Anime Superhero Forum

I think it might have mattered in the 1st season, when even his original team-mates attended high-school out of uniforms.

Most recently there was that moment when Agent Venom learned his secret but that's about it, from what I remember.

But I agree that now it wouldn't make much of a difference. I don't really think lack of a secret identity is a bad thing, but it is odd seeing Spidey receive this treatment.

Batman: The Brave & the Bold and even Teen Titans rarely addressed the heroes' real identities and I thought both were pretty great shows overall, though I enjoyed the former a lot more. But I don't think USM has the same charm or skills to successfully pull off the same format.

I've always felt that the move away from secret identities was driven by the need to make superheroes more market friendly and trim away aspects of the character that couldn't immediately be sold on a t-shirt or things that might bore an 8 year old.

Well, back in season one we actually saw him attend high school more. Back then even Mary Jane had some plot relevance.

Brave and the Bold was a team-up cartoon and Teen Titans was a team cartoon that focused more on the team dynamics/interactions with each other then their personal lives, so I think it's more understandable there's less focus on the concept there.

Ultimate Spider-Man would have you believe it's both, but it still tries to market itself as a Spider-Man cartoon rather then "Marvel Team-Up" or "Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends" which it basically is.

At least the former two are upfront and honest about what they are in comparison.

Though I guess it's also arguably "Spider-Man and the Agents of SHIELD" too.

I don't think it's unfair to expect from a Spider-Man cartoon more focus in the Peter Parker side then what we have in Ultimate. Especially when he's practically Spider-Man 24/7.

Since Spidey and the other heroes joined SHIELD Academy the secret identities have been even less of a problem than before. To be fair some of the newer characters don't exactly have an alter-ego anyway, like Ka-Zar or Triton.