with Mephisto, thereby erasing everyone’s knowledge of his secret identity, including Aunt May.
Obviously, the MCU lacks the long-winded history of its comics counterpart, but it also further alters the dynamic between Peter and Aunt May. Wishing to differentiate itself from previous adaptations, the MCU significantly downplays the involvement of Uncle Ben and Peter’s subsequent guilt, to the extent Ben has never been explicitly mentioned in the MCU. Marisa Tomei is also much younger than previous Aunt Mays, removing Peter’s concerns over her “frailty” and general health. And, frankly, this Aunt May has only minimal involvement in the MCU Spider-Man films anyway.
Although May provides some reassurance to Peter in Homecoming, she is largely incidental to its plot, the “mentor” role more filled in by Tony Stark. Stark becomes the adult figure Peter tries to live up to, with Aunt May mostly pushed to the side-lines. Indeed, any revelation after May discovers Peter’s secret in Homecoming is interrupted by the events of Avengers: Infinity War (2018), which is placed between Spider-Man’s solo MCU films and prevents viewers from seeing the immediate aftermath of Aunt May’s discovery.
By the time Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) comes around, any shock or confrontation May might’ve had has been resolved off-screen. Plus, Peter spends most of the film traveling around Europe without Aunt May anyway, meaning the film has little focus on their relationship. The few scenes the two do have together do not show any tension in the new dynamic. Instead, May uses her nephew to promote charity drives dressed as Spider-Man, and even packs up his costume for the school trip – with an attached note saying “you almost forgot this” – when Peter intentionally leaves it behind.
Aunt May needn’t have been against Peter secretly being Spider-Man, but it is a disappointment that their relationship wasn’t given the time for exploration. Homecoming’s ending had the opportunity to revamp the traditional Spider-Man/Aunt May dynamic, but this plot thread was not given any focus. In fact, the people who know Peter’s secret identity only escalates through the new Spider-Man films.
In Captain America: Civil War, nobody except for Tony Stark knew. But through Homecoming and Far from Home, it grows so that Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon), Vulture (Michael Keaton), most of S.H.I.E.L.D., and even M.J. Watson (Zendaya) all come to know it. And, of course, Far From Home ends with Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) framing Spider-Man for his death and then revealing his alter-ego to the entire world.
Although this is symptomatic of the overall MCU, which ever since Tony Stark declared “I am Iron Man” in 2008, has had zero secret identities. Steve Rogers is a well-known war hero, Thor has no earth-dwelling identity, Black Panther is an internationally recognized monarch, and Doctor Strange is just his name. Spider-Man was the only exception to this (except for Daredevil on Netflix that is), but now he’s also out in the open, not only to Aunt May but to everyone else too.
Rumors around Spider-Man: No Way Home indicate cameos from other Spider-Men and major multiverse madness. But while this sounds fun, hopefully, it will not distract from the relatable human core that made Spider-Man so endearing. The MCU was unable to follow through with Aunt May’s discovery of Spider-Man’s secret, so hopefully, his public unmasking enables a more in-depth examination of how his hitherto double-life has affected those around him.