One of the biggest questions following Spider-Man: Brand New Day is how does Ned remember Peter at the end of the movie. Well, one Marvel fan may have cracked the case.
Brand New Day picks up four years after Doctor Strange erased the world's memory of Spider-Man's real identity in Spider-Man: No Way Home. However, the spell worked a little too well, as when Parker is finally ready to reunite with his girlfriend MJ and best bud Ned Leeds, he soon realises that nothing he does can jog their memory.
However, right at the end of the movie, Peter visits his local store and sees Ned sitting alone. But just as Peter is about to exit the store, he walks up to Ned and introduces himself. Then, as they go to shake hands, they automatically do their signature best friends handshake, and Ned remembers that Peter is, well, Peter. Read our Spider-Man: Brand New Day ending explained for the full breakdown.
But how does Ned, who is supposedly under Strange's spell, remember Peter? Well, one Marvel fan thinks that Ned's short stint as a wizard has something to do with it. "What if Ned and Peter accidentally created a spell during that handshake, and that's why he remembered because of it," said the fan on Twitter.
In No Way Home, Peter and Ned did their special handshake whilst Ned was wearing the Sling Ring, but right when the pair clicked their fingers, a spark shot out of the ring. Although he is not a fully trained wizard, it was revealed that Ned has natural magic abilities and was able to open portal gateways in the last Spidey movie. So, what if Ned accidentally put some kind of spell on the handshake, which in turn was triggered when the two shook hands at the end of Brand New Day?
With that in mind, Ned's underlying powers may have broken the spell. However, with MJ it's a completely different story. Zendaya's character told Tom Holland's Peter Parker that she simply doesn't remember him, and because of that, she doesn't love him anymore. Ouch. Let's hope Ned can work more magic in the next Spidey movie.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is out now. For more on Spidey, check out our Spider-Man: Brand New Day review and our list of Spider-Man: Brand New Day Easter eggs and cameos.
