Spiderman pulls off his mask for the press, revealing that he is Peter Parker, in the latest installment of the “Civil War” mini-series.
For a comic book hero, it’s the ultimate taboo.
In the latest edition of the Marvel comic “Civil War” on sale, Spiderman does the unthinkable and removes his Spidey mask to publicly reveal his hidden identity. “I’m proud of who I am, and I’m here right now to prove it,” the legendary webslinger tells a press conference called in New York’s Times Square, before pulling off his mask and standing before the massed ranks of reporters as newspaper photographer Peter Parker. “Any questions?” Parker asks in the final panel of the issue, amid a barrage of camera flashes.
In a statement, Marvel trumpeted the revelation as “arguably the most shocking event in comic book history.”
Interesting. I haven’t followed the “Civil War” series or, indeed, much of anything in comic books since the re-launch (and then re-relaunch) of the Marvel Universe a few years back, so I’m not sure if this will be part of the regular continuity.
The reasons for maintaining secrecy, though, have nothing to do with shame but rather privacy and, especially, the safety of one’s friends and loved ones. And “out” Peter Parker means that Spiderman’s foes can easily target innocents for leverage against him.
