Spider-Man Brand New Day Explained

Brand New Day doesn’t hide its thematic concerns. Up front, it tells us Peter Parker’s inability to process grief creates self-destructive habits that begin a downward spiral. The question isn’t whether he can work through this but how?

If that sounds familiar, it’s not too far from what the MCU explored in Thunderbolts. That film also starts with a character who is deeply depressed: Yelena, aka the White Widow, aka the new Black Widow. Yelena then meets other misfits who also feel alone and depressed. They come together, save one another, and ultimately face the manifestation of their darker selves: the Void. Teamwork makes the dream work and this ragtag bunch save the day and become the New Avengers.

If that sounds familiar, it’s because it’s not too far from what the MCU explored with Guardians of the Galaxy.

So this isn’t new territory for Marvel. Ultimately, the film says we aren’t meant to be alone and are stronger when we have others. But. There is an interesting twist with how Brand New Day goes about all of this.

Peter Parker Who?

At the end of Far From Home, Mysterio revealed to the world that Peter Parker was Spider-Man. In No Way Home, we see the consequences of this overwhelming attention when multiple Spider-Man villains from across the multiverse show up to ruin Peter’s life. That may seem too outrageous to ever connect to anything from reality and what real people deal with, but have you ever read about what happens to lottery winners who aren’t anonymous? Oooooooooh boy. It gets ugly. A lot of them end up as the victims. Some become casualties. Same with celebrities.

At the end of No Way Home, Dr. Strange casts a spell that erases all memories and records of Peter Parker from the universe. He can go back to living a regular life. Kind of. The price of anonymity is losing his girlfriend and best friend (so they can live normally and go to college without the secondary attention from villains, the media, etc.). Peter thought he was strong enough to handle it. Except, no. Isolation is hard on anyone, even a superhero.

Are you Spider-Man? Or are you Peter Parker?

Brand New Day picks up with Peter forgetting himself. Not literally, just existentially. How can he be Peter Parker without his Aunt May, or Mary Jane, or Ned? He doesn’t want to find out so throws himself into life as Spider-Man.

In Guardians of the Galaxy, the individual characters have trauma that causes them to prefer to be alone. But they are who they are and don’t shy away from it. In Thunderbolts, the characters are true to themselves but hide their pain from one another before eventually having what amounts to a cathartic group therapy session that ends with a giant hug to defeat the villain. Not so in Brand New Day. In Brand New Day, Peter refuses to be himself.

Active dissociation isn’t something that Marvel has explored before.

But because it’s a Marvel movie, they have to simplify the existential conflict for worldwide audiences so everyone can follow along. Their solution is the elevating arachnid DNA. Peter’s quite literally becoming more spider and less man.

Yelena Belova, Frank Castle, Bruce Banner, Jean Grey

Storytelling is like any other craft in that there are basic techniques, intermediate techniques, and advanced techniques. For example, a basic technique is a simple story where the entire plot is told through the actions of the protagonist. The intermediate version adds secondary characters who each have their own subplots. And the advanced version not only has secondary characters and subplots but uses these to support and develop the thematic work.

Most Marvel films don’t go the extra mile to support and develop thematic work. They want to tell entertaining stories and the cinematography, editing, and story all usually support that aim. Simple, fun, and include a basic lesson people can relate to.

Unexpectedly, Brand New Day goes hard with the thematic work through the secondary characters. And I don’t know if that will ever be properly appreciated.

What do I mean?

Many viewers will think it was unnecessary to have Peter meet with Yelena. Or work with Frank Castle. Or go to Bruce Banner for advice. Or have Jean Grey as the villain. Many will chalk it up to worldbuilding or the kind of thing that happens in the comics. Yet there’s more to it.

You know the story of A Christmas Carol? Scrooge leads a miserable life, until, one night, three ghosts visit him. The Ghost of Christmas Past shows Scrooge events from the past, the Ghost of Christmas Present shows events from the present, and the Ghost of Christmas Future from the future. Seeing himself in this way causes Scrooge to confront his behavior and outlook on life. He changes for the better.

Brand New Day has a Christmas Carol thing going on.

Yelena is an example of someone who processed grief in a healthy way and is on the other side.
Frank Castle is the unhealthy example, where grief leads to loneliness, violence, and narrow-mindedness.
Bruce Banner embraces self-rejection and that suppression leads to an uncontrollable outburst.
Jean Grey hides herself away by inhabiting other people.

Yelena is the ideal. While Frank and Bruce are the negative examples of what awaits Peter if he continues to isolate and limit himself. And Jean is the foil. These characters weren’t random inclusions but picked specifically for how they externalize Peter’s internal conflict.

Jean Grey’s importance

I said Jean’s the foil and didn’t elaborate. Let me elaborate.

