Editor’s Note: This article contains spoilers for “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.”
Within the film’s opening weekend, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” earned over $100 million in box office sales, and for good reason. Released on July 31, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” marks the fourth standalone Spider-Man film with actor Tom Holland as the iconic vigilante. The film is set in New York City, as Peter Parker attempts to rebuild his life, struggling with the emotional aftermath of Doctor Strange’s spell from “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which erased the public’s memory of Peter Parker’s existence.
The film reveals Jean Grey (Sadie Sink), a telepathic mutant, as the main antagonist, who emotionally manipulates Peter by mind-controlling his loved ones in her effort to infiltrate the Department of Damage Control and search for her missing sister, Sara Grey (Olivia Booth-Ford). Throughout the film, Jean uses her powers to gain the upper-hand against Spider-Man, tricking him into believing that his previous girlfriend, MJ (Zendaya), still remembers him as Peter Parker despite having her memory wiped — later forcing the Hulk out of Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) to get in Spider-Man’s way.
Following the erasure of his identity as Peter Parker, Spider-Man loses everyone that he once knew, including MJ and his best friend Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon). Because of this, he zeroes in on working as Spider-Man 24/7, neglecting to develop friendships or a life outside of his work. This isolation takes a heavy toll on him, causing his spider DNA to become more outwardly expressed the more stressed he becomes.
Jean uses Spider-Man’s DNA issues to emotionally derail him by manipulating those closest to him. When Jean gets ahold of MJ’s mind and toys with Spider-Man by having her kiss him, his spider DNA takes over once more and he aggressively confronts Jean. Disturbed by his reaction, he creates a universal inhibitor to suppress his power. In the same way he subdues his desire to reconnect with Ned and MJ, he chooses to suppress his spider DNA, forcing him to go on a journey where he must reconcile with the negative effects of his self-isolation and loneliness.
Throughout the film, Jean is more than capable of standing toe-to-toe with Spider-Man. She is shown to have only recently awakened her powers, with a flashback showing Sara teaching Jean how to mind-control people — only for Sara to be kidnapped by Damage Control moments later. Jean is already shown to have immense command over her powers, to the point where she is able to telepathically control everyone in Manhattan by the end of the film. This display of power shows she is already a force to be reckoned with and gives audiences a taste for just how powerful she may become in the future “X-Men” films once she eventually acquires the Phoenix Force.
With the inclusion of the Hand — a group of ninja assassins — and the team-up between the emotionally closed-off vigilante Punisher (Jon Bernthal) and Spider-Man, the film is an entertaining watch that strikes a balance between pairing beloved characters and being able to structurally stand on its own. The film does not require fans to have watched the multiple series that the movie clearly picks up after, and it is even enjoyable for fans who have never been exposed to the Punisher or the Hand before.
However, there are some Easter eggs for fans that have watched the Marvel television series set in New York, including “Daredevil,” “The Defenders” and “The Punisher,” as it is made clear that “Spider-Man Brand New Day” takes place after the events of “Daredevil: Born Again.” Although Daredevil himself is not featured in the film, his arch-nemesis Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) is visible on a poster that’s seen stuck to the side of a dumpster. This poster is one of Fisk’s campaign posters from when he was running for mayor, implying that “Spider-Man Brand New Day” takes place after Fisk became mayor of New York City in “Daredevil: Born Again.”
Some fans felt a bit let down by how the Hand was reduced from a longstanding international organization to simply “a bunch of kids with no leader” in the film. One viewer on the r/Daredevil subreddit wrote: “By the end of ‘The Defenders,’ Elektra had already become the leader of the Hand, and she’s still alive based on the ‘Born Again’ season three set photos. So that one line alone felt really disrespectful to the lore.”
Given that the film centers around Spider-Man, it makes sense that the events surrounding Daredevil’s disappearance in New York City are not directly mentioned and that some details are watered down so as to not spoil the series. Despite the Hand being glossed over and other “Daredevil” characters only being mentioned in small Easter eggs, the film does allow for a large spotlight on Punisher — there appears to be a much softer side of him. It is amusing to think that the Punisher who warms up to Spider-Man in this film, even impersonating him so he can leave a hospital unnoticed, is the same Punisher that would clash with Daredevil.
Overall, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” does a stellar job of focusing on introducing new characters like Jean, exploring the emotional toll taken on Spider-Man as he wrestles with the loss of his old life and acknowledging the remnants of Daredevil’s presence in New York without spoiling his series.
Some fans might have been led astray by the presence of characters from outside television series being in the film without much context. However, the addition of a few characters with a mix of Easter eggs allow fans who are unfamiliar with these series to continue to enjoy the film without spoiling them. This allows new fans to more closely focus on the character development of Jean and Spider-Man while inviting them to explore these shows.
Perhaps fans may even be able to look forward to characters like Daredevil making an appearance in later “Spider-Man” films, considering that many characters alongside him were included in various ways in this one.
Juliana Maldonado is an Arts & Entertainment Staff Writer. She can be reached at jrmaldo1@uci.edu.
Edited by Travis Foley and Elizabeth Gregg.
![Juliana Rosie Maldonado in black glasses, a black jacket,] and crossbody black bag.](https://newuniversity.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/5c0c11ac-56cf-4a34-ad63-1e0ff1460eff-Juliana-Rosie-Maldonado-150x150.jpg)
Juliana Maldonado is a third year Literary Journalism and Game Design & Interactive Media double major. Maldonado is a 3D Environmental Artist with a heavy interest in covering music, film, and just about everything game related, from student made indie games to Triple-A titles.