Spider-Man: Brand New Day is now playing in cinemas and along with the usual mix of action, adventure, humour, and good old fashioned superhero hijinks, the movie also finds time to focus on the evolution of Peter Parker – both emotionally and physically. Throughout the course of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Peter embarks on a significant journey, which tests his mental health, while at the same time pushes his body in surprising new ways.
One key feature of the film is Peter’s development into more of a ‘spider’ man than he ever expected. During the film, Peter begins to take on more arachnid abilities, even going so far as to develop his own webs.
The reason Peter undergoes this transformation is because of the struggles he is facing in his personal life, and how they have isolated him. Following the death of his beloved Aunt May in 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, as well as the memory-erasing spell that was cast by Doctor Strange, Peter has shunned all friendships and connections, and has pushed himself into a solitary life.
This in turn has made him lose some of his humanity, and has kicked started a transformation. And it’s a transformation he wrestles with for the majority of the film, until he can work through some of his problems and begin to reconnect with those around him.
At the heart of all this is an ongoing theme of grief and trauma. Peter mourns the passing of Aunt May, who he never had time to properly grieve for, and he mourns the loss of his best friend, Ned, and girlfriend, MJ.
And it’s here where Spider-Man: Brand New Day does something very interesting. The film introduces a bunch of supporting Marvel heroes, who all take part in his story, and who all share in the theme of grief and trauma.
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The Punisher
The first Marvel ‘hero’ (or vigilante if you prefer) to appear in the film is Frank Castle, aka The Punisher. Frank has appeared in a number of Marvel television shows, including Daredevil, The Punisher, Daredevil: Born Again, and The Punisher: One Last Kill and has been on his own journey of grief and trauma.
Frank is a former marine who lost his family to violence. This in turn sent him on a revenge mission, which has seen him kill countless hoods and criminals, creating much bloodshed in the process.
Frank has been working through it, but it has forever changed him. He can never go back to being the person he once was, and like Spider-Man he has become isolated.
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Black Widow
The next hero to appear in Spider-Man: Brand New Day is Yelena Belova, aka Black Widow. The former assassin turned New Avenger has plenty of trauma in her past, and is no stranger to grief.
At a young age, Yelena was drafted into the Red Room and trained to become an assassin. This saw her perform countless hits, and has left her mentally fragile.
But then to add to that, she lost her sister, fellow Red Room alumni, Natasha Romanoff – the former Black Widow of The Avengers. This loss was felt deeply by Yelena, and she has had to learn to deal with the grief as best she can.
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The Hulk
The third hero to appear in Spider-Man: Brand New Day is Bruce Banner, aka the Hulk. Banner is a long-running player in the MCU, who has undergone a heck of a journey.
After transforming into the Hulk, thanks to exposure to gamma radiation, Banner has witnessed friends come and go as he has struggled with the raging beast inside him. This caused him to become very isolated during the early days of the Hulk’s existence, and has placed no end of trauma on his shoulders as he has witnessed the destruction caused by his green alter-ego, and has grieved over the loss of the life he once had.
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Jean Grey
And finally, the fourth hero to appear in Spider-Man: Brand New Day is the mutant telepath, Jean Grey. During the course of the film, Jean is depicted as a villain by the Department of Damage Control, although this isn’t quite the case.
Jean is instead someone who is dealing with her own mental health problems, following the disappearance of her sister, Sara. And once Jean learns the truth about what happened to Sara, she has to learn to grieve her loss.
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Five heroes: Spider-Man, The Punisher, Black Widow, The Hulk, and Jean Grey. All connected by a common theme which has changed them, mentally, physically, emotionally, and forever.
So, while it might seem as if Spider-Man: Brand New Day is a movie which is keen to put a bunch of superheroes together on the big screen, there’s actually a stronger connection in play, with this core five sharing similar experiences.
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