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Spider-Man: Brand New Day… what more can be added? It’s one of the biggest movies of the year, and of all time. It’s outgrossed many of its own franchises films, such as Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Spider-Man: No Way Home, which considering how big those movies were, is absolutely insane!

It’s also been well received critically, and especially by fans! People love this movie, and I just gotta say… I’m one of those people too! Gotcha, didn’t I? Ok, probably not…

Anyway, yeah this movie, in my opinion, was absolute peak. It gave me pretty much everything I wanted from a Spider-Man movie, and as a fan of the comics and other movies, it both pays homage to all that came before it, but also adds a new spin on the lessons Peter has to learn.

Along with this, the new suit is incredible, the action scenes for Tom’s movies have never been better – taking advantage of the acrobatics and web-slinging more often, and the emotional stuff hits hard. Especially as a guy around Peter’s age, this movie hit me and made me reflect on my own life!

So I definitely loved it, and I’m gonna dive deeper into the reasons I do!

Story and Characters

First of all, the way this story builds off of Tom’s original trilogy, and uses its characters is fantastic, and it’s something I noticed people talking about online, and was delighted to see.

A large complaint about Tom’s Peter Parker seemed to be that he was too connected to Tony Stark, and that he didn’t seem to have the same Uncle Ben style motivation. To some people, he just seemed like a fun kid who helps. This movie is the culmination of turning this Peter Parker into a more traditional Spider-Man – lonely, broke, sad apartment, but doing the right thing anyway- and we can see this by looking at each film before this.

In Homecoming, Peter was at his most reckless. He was so eager to prove himself a big-time hero and potential Avenger, that he gets himself and many civilians in major trouble multiple times. The whole idea of that movie was Peter learning to appreciate being a street-level hero, and looking out for the little guy. A major component of Spidey’s character!

In Far From Home, Peter is mourning the loss of Tony, and is now actively trying to push Spider-Man aside in favor of Peter Parker’s life, trying to enjoy his vacation and confess his feelings to MJ. This leads him to making another extremely reckless decision on the opposite end of the spectrum. Instead of pushing hard to prove himself, he gives up on the position Tony left for him, and gives it to Mysterio, a guy he barely knows!!

This backfires, putting him, his friends, and civilians in danger again. Peter defeats Mysterio, saying “You can’t trick me anymore”. This film has Peter learn to be more responsible, and to treat his identity with care, which is swiftly undercut by the post-credits scene unfortunately for him 😦

Finally, in No Way Home, Peter’s identity is revealed to the entire world, and not only does his life collapse, but so do the lives of the people around him. He tries to fix it, but his own big mouth gets him into trouble as Doctor Strange’s spell goes awry, pulling in villains from the previous Maguire and Garfield universes.

Peter attempts to do what he believes is right, and instead of sending all the villains back to die, he attempts to cure their problems beforehand. Initially, it seems to work, but Green Goblin gets loose and kills Aunt May. Before she dies, she delivers the iconic “With great power, comes great responsibility” line, and thus begins Peter’s full transformation into Spider-Man.

After the three Peters work together to save the villains, Doctor Strange says the multiverse is still in trouble. Peter realizes the only way to stop it is for everyone to forget him, and so he makes the sacrifice for his own happiness, in order for others to live their lives, and leaves Ned and MJ alone, believing they’ll be safer without him in their lives.

Quintessential Spider-Man right there.

That brings us back to Brand New Day, where Peter has spent 4 years alone, completely committed to being Spider-Man, stopping a bunch of lower-level villains and street crime. New York loves Spider-Man, but when Peter goes home he’s sad, lonely, and stalking his old friends online. The dichotomy between Peter and Spider-Man is essential, and it really comes into focus in this film.

Peter’s emotional problems result in mutations to his powers, including organic webs and spider-like eyes that cause increased aggression. He also has almost no real human connection, preferring to keep his identity as close to himself as possible after the last movie.

He’s course corrected a little too far in the opposite direction, and that’s what makes the movie so sad – to see a guy so dedicated to helping others, but so broken himself. Tom has truly become a more “traditional” Spider-Man, and it’s almost meta-textually happened. Almost as though it was planned this way!

That’s the sort of outside, looking in part, but the actual story of the movie itself and the way it explores its characters are also great.

Peter’s decision to solely focus on being Spider-Man in an attempt to not have to deal with his personal issues makes for great character drama, especially when he finally interacts with Ned and MJ again, and it doesn’t go the way he wanted, but he takes on this new chance at connection, and realizes that life isn’t mean to be done alone, and that letting people in is healthy.

I know, at least for me, this message hit me. As someone who’s fairly introverted and has difficulty opening up, it can be challenging to not isolate myself, for fear of what may happen. I’ve had to learn and challenge myself to get out there more, and so far, it’s done a lot for my own self-confidence and self-esteem. There’s still days where it’s tough, but I keep going and trying. This movie really captures this current loneliness era we’re in, where more people than ever are saying they feel alone, and the uplifting note it leaves on really hit me emotionally.

