Yet Another MCU Character Knows Spider-Man's Secret Identity, But Marvel's New Show-Runner Has A Good Reason
What's next for the MCU's new Spider-Man?
WARNING: This article includes SPOILERS from Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man episode 4.The Spider-Man TV showrunner for Peter Parker's new Marvel Cinematic Universe adventure explains the latest character to discover the web-slinger's big secret. Since the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Earth-616 no longer knows that Peter is Spider-Man, thanks to Doctor Strange's spell. However, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man presents a different situation, as Peter's MCU variant has already seen Norman Osborn discover that he is actually the web-crawler, and the latest episodes have now brought another player into the secret.
When ScreenRant interviewed Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man showrunner, Jeff Trammell, the events of episode 4 - where Harry Osborn discovers that Peter is New York's latest hero - were brought up. When asked about the decision to not only have Norman know about Spider-Man's secret identity this early in the series but to also have Harry learn about it, Trammell discussed the unique way that the MCU series gets to tackle Harry and Peter's relationship, as he shared the following:
Jeff Trammell: I think there's a part of it where it's really fun to delve into Norman as a mentor, but Norman as a mentor can't kind of be like your day-to-day guy because he is so busy, it would be a detriment to Oscorp. He's kind of stuck in the chair. So being able to open that up to having Harry know, having Harry in on Peter's big secret, when other people are not in on his secret, I think, naturally, is going to create a bit of tension amongst some of the characters.
I think, from a storytelling standpoint, it was always really interesting and also having Harry know that this kid is the same guy that saved him in episode 1, I think, means a lot because that also colors how he views Peter versus if you were to meet Peter in an everyday setting, he's a kid, you're a kid, you feel equal level playing field. But knowing that this guy's a superhero, and he has already saved his life, I think, adds a bit more respect and admiration on behalf of Harry, who's viewing Peter, and Peter, who's viewing Harry, is like, 'Oh, he's the super-rich, popular guy that everyone loves.' So I like that. They both have something to kind of admire about the other one.
While Spider-Man media has explored Harry and Norman finding out that Peter is the one under that mask, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is getting to tackle it in a unique way, especially by not having Spider-Man be enemies with either of them. In this iteration, Peter and Harry weren't established as best friends, but Harry knowing about Spider-Man's dual identity is likely what will get them closer in the future of the story. It's also a unique approach for Norman's character to be Peter's mentor rather than be the man who becomes one of his first supervillains.
However, the Osborns having this information makes things even more tense if either of them ever gets into a conflict with Peter. Whether or not Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man will actually go down the Green Goblin route with the MCU's new Norman Osborn remains to be seen, but if he does, it will be dangerous for Peter because his former mentor would have a lot of power against him. But for now, only time will tell what it means for the show as a whole to have this dynamic between Peter and the Osborns.
Image via Disney+
Trammel's comments about Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man reinforce the idea that the show taking place in an alternate MCU timeline does benefit it in certain ways, as it can more easily pull off major twists like having the Osborns know about Peter's double life. Given that season 2 of the show is already greenlit, time will tell if Peter's dynamics with Harry and Norman will change because of them knowing his secret. Currently, though, fans will have to catch the rest of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man season 1 to see how this reveal may affect the story going forward.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man will release the remaining episodes of season 1 on Wednesday, February 12 and 19 on Disney+
Your RatingYour Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
Release Date
January 29, 2025
Network
Disney+
Writers
Jeff Trammell
Franchise(s)
Spider-Man
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