Peter was a young kid with powers who had people in his life who helped him navigate the difficult times. That’s what ultimately made him a hero. We see in Brand New Day that without these people in his life, Peter starts to lose that heroic side. That’s the point of the fight against Scorpion that culminates with Peter carelessly slamming Scorpion into an occupied police car. He injures the officer inside and is devastated when he realizes what happened. The fear is that he may continue to lose control and hurt more people if he stays on this path of isolation.

Jean’s been on that path of isolation ever since Damage Control kidnapped her sister. The one flashback we witness between the two of them positions the sister Jean’s mentor, teaching her how to use her powers. With that figure gone, Jean never receives the mentorship or compassion that Peter did, and that leaves her in a bad place—using her powers in villainous ways, lashing out at those who would help her, making cruel decisions (yes, I naturally used an em-dash. Not AI).

So Jean Grey is who Peter Parker could have been if he never had May, Tony, MJ, or Ned. And she’s who Peter Parker could become without them. His fight with her in the first half of the film, as she inhabits all these different people, becomes symbolic of Peter’s own struggle with identity. What’s he say at the housewarming party when MJ introduces himself? He could have said “Peter” and it wouldn’t have given anything away. Yet he goes with “Maynard.” That’s how disconnected he is from himself.

“I’m both.”

Before the climax, Peter finally comes clean to MJ about who he is and what happened. She lets him hang out in the apartment, as Spider-Man, and Peter gets to connect with Ned, again, too. It’s cathartic for him. Almost like old times. And that reignites his humanity.

That carries over into the climax. Peter makes his way to confront Jean Grey. While Jean’s discovered and unleashed a new level of power that has everyone in Damage Control, and a one-mile radius, in a state of telepathic paralysis. She sends the ninjas from the Hand to fight Peter.

Peter puts up a good fight but there are so many ninjas that he starts to lose. As he takes more and more hits, he and Jean carry on a telepathic conversation.

Peter: Jean, I’m here to help you.
Jean: You put me here.
Peter: I know, and I’m sorry about Sarah, and I’m sorry that I got it so wrong.
Jean: If you came here to save a helpless girl from Damage Control, you’re too late. They’re the ones who need saving. And now, so do you. [Hand appear]
Peter: Here we go. [Fight]
Jean: People are monsters. You shouldn’t trust them any more than they trust you…. My sister died in this room, surrounded by these men. And her only crime was that she was special. Just like you. Just like me. People like us don’t get to live a normal life. We don’t get to have friends, or a family. Those people are gone. That life is over. So why don’t you just be honest with yourself? Are you Peter Parker? Or are you Spider-Man?
Peter: I’m both.

With that statement, Peter becomes whole. That’s externalized by his sudden control over his enhanced spider-powers and senses. What had once overwhelmed and scared him is now a part of him that he accepts. Which gets back to something MJ said after helping Peter with the inhibitor.

MJ: This is the kind of stuff you put on, like, I don’t know, like a monster.
Peter: Well, if you saw what’s been happening to me over the last couple days, then you might understand.
MJ: Yeah, well, I’ve been with you for the last few hours, and that’s not what I’ve seen.
Peter: And what have you seen?
MJ: From my side of the curtain? A really good guy who must just be changing.

We don’t have to fear change. Just because a chapter in our life has ended doesn’t mean we can’t begin a new one, that we shouldn’t embrace the brand new day.

Saving Jean

When Peter finally makes it to Jean and confronts her, he says, “You’re not a killer.” And she tells him “You have no idea what I am.” But he does. “I know you loved your sister. And I know that losing her felt like you’d lost everything.” She threatens to invade his mind and he surrenders to her.

Remember, his earlier fights with Jean had symbolized his own internal struggle. Jean couldn’t access his memories as Peter Parker because he had sealed himself off. This interaction symbolizes his unification. Because he’s fully Peter, he lets her in, which represents letting himself have access to all of those memories he had voluntarily sealed away after the spell.

The conversation with Aunt May is one he had with her, yet Jean replaces him. She finally experiences the mentorship and love her sister would have given her.

May: You think you don’t have to listen to me now that you got powers? You know, this whole thing can get really scary. You know that?
Jean/Peter: It’s already pretty scary.
May: Yeah. And things can change. Like, very quickly. Ways that we can’t even imagine right now.
Jean/Peter: I know.
May: No, I don’t think you do know.
Jean/Peter: What do you mean?
May: You’re a really special person. And I would hope that will always make you feel really great about yourself, but I know sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes, it’ll be really lonely. And sometimes, because you’re special, people can do dark, monstrous things to you. But, this is what I want you to know: you’re beautiful. And the people who love you, we love you. Not because you’re special. We love you because you’re you. I want you to remember that. Even when it feels like you’re totally alone. That’s your deepest responsibility. Never forget that, no matter how powerful you become.

After that, Peter and Jean bond. He says, “Just because we’ve lost someone, it doesn’t mean we have to do this alone. I mean, we can’t. Trust me, I’ve been trying. It doesn’t work.”

