Four movies in, I think I may be ready to declare the Tom Holland Spider-Man movies the most well-written superhero series of all time. You can make arguments for other, individual movies being better than any of the movies in this series, but in terms not only of consistent quality, but character growth, there’s nothing that compares to what’s been done with Holland’s Peter Parker over the course of four films.
Homecoming was about what it means to be a hero. Far From Home was about being your own kind of hero. No Way Home was about the COST of being a hero. And now, in Brand New Day, we see a story of a young man trying to find a new life after having paid that cost.
The thing about Spider-Man is that, more so than any other superhero (yeah, even Batman), he exists in a self-imposed state of constant sacrifice. It is simultaneously his greatest moral strength and his great tragic flaw. He made a mistake once that cost somebody he loved their life, and because of that he will give of himself – physically, mentally, emotionally – until there’s nothing left to give and then some if that is what it will take to save somebody else, ANYBODY else. No matter what level of the multiverse you find yourself on, that’s who Peter Parker is.
After the events of No Way Home, he is convinced that the only way to protect those he cares about is to live a life of isolation and loneliness. If nobody is allowed to get close to him, after all, then nobody can be hurt BECAUSE they are close to him. And the film does not flinch from showing the toll that this takes, portraying him as a sad, broken character who seems to have no desire in life other than to use Spider-Man to save as many people as possible. (This is actually one of the few qualms I have about the movie – there’s nothing to indicate that Peter Parker has any sort of job or source of income to justify the impressive tech he uses in this movie, let alone something as simple as the rent on a Manhattan apartment.) But we see all of this in the first ten minutes. The story really begins when a new adversary arises, someone who takes Spider-Man’s interference in their plans personally, and he finds his old friends getting caught in his web again.
Yes, of course the pun was intended. Give me some credit here.
Anyway, director Destin Daniel Cretton (who also directed Shang-Chi and some episodes of Marvel’s Wonder Man) paints Holland’s character as someone who is desperate for companionship but afraid to reach out for it, and it’s that sadness that fuels the film and – ultimately – leads to an ending that is more sweet than bitter. After all of the lessons that he’s learned in the previous films, it seems there is at least one lesson left to learn: that he doesn’t have to do it all alone. Hell, even Jon Bernthal’s Punisher takes a turn to be more of an ally than he’s ever been in the comics. (Interesting note: I have to watch the movie again to be sure, but I’m 99 percent certain they never actually call Frank Castle “Punisher” in the course of this movie.)
Let’s talk about Sadie Sink for a minute. As I mentioned in this week’s Geek Punditry, Sink’s character was the big question mark going into this movie – everybody knew she was going to be in it, but nobody knew WHO she was playing. This didn’t stop theories from flying, of course. Without spoiling anything, the reveal as to what character she plays wasn’t as huge a shock as it could have been. The role she was playing in the story, however, was VERY surprising. If you had told me ahead of time that she was playing THAT character in THAT particular way, I would have had a lot of apprehension about what was being done to a classic Marvel character. I think that may be part of the reason for the secrecy. Shrouding her role in mystery helped prevent a knee-jerk reaction from people and allowed them to see the actions of the character in context, which make things far more sympathetic and understandable, and leaves you excited to see where she turns up next.
As for the movie’s place in the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe, I would say it has minimal reliance on earlier films but maximum potential for future ones. Despite the appearance of other Marvel characters – the Punisher, the Hulk, and so on – the story does not heavily rely on knowledge of any previous Marvel project other than the first three Tom Holland Spider-Man movies. Assuming you’ve seen those and have a general awareness of who the Hulk is, you’ve got everything you need to watch and enjoy this film. On the other hand, there are several seeds planted in this movie that I fully expect to see bear fruit in the future, not only in future Spider-Man movies, but in other Marvel projects as well.
It’s going to be really hard to displace No Way Home as my favorite Spider-Man movie. The sheer thrill of that one, the emotional punch of seeing all three Spider-Men together, the beautiful way they brought closure to the other two while still telling Tom Holland’s story…it was a magic trick that’s going to be difficult to replicate. But Brand New Day doesn’t try to top it, it’s telling its own story in the new world that NWH left Peter Parker with. And it does a fantastic job of it. It’s respectful to the characters, the actors all bring their A-game, and you’re left feeling that Spider-Man’s story is far from finished.
What more could you ask for?
Blake M. Petit is a writer, teacher, and dad from Ama, Louisiana. His most recent writing project is the superhero adventure series Other People’s Heroes: Little Stars, volume one of which is now available on Amazon. He’s also started putting his LitReel videos on TikTok.
Blake M. Petit 