From the beginning, a core aspect of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s version of Peter Parker has been his relationship with Tony Stark. In Captain America: Civil War, Iron Man took Spider-Man under his wing, launching an entertaining dynamic that was very prevalent during the latter stages of the Infinity Saga. With the MCU bypassing the traditional Uncle Ben origin story, Tony Stark filled a similar role, becoming a mentor figure to the young Peter. As great as it was to see Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Holland play off each other, this didn’t always sit well with Marvel fans. Rather than being a scrappy, DIY superhero who gets by on his own, the MCU’s Spider-Man was mockingly called “Iron Man Jr.” since he greatly benefitted from Stark Industries tech.
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A decade after Holland made his MCU debut, that appears to be changing. One of the main selling points of Spider-Man: Brand New Day is that it’s aiming to tell more of a street-level story, a refreshing change of pace from the multiversal shenanigans and alien invasions Peter has had to deal with in the past. Other than scaling down the scope, there have been some key shifts in Peter’s character — ones that complete that “Iron Man Jr.” arc in a way that should be very satisfying.
The MCU’s Peter Parker Is More Like Tony Stark Than Ever Before
As Spider-Man: Brand New Day picks up, Peter Parker is not in the best place emotionally. He continues to struggle with the ramifications of Doctor Strange’s spell at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home; while Peter keeps tabs on his old friends through social media, they are blissfully making their way through life, entirely unaware of who he is. Because of that spell, the entire world forgot who Peter Parker is, which means he is completely alone for the first time in his life. The first few pages of the Brand New Day script shed some light on Peter’s extremely isolated existence, with director Destin Daniel Cretton’s annotations specifically calling the hero out for unhealthy routines.
The script also details Spider-Man’s new setup, including some of the tech he now has at his disposal. One of the pages contains a note from Cretton underscoring the importance of having all of that tech made by Peter, returning the hero to his DIY roots. One of the consequences of Doctor Strange’s spell is that Peter no longer has access to the vast Stark Industry resources he once had (Happy Hogan doesn’t recognize him at the end of No Way Home), so — much like his older variants Peter 2 and Peter 3 — Peter 1 is now doing all of this on his own. And his penchant for developing gadgets like a homemade fabricator or an AI assistant harkens back to the very first days of the MCU.
Peter doing what he can to just get by in Brand New Day is reminiscent of the original Iron Man, when Tony Stark famously built his first Iron Man armor in a cave with a box of scraps. It was one of the MCU’s earliest illustrations of Stark’s genius-level intellect, demonstrating that he didn’t always need billions of dollars and state-of-the-art technology to gain the upper hand on his adversaries. His mind was his greatest weapon and could always give him an edge regardless of the situation. Sometimes, that big brain could get Stark into trouble (like when he built Ultron to be a suit of armor for the world), but was typically a great asset.
From this perspective, Brand New Day is bringing the Peter/Stark dynamic full circle. It takes us back to the days of Captain America: Civil War, when Spider-Man was only a handful of months into his crime-fighting career. It was clear Stark saw something in the kid’s potential and wanted to give him an upgrade; Brand New Day shows whatever faith Tony had in Peter wasn’t misguided. He probably considered Peter a bit of a kindred spirit, and Peter having the ability to design a new Spider-Man costume and build his own tech proves that he too doesn’t need all the money in the world to keep his city safe.
Brand New Day Is the Perfect Way to Honor Tony Stark’s Legacy
In Spider-Man: Far From Home, Peter Parker is mourning Tony Stark’s death. During a rather emotional conversation with Happy Hogan, it’s implied Peter is struggling with the idea that he’s supposed to be “the next Iron Man,” becoming the answer to the question all the media outlets are asking. Though the main plot of Far From Home is about Spider-Man stopping Mysterio, honoring Tony Stark’s legacy is an equally pertinent aspect of the film. A key part of Peter’s arc is realizing he doesn’t need to be “the next Iron Man.” Nobody can be Iron Man. Peter can just follow in Stark’s footsteps in his own way, keeping the lessons he learned in mind.
In that respect, Brand New Day is the perfect way to conclude the “Iron Man Jr.” arc. From the little information that can be gleaned from the script pages, it can be inferred that Peter is channeling his inner Tony Stark that was always there, making the most of what he has to get the job done. He’s embodying his mentor’s best qualities, putting his mind and skills to great use as he designs tools to help him become a better hero. One has to imagine that if Tony could see his protege now, he’d have a great sense of pride. Peter clearly isn’t the next Tony Stark in terms of wealth and riches, but in terms of mental makeup and dedication, he’s Tony’s spitting image.
It’s great to see the MCU embrace the “Iron Man Jr.” angle in this way because it’s much closer to what Spider-Man has always been about. One of the main reasons why Spider-Man has remained such a popular superhero for decades is his everyman status. He feels relatable because he has to deal with problems and overcome adversity that’s common to regular people. As entertaining as it was to watch Holland on screen with Robert Downey Jr., the MCU’s Spider-Man was arguably stripped of some of these “everyman” qualities. He always had the Stark tech to fall back on, but now he basically has to start over from scratch.
When Stark takes away Peter’s advanced suit as punishment in Spider-Man: Homecoming, he tells the youngster, “If you’re nothing without this suit, then you shouldn’t have it.” Brand New Day serves as the ultimate payoff to that line. Through his actions and choices, Peter has lost everything — his friends, his access to state-of-the-art technology — but he’s still carrying out his responsibility of being a protector. He has grown to the point where he no longer feels like he needs Stark Industries gadgets as a lifeline to do his job. That is what Tony was trying to imbue in Peter when he recruited him, so Brand New Day is the ideal blend of honoring Stark while also staying true to the source material.
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