As the final movie in the Marvel Infinity Saga, and the official end of the Cinematic Universe's Phase Three, Spider-Man: Far From Home [1] is more than a film about Peter Parker's Summer holiday in Europe — it's our first look at a world post-Thanos. As such, the movie tells us where the MCU stands and teases about what we can expect for the future, all while putting poor Peter through the emotional and physical wringer (seriously, some of those hits look painful).
The movie manages to tug at our heartstrings by allowing the budding seeds of the epic love-story between Peter and MJ to finally blossom and gives us Jake Gyllenhaal [2] in one of his most animated movie roles to-date [3] as Quentin Beck's Mysterio. But the biggest accomplishment of FFH is definitely the shocking midcredits scene [4] that changes everything in Peter's life — and, in no small part, changes the MCU itself. Be wary, Marvel fans: spoilers for Spider-Man: Far From Home are ahead!
The film's first postcredits scene [5] includes a posthumous recording from Mysterio (aired by the one and only J. Jonah Jameson [6]) that frames Spider-Man for the drone army poised to attack London per the illusionist's plans. The former Stark Industries employee [7] also reveals that Spider-Man is actually Peter Parker, exposing his secret to the entire world. Not only is this a drastic change from the comics, but it's also a massive shift in the MCU's storyline for Peter. The fallout from the exposure will no doubt be immense, and like the proper nerd I am, I've rounded up a few ways Marvel can take this reveal and how it'll effect Peter — and the rest of the MCU — in the future.
He'll Become Public Enemy Number 1
Public Enemy Number One is a title well-known to the web-slinger of New York City — just not this one. As wild as Peter's adventures have been in the MCU, he's never had to face the wrath of the public like his previous iterations, especially since he didn't have the editor in chief of the Daily Bugle to contend with. Despite all his good deeds, Peter will definitely be under some heat since Mysterio's recording points the dirty finger at him for being behind the destruction of most of Central London.
Next time we see Peter, he's probably going to be persona non grata as he and his circle of friends rush to clear his name. It doesn't help that Mysterio's video also reveals the fact that Peter (via Tony Stark) has possession of some highly intelligent, and dangerously lethal, drone tech. Tony's been in hot water with the government for his tech before, the knowledge that he left something like EDITH in the hands of a teenager is not going to sit well with anyone.
Call it a hunch, but Peter will probably be going through a really tough time with having his identity exposed, especially since it puts Aunt May, MJ, and Ned in direct line of danger. His ability to don the Spidey-Suit and save the day will be severely hampered. Tony pulled off his public Iron Man persona because he was so honestly in-your-face about it all. Peter is just a teen who mostly wants to live his life, with saving the world as a side hustle. The transition definitely won't be easy.
He'll Go Underground
The chances of Peter getting a slap on the wrist are slim to none, so it makes sense that he might go underground for a while. Since he can't be Peter anymore, maybe he'll be someone else; he could always go back to Venice and work as the Night Monkey! Or he could go up in space for a while and hang out with Nick Fury and the Skrulls until all the heat dies down back on Earth. Fingers crossed he doesn't just say, "F*ck it," and pull a Steve Rogers [9], go back in time, and live a secret life he never explains [10].
He'll Take the Tony Stark Route
Well, if he's already outed, why not go with the flow? Mysterio's recording can probably be quickly sussed out as being doctored, since he was already well on his way to dying when Peter gave the kill order to EDITH. We see on of his co-conspirators downloading data onto a thumb drive when Peter gets the upperhand of the battle which lends to the idea that Mysterio and his goons used their illusion tech to create the video as one last middle finger to the late Tony and his protege. They get that done and the only thing left for Peter to do is own up to his side-career as everyone's friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man.
Of course, this still leaves his family and friends in constant danger, but really they already were anyway. MCU's New York literally gets hit with an attack once a year, they'll be fine. Plus, without the need to hide, Peter's life could get a lot less stressful. Tony definitely wasn't stressed! Okay, strike that, Tony had anxiety and PTSD up the wazoo, but we have faith that Peter will be able to get through it with the support of his close ones, just like Tony.
He'll Work Out a Cover Story
Denial is the name of the game and it's a damn good one! Peter is basically coworkers with some of the most highly intelligent beings (humans and all) in the universe, he can totally figure out a way to lie his way back into anonymity. They just have to prove that Mysterio's recording is doctored, which would go a long way in putting a dent into the idea that he was telling the truth about Peter. And we have no doubt there will be people who find it hard to believe that a teenager has been the one saving their butts on the regular, Peter can use that rigid mindset to his advantage. And if all else fails, Flash Thompson will definitely not believe it. Peter can just get him to make an Instagram post about it all being a sham and Generation Z will handle the rest!
Okay, so maybe #PeterParkerIsaTool won't be much of a help, but it could definitely be worth a shot. And there's probably a plethora of other ways Peter could get out of this sticky pickle he's in — Marvel is nothing if not inventive — but we'll just have to wait and see how this all plays out in the next Spider-Man adventure [11].