Brand New Day Spider-Man Analysis — Full Breakdown & Transcript

[00:00] Huh. Alright, just give me a sec. Give me a sec. I'm not in high school anymore. Ugh. Did you stretch, you big stretcher? Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at three ways that Brand New Day gives us a brand new Spider-Man.

[00:16] For almost a decade, we've watched Tom Holland grow up with Peter Parker. To a generation, he is the definitive Spider-Man, capturing a character's humor, intellect, and struggle to balance a personal life with responsibilities.

[00:28] From the beginning, though, Holland's Peter has been different from the versions of Spider-Man that moviegoers and comic book readers might be used to. Nice job, kid.

[00:41] Thanks. Well, I could have put the writing a little better. It's just a new suit. Wait, it's something. Mr. Stark, it's perfect. Thank you. Yeah, we don't really need to start a conversation. Okay. Captain? Big fan of Spider-Man?

[00:53] Since we'd already gotten two big screen iterations of Spidey by the time Holland accepted the mantle, Marvel naturally didn't want to repeat too much. The fact that this Spider-Man exists in the same world as the Avengers also brought some inevitable changes.

[01:31] Given the way Spider-Man No Way Home ended, it seemed Marvel would be taking Peter in another direction now that he's out of high school. Are you excited for MIT? Oh, uh, right, yeah.

[01:44] Yeah, actually, I am excited with the group because I don't really get excited about things. I kind of expect disappointment. You'll never actually be disappointed. Right?

[01:56] Uh, yeah. In some respects, the Peter in Brand New Day aligns more with what some fans expect from the character. In other ways, the film takes Holland to new territories.

[02:08] allowing him to explore facets of Peter we haven't really seen in this continuity. Motherfucker. Go home! By going down a more traditional route, Brand New Day manages to give us a Spider that somehow feels brand new to the MCU Here are three examples FYI we will avoid any major spoilers for Brand New Day but we will be discussing the previous Spider movies if you not caught up

[02:30] Because I'm not just Peter Parker. I'm Spider-Man. Sad Spidey. Spider-Man Homecoming had the essence of a John Hughes comedy, which signed through in Holland's performance.

[02:43] While Peter endured growing pain, his environment was on the lighthearted side. Spider-Man! Soakway! Yeah! This carried over to far from home, although it was in no way home where we started to see a tonal shift.

[02:57] Not just due to the multiversal arc, but because of Aunt Ming's death. Okay. See you. From the get-go, Uncle Ben has been an elephant in the room that the MCU has barely touched upon.

[03:13] See you. many consider Ben's death

[03:30] a pivotal moment in Peter's story that had been missing until he lost Aunt May

[03:44] That sorrow is even more present in Brand New Day, which gives us a much sadder take on Holland's Peter. As Spider-Man, Peter puts on an optimistic facade,

[03:58] but he's wearing a mask in more ways than one. MJ, come on, pretend like you're not the happiest you've ever been in your entire life. I can't. I knew it!

[04:12] Underneath, Peter is overcome with guilt and grief, preventing him from forming new relationships or mending old ones. Perhaps more so than any other Spider-Man film, Brand New Day is about mental health. Peter attempts to carry the weight of being Spider-Man with little help.

[04:26] And sometimes Spider-Man has to do the hard thing, even if it breaks Peter Parker's heart. Even when he does seek out another hero for an assist, he keeps his trauma present. The longer Peter cages his depression, the more it mutates,

[04:39] revealing how the most powerful enemy sometimes lies deep within ourselves Holland gives what might be his most emotional performance yet making us want to hug this Peter more than ever How do you think you guys are watching this

[04:51] Uh, maybe someone? Okay, hold on. Bye, someone! Dark changes. Brand New Day feels closer to what the alien costume arc in Spider-Man 3 should have been. It takes Peter to grim places and doesn't cop out with a dance number.

[05:10] You could argue that Spider-Man has always been an allegory for going through puberty. In Brand New Day, we see how even upon graduating high school, you're not done evolving.

[05:27] Peter finds himself wrapped up in a new web that he doesn't entirely understand. What is happening to me? Pressure turns to frustration, leading to aggression that Peter can't always hold back.

[05:44] The spider takes over, with the man slipping into a void that may consume him. I'm losing my mind. I am totally out of control. When we heard Punisher and Hulk were in this movie, we feared they might be throwaway Kenyos.

[05:59] Yet both reflect where Peter is. I didn't know you could get that big. As Peter loses control, he risks getting blood on his hands like Frank Castle. Like Bruce Banner, Peter has a beast inside himself, trying to break free.

[06:11] Go fight in there. Okay. Get rid of that monster inside you. Also following Bruce's example, Peter attempts to repress the beast with science. Bruce's Hulk inhibitor device is only a temporary fix, though, and the same goes for whatever Peter cooks up.

[06:26] You found a way to suppress mutating DNA, right? If you stimulate this up, you're wrong. Peter could easily become the Punisher or Hulk, especially now that he's at this crossroads.

[06:38] Brand New Day pushes Peter to the brink of darkness, forcing him to decide what kind of hero and person he wants to be. Just as Peter has grown up, so has the look and tone of these movies, delivering Spidey's most mature MCU outing thus far.

[06:52] You better do something, you better do it now! Peter Alone In the Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield films, Spider-Man stood alone. Hollenspeter has never been lacking in backup however Not only does he know the Avengers but he has a tight friend group who are in on his secret

[07:13] At least, that was the case. You're gonna forget who I am. What? Forget who you are? What are you talking about? It's okay. I'm gonna come and find you.

[07:25] And I'll explain everything. I'll make you remember me. Okay. The MCU kind of worked its way backwards,

[07:37] but Holland's Peter now swings solo, shutting out anyone who tries to get in. He doesn't exclusively work alone, accepting help from the cops and other heroes. Right, please. I don't have anywhere else to go. Work is the key word, however.

[07:50] Peter has been stripped of a personal life with no one to confide in. Isolation thus becomes the film's unseen antagonist. The only way for Peter to combat it is by letting others in. Oh, see, something across my board.

[08:03] I'm not one of those weirdos, I swear. He's a little weird. I'm empty. You too, don't know, sir? In that sense, Peter's arc mirrors the isolation that another character experiences. Although, to think any more about that would mean veering too much into spoiler territory.

[08:17] You're the only one who's immune to it. I have to make a lot of sense. While Spider-Man is naturally at the center of this story, Brand New Day is truly about the emotional support we all need. especially those juggling great power and responsibility.

[08:31] Even the Maguire and Goldfield movies never really got into the necessity of a strong support system seeing as how almost all of Peter's friends and mentors turned into villains. Harry, you knew this was coming, Pete.

[08:47] Listen to me. I didn't kill your father. He was trying to kill me. He killed himself. Shut up! Sometimes, it takes an extended period of loneliness to realize just how much you need other people.

[09:01] Even a spider can get tangled in a web, requiring someone else to set them free. And for those spiders who make it through, it amounts to a kind of...

[09:14] Reaper. In what other ways do you think Brand New Day stands out from other Spider-Man movies? Let us know in the comments.