Movie Analysis
The Part of Spider-Man: No Way Home We Never Got to See
What it means to choose responsibility with no recognition, no financial safety net, and no one who remembers your name — through the lens of Spider-Man: Brand New Day and growing up between two very different definitions of adulthood.
The Part of Spider-Man: No Way Home We Never Got to See
By Jinwon Jang
8/11/2026
When Peter doom-scrolled MJ and Ned's MIT campus life, I was surprised that Peter chose Spider-Man over college.
I was thinking, "Why didn't he choose to go to college?"
Did Peter reject college because of his belief that "Great power comes with great responsibility?" Had adulthood already begun for him?
If I were Peter Parker, my parents would kick me out of the house. Why? Because in Korea, everyone chooses to go to college or reapply to a more prestigious university.
Peter developed advanced biotechnology weapons in his small NYC apartment room and Frank Castle's heavily fortified safe home. His ability should allow him to outperform his classmates in college. It just culture-shocked me because where I grew up, someone with Peter's ability would almost certainly choose university before anything else.
Unfortunately, what made Peter's situation even worse wasn't loneliness — it was invisibility. The day-to-day cost of Peter's sacrifice was overwhelming. Peter worked full-time as a solo vigilante, and he didn't rely on anyone but himself. No MJ. No Ned. The only woman he talked to was Jean DeWolff, a police officer already married and had two children. No one knew Peter was Spider-Man. People recognized Spider-Man's work but not Peter's. That was the moment I stopped thinking about Spider-Man as a superhero and started thinking about him as a young adult.
What happens when nobody recognizes who made a sacrifice? In No Way Home, while Peter struggled over his responsibility as Spider-Man, he still had MJ and Ned to give him emotional support. However, in Brand New Day, after Doctor Strange cast a final, extreme memory-erasing spell to fix a multiversal fracture, Peter lost even that recognition. Could Peter still exist even if no one remembered Peter Parker?
Growing up, I thought adulthood meant earning a prestigious job, achieving financial stability, and not disappointing my family. When Peter chose to accept responsibilities that nobody recognized, I asked myself, could I make the same decision as Peter? No financial stability. No support. No social respect. I am going to be honest with you. If I were in Peter's situation, I wouldn't make the same decision. I would choose to balance campus life and Spider-Man rather than work as a full-time solo vigilante. When the movie showed a comparison between Peter and MJ and Ned's life, I realized adulthood wasn't about having social respect but taking responsibility for the abilities you have even if no one recognizes your work.
Spider-Man's motto is, "With great power comes great responsibility." Although people online jokingly say Peter has relatively ordinary powers with great responsibility, I genuinely respect Peter's decision to choose Spider-Man over college. When MJ found out the letter, she demanded an explanation and called it unfair. She told Peter she doesn't remember or love him. Peter responded maturely by not arguing, not becoming defensive, and instead trying to calm the situation by apologizing. If I were Peter, I would have fought back, making an excuse, and seeing myself as the victim. First, Peter chose Spider-Man over college. Then, Peter chose responsibility over protecting his pride. Maybe that's what adulthood really means — you don't earn it by recognition, you earn it by accepting responsibility.