Marvel Confirms Someone Escaped Doctor Strange's Spider-Man Memory Spell

Published Jun 22, 2026, 2:15 PM EDT

Ironically, this fantastic ending was the perfect setup for the next Spider-Man movie — Spider-Man: Brand New Day, due out in theaters on July 31 — to take the character back to his comic book roots as a neighborhood crimefighter, taking on street-level threats and his own personal rogues’ gallery on the streets of New York. Since he’s been forgotten by everyone, including his closest loved ones and all his connections at the Avengers, this Spidey is completely on his own, just like his comic book counterpart, for the very first time.

When we catch up with Peter in Brand New Day, he’ll reconnect with Ned and M.J. in a desperate bid to remind them who he is and get his friends back. As he tries to rebuild his social circle and restart his superhero career, Peter will face an uphill battle trying to get people to remember him. But apparently, someone already does.

In a recent interview with IGN, serial spoiler Tom Holland — who apparently still can’t be trusted with Marvel’s secrets — revealed that someone is exempt from Strange’s memory spell. Holland said, “No one remembers that Spider-Man is Peter Parker apart from one person.” One person still remembers who the real Slim Spidey is underneath that webbed mask. So, who could that one person be?

Who Remembers That Spider-Man Is Peter Parker?

Holland said one person still remembers Spider-Man is Peter, but he didn’t say which one person it was. So, who could it be?

Obviously, Peter himself still knows he’s Spider-Man, so this might just be Holland’s sly, tongue-in-cheek way of saying that the one person who knows Peter is Spider-Man is Peter. When he first got bitten by that radioactive spider, Peter was the only person who knew he was Spider-Man — he carried that burden alone — and now, once again, Peter is the only one who knows he’s Spider-Man. Based on the trailers, Brand New Day seems to be exploring the loneliness that comes with being Spider-Man, and with living a secret double life, and Holland’s comments might just be a reference to that theme: Peter is the only one in the world carrying this burden.

In the comics, when everyone forgot who Spider-Man was, the Hulk still remembered. There’s an iconic panel going around where the Hulk tells Spidey that Bruce Banner forgot who he was, but the Hulk didn’t. Since Mark Ruffalo has a major role in Brand New Day, some fans are expecting this moment to get adapted for the screen. But Spidey and the Hulk have never even met in the MCU, so it wouldn’t feel anywhere near as earned as it did in the comics.

Alternatively, it could be Sadie Sink’s mystery character who knows that Peter is Spider-Man. Whether she’s Jean Grey recruiting fellow mutants or Mayday Parker from another universe, or she’s playing another character entirely, her storyline in Spider-Man: Brand New Day could revolve around her being the only person in the world who still knows the wallcrawler’s true identity. No Way Home already confirmed that Ned, M.J., and Happy have all forgotten Peter, and Aunt May is dead as disco, so it has to be someone new.

Source: IGN