By saving Jean, Peter saves himself. And now that we have May’s line about “We love you because you’re you” it recontextualizes Jean’s body jumping. It wasn’t just her power but symbolic for her failing to be herself. She didn’t know how to be herself. She didn’t want to be herself. And Peter was in a similar place. So Jean also, indirectly, saved Peter.

And while a lot of the Jean stuff may be clumsy in execution, it does set up why Xavier will be such an important figure in the MCU. Jean will end up at his School for the Gifted and learn to be herself (until the inevitable Dark Phoenix arc). That’s the gift Professor X provides so many mutants who struggle with the power they suddenly have and the people who want to do monstrous things to them. It’s cool how the theme not only works for Spider-Man but sets up a much larger thematic concern for the future of the MCU.

Common questions about Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Did Ned remember Peter or not? Did Jean unlock Ned’s and MJ’s memories?

This is purposefully vague to hook people for the next film. So there’s no right answer. On the one hand, Ned already heard MJ say “Peter” as Spider-Man left the apartment. Ned heard it. So when Peter introduces himself and does the handshake, Ned could simply be thinking about that moment in the apartment and not accessing all of his lost memories.

On the other hand, he and MJ were caught in Jean’s telepathic barrier. It’s very easy for the next Spider-Man movie to say that event unlocked Ned’s and MJ’s memories of Peter. That would explain why we see MJ on the roof with the necklace Peter had given her. And why Ned can do the secret handshake.

Again, though, it’s supposed to be vague. MJ could just be thinking about what to do next, now that she knows she once had a relationship with Peter, completely unaware that the necklace has anything to do with him. And the handshake could be muscle memory.

Personally, though, I’d lean to Ned and MJ remembering. I think everyone involved probably wants to go back to how things were and continue on.

How did Peter survive the shot?

Jean took control of his body and manually kept him alive and probably guided his healing. When she possesses someone, she seems to have full access to the system. So in her own body, she may not be able to control her kidneys, but in someone else’s body, she can actively command organs and the like. That’s why the cut shows her breathing for Peter until he could breathe for himself. I’d guess she prevented him from bleeding out and kept his heart beating and lungs breathing until the doctors could stabilize him. Then she accelerated the healing until she could safely vacate.

If Jean was stuck in the helicopter, how did she reach MJ?

Peter made a bad assumption with the 33-foot rule. He didn’t realize that Jean could just “release” and return to her own body and start the process over again. So the moment he swung away from the helicopter, she kicked back to herself then jumped until she reached MJ. However fast Peter got there, Jean was faster.

How did Peter pay for everything?

This question has been all over social media. Remember, the world forgot Peter Parker, not Spider-Man. Everyone remembers all the heroic things Spider-Man has done. All the superheroes know the role he played in stopping Thanos. And Happy Hogan would remember that Tony Stark was mentoring and supporting Spider-Man.

I think the safest assumption is that Peter still has access to money from Tony.

I’ve seen people say he had life insurance money from his Aunt May, but he couldn’t legally claim it since he has no proof he’s Peter Parker and no one has any memory of him being her nephew.

Someone claimed the leaked script confirmed that Peter was dumpster diving for parts, which is what he was doing back before Tony started helping him. But that wouldn’t explain the apartment. And, yeah, the upstairs place seems to be free because the landlord said no one wants to use it because of asbestos. That doesn’t explain the original apartment Peter had in the building. He was paying for it somehow. He is a genius. So it’s possible he’s doing minor remote work that gives him enough cash for rent and food.

Ultimately, though, there are plenty of ways for him to afford things. So I don’t think this is a detail anyone really needs to worry about.

Is Jean Grey a mass murderer?

I saw some discussion about whether or not Jean had a body count in Brand New Day. Officially, the answer seems to be “no”. No one ever confirms a death. But like…what the hell? The old men who Jean walks into traffic? That dude probably isn’t in good shape. And all the car crashes from the armored vehicle Jean drove into Damage Control? You’re telling me everyone was okay? Then the bomb goes off…and no one was seriously hurt?

And then at the end of the movie, she has that telepathic burst that paralyzes everyone in a one-mile/kilometer radius. You’re telling me no one was swimming? Or near the water’s edge and suddenly fell over and into the water? We see one biker fly into a car and flop onto the ground. I imagine there were probably like…dozens of people on bikes? Some probably going fast. All of them are okay? Same with the drivers? No one was in a precarious situation when they suddenly lost all control of their body?

I’m not trying to go full CinemaSins. But this is the kind of thing where Marvel wants the dramatic effect of these things happening but hopes none of us will think too much about it after the fact.

Who is the new Spider-Man in the after-credits scene?

I mean, even if we had a definitive answer, there’s no guarantee anything will come of this. Remember when Harry Styles was in the mid-credits scene of Eternals, playing Eros? Or when Brett Goldstein appeared as Hercules in the mid-credits of Thor: Love and Thunder? These mid-credits and after-credits scenes are wishful thinking with no guarantee anything will come of them. And even when things do come to pass, Feige might make changes.

Spider-Man Brand New Day Explained | Be Yourself

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