Spider-Man and Daredevil’s secret identities were both made public, but both superheroes were able to hide them again – at a terrible cost.
Warning: contains spoilers for Daredevil #1!
Out of the many superheroes in the Marvel Universe, Spider-Man and Daredevil have more in common than any other pairing – but the two will never truly know just how much they share. Alliterative names aside, Peter Parker and Matt Murdock are motivated by a sense of justice, guilt, and an ability to see the good in everyone. But Daredevil #1 reminds readers that the two share a unique experience in the Marvel Universe: exposing and then concealing their secret identities to the entire world.
Peter Parker and Matt Murdock guard their secret identities with great care, but they risk very different outcomes. Daredevil, should he remove his mask during his actions as a vigilante, would instantly be disbarred as a lawyer and would be thrown in jail for illegal activities. For Peter Parker’s part, his loved ones would be in instant danger (and they often are even if he keeps his mask on) and he too would lose his job – as he did after he revealed his secret identity to the world during the events of Civil War in 2007.
In Daredevil #1, written by Chip Zdarsky with art by Marco Checchetto, Spider-Man and Daredevil team up once again and the two talk about the aftermath of the Devil’s Reign event, in which Matt Murdock was killed. Unbeknownst to all but a select few, Matt never actually died; his brother Mike Murdock was killed instead, and Matt assumed his identity. High on a rooftop, he reveals his true face to Spider-Man, who suddenly recovers all his lost memories from previous knowledge of Daredevil.
After Murdock’s identity was exposed, he used the power of the Purple Man’s children to erase the knowledge from all who knew Murdock and Daredevil were one and the same. Spider-Man was in much the same situation during the events of Spider-Man: One More Day, but with one major exception: he never actively sought to hide his identity through magical means. Instead, his only goal was to save his Aunt May’s life (and eventually he did through Mephisto’s help, although the demon erased the knowledge that Peter was Spider-Man from the entire world).
If Daredevil reveals himself to anyone who previously knew his secret identity, they would instantly recall their old memories. But if Spider-Man did the same, their memories would not return – because Mephisto altered reality itself in the deal and not just human memories. Spider-Man and Daredevil experienced the same major storylines – and while the means may have been different, they each know how dangerous it would be if their superheroics ever became public knowledge.
