One of Spider-Man: No Way Home's writers has explained how Tom Holland's Spider-Man already had his "I am Iron Man" moment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The second two films of Jon Watts' Spider-Man trilogy transition seamlessly from one to the next. At the end of Far From Home, a post-credits scene shows the now-dead Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) outing Peter Parker as Spidey.
In No Way Home, the film picks up right after that stunning revelation, featuring a stunning swinging scene of Holland and Zendaya's MJ escaping a curious crowd.
Spider-Man's identity being revealed is what kicks off all the shenanigans that lead to the return of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield.
Spider-Man Had His Iron Man Moment in Far From Home
One of Robert Downey Jr.'s most famous scenes as Iron Man came in his original 2008 movie in which he outed himself as the armored hero during a press conference originally designed to cover up the movie's explosive ending.
Spider-Man: No Way Home writer Chris McKenna has confirmed in the Spider-Man: No Way Home - The Art of the Movie book that Mysterio’s “Spider-Man's name is Peter Parker” scene is Tom Holland's “I am Iron Man” moment.
McKenna mentioned how, "unlike Tony," Peter didn't get to control this vulnerable moment:
“Peter had his ‘I am Iron Man’ moment, but he didn’t get to make it, unlike Tony... [It] was forced on him from the grave. When we ended the last movie, we were like, Wow, we really blew things up--how are the next writers gonna get out of that jam?' And now here we are."
Also in the art book, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige added that kicking off No Way Home after Far From Home "was always something [they] wanted to do."
Feige went on to mention how the creative team "didn’t want to shy away from the fact that [Peter's] identity is now revealed" and that was how they began "brainstorming" for No Way Home:
"We knew coming out of Far From Home that we didn’t want to shy away from the fact that his identity is now revealed. It’s out there, and that was certainly always the starting point. And with writers Erik Sommers and Chris McKenna, director Jon Watts, and Producer Amy Pascal, we sat and just started brainstorming."
Feige further elaborated on the questions that went into the beginning of No Way Home. One breaking point for Peter in the film is when it started to affect Ned and MJ, which was discussed when creating the film's script:
"What happens next? As he swings away from Madison Square Garden where that big TV screen outed his identity, how does his life change and get turned upside down? And more importantly, how does it affect his friends? Peter Parker can handle a lot. But when he starts to see his friends being affected by his actions unfairly, that really is emotionally draining for him.”
The MCU's Spider-Man & Iron Man Connection
Since first appearing in the MCU, Tom Holland's Spider-Man has been directly connected to Tony Stark. After recruiting him in Captain America: Civil War, Tony mentored him in Spider-Man: Homecoming, then watched him perish at the end of Avengers: Infinity War.
Of course, this story ended with Tony ultimately being the one to make the great sacrifice at the end of Avengers: Endgame, leading Peter to deal with the loss of his hero and mentor during the events of Far From Home.
The fact that this is his bizarro version of an "I am Iron Man" moment is ironic, especially when one considers Tony entrusted Peter with EDITH before the teenager mistakenly handed over the power to Quentin Beck, which led to the public outing.
Following the events of No Way Home, no one knows who Spider-Man is, or even remembers who he was during the events of previous films.
Similar to the end of Iron Man 3, it looks like Marvel Studios executed the clean slate protocol on Tom Holland's Spidey heading into a potential fourth film, only further building the similarities in their MCU journies.
Spider-Man: Far From Home and No Way Home are available now for digital purchase.