The characters are used in interesting ways as well. Spider-Man and Punisher have become a new favorite MCU duo, with amazing banter between the two, with an underlying feeling of respect too. Peter going to Bruce Banner for help with mutating DNA feels right, and the Hulk battle was awesome! I really liked seeing Yelena as well, and the classic Marvel concept of the Avengers handling “big potato threats”, while Spidey handles “small potato threats”. IYKYK 🙂

The heartbreak of MJ saying “I don’t love you, because I don’t know you” was rough, but realistic. It would probably be too easy and undo a lot of the weight of the last movie if she just magically loved him again, and that’s also just not how life works. I’m glad they chose to deal with this maturely, having Peter still be who he is, and take her home, even apologizing for the kiss earlier. The scene where he’s just hanging out with her and Ned, making jokes and building LEGO sets is so sweet too.

Of course, the big character thing is the reveal that the antagonist is Jean Grey (spoiler alert)! I thought it was going to be her based off what was said in trailers, and knowing it had to be a really powerful telepath, but it was still a cool reveal!

Sadie Sink did an incredible job, because she makes you feel for Jean, even though what she’s doing is hurting people. Damage Control are awful for what they did to her, and the reveal of the fate of her sister Sara is crazy! They fully deserve what’s coming to them. I love the final resolution, how Peter allows her to see Aunt May in his mind, and her kind and loving words help Jean to start to heal, and how, in return, Jean keeps Peter alive for hours at the hospital. It was a perfect example of Spider-Man’s compassion: he truly believes people can change and be better. I’m excited to see where Jean goes next (X-Men).

The story and character work in this movie is great, and it delivered a really great street-level Spider-Man story that I don’t know if we’ve really seen in the movies yet!

Action and Swinging

The action scenes in this movie also take it to a new level. I didn’t think the previous trilogy had bad action at all, it was quite good in my opinion. This movie really takes advantage of Spider-Man’s movement and webs!

The fights with Damage Control and the Hand emphasize quick movement and acrobatics. I loved that like Web tornado he does against the Hand, so cool! The Hulk fight shows off Spider-Man’s need to think on his feet, sticking to the Hulk to avoid being hit, and using one of Shocker’s gauntlets for more effective punches. All the fights show how Spider-Man is unique in that he doesn’t just go in punching, but instead utilizes his brain and environment to gain an upper hand in battle.

The swinging is also way more emphasized in this movie, with scenes of Spider-Man rushing through the city that felt really cool on the big screen!

Themes and Emotion

I already kind of talked about this, but the themes of loneliness and isolation, and not going through life alone really hit hard for me. I think especially right now in a time when we’ve got so many people feeling alone, knowing you’re not alone in feeling that is the first step. Then, understanding that opening up and not doing life alone is healthy. It’s a process, but it’s worth it!

Easter Eggs

On another note, as a huge Spidey fan who’s read a ton of comics and knows a lot about the previous movies, cartoons, video games, etc., this movie really works on a fan level too!

The opening montage feels like you’re reading a Bronze Age (70’s) comic, with lower-level villains like Boomerang and Ramrod, along with bigger threats like Scorpion and Tombstone. Not only is this great fan service, but it makes the time between movies feel full, like Spider-Man has encountered and grown a rogues gallery, just like the comics!

That scene also features some great recreations of famous comic book covers, including Amazing Fantasy #15, (which I talked about in my original trailer analysis, if you want to learn more).

Also, the new suit combining elements of Tobey and Andrew’s suits with his own is really cool, and adds to the brotherly connection they all share. It also makes this suit look straight out of the comic, at least in my opinion. I love that you can see the wrinkles in it when he’s in action, and the first-person shots from inside are cinema!

There’s also fun things like Jean DeWolff being his police friend, like she was in the comics. Jean DeWolff acts as a partner and colleague in the force, and is a part of a famous storyline Spidey fans know well!

They even put easter eggs in the way he fights, incorporating moves from the Insomniac Spider-Man games on Playstation, and as someone who loves those games, you can tell! There are some cool finishers and combos that are ripped straight from it, and it adds some variety and style to the fights in the movie!

All of this just adds an additional layer of nerdy joy to the movie for me!

Post-Credit Scene Theory

Since the movie has been out for a while, I want to talk about the post-credits and where I think it may be leading, but if you haven’t seen the movie, you can just skip ahead to the conclusion!

If you have seen it, you remember that the Spidey tracker app shows Spider-Man is somewhere in space, and it’s currently unknown. I think, and I’m sure I’m definitely not the first person to say this, but this is setting up Spider-Man as a major player in Avengers: Secret Wars coming next year.

If you don’t know, one version of the Secret Wars comic story involves a patchworld planet called Battleworld, which a bunch of heroes and villains are called too, and must battle each other for their fates. I think something like that is happening here, albeit for different reasons potentially.

I think Spider-Man is going to be leading a team of heroes to help the characters from Doomsday, who are in a dire situation from the end of that movie. This might also be how he gets the symbiote, as he did in the comics, if they decide to tell their version of that story.

Time will tell, my friends, but until then, this is my theory!

Conclusion

Guys, this movie gave me everything I wanted, and more! I’m willing to admit I’m biased, because I grew up with Tom’s Spider-Man, but this is probably my favorite live-action Spider-Man movie, and Tom is my favorite live-action Spider-Man!

The emotion, the action, the comedy, the easter eggs – it all combined to make an incredible experience that I’m eager to give another viewing!

But, what did you guys think, if you saw it? Did you love it as much as I did? Did you not like it? What do you think Spider-Man 5 will be about?

Let me know by emailing me at blacknerdblog@gmail.com, or commenting on this post! Thanks again for all your support, and I’ll see you in the next one, true believers!