Something’s gone badly wrong with Peter Parker’s powers in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. A decade after Tom Holland made his MCU debut as Spider-Man, his Peter Parker has finally become the hero comic book readers have always wanted to see. This is a Spider-Man who lives in a world of superheroes, and yet who tends to operate alone; Spider-Man has countless villains, and a fractious relationship with the people who’d probably try to help him beat them. Not that he needs the help.
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After the Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailers, though, we now know why Spider-Man needs help; because something is going dangerously wrong with his powers. He’s developed organic webbing, and he seems stronger than ever before; worse still, though, this appears linked to animal instincts that are leaving him “out of control.” He heads to see Bruce Banner, hoping the scientist can help suppress this mutation. But what’s actually going on with Peter Parker’s super-powers?
What Happened With Spider-Man’s Powers in the Comics?
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is consciously riffing on one of the most controversial comic book stories in Spider-Man lore. In 2006, Marvel published a crossover story called “The Other” that rewrote Spider-Man lore after Peter began suffering dizzy spells and blackouts, even losing control and attempting to kill one villain. Hank Pym diagnosed him with a mysterious radiation-based disease, and Spider-Man traveled the globe seeking help – including from Bruce Banner, one of the world’s foremost experts on radiation and DNA. Worse still, Spider-Man’s deterioration coincided with the emergence of a predator being called Morlun.
Spider-Man apparently died. Instead, he mutated, shedding his skin and then wrapping himself in a web cocoon. He awoke after a vision challenging him to unite the two parts of his nature – the human and the spider – and embrace becoming something “other.” Spider-Man eventually learned all this was because he is in fact a spider-totem, chosen by a mystical multiversal being called the Great Weaver as her avatar on Earth-616. She judged his death premature, and has blessed him with a resurrection – so long as he honors it by embracing the duality of his nature.
You can immediately see parallels between Spider-Man: Brand New Day and “The Other.” Spider-Man is experiencing similar mutations and animal urges, goes to Bruce Banner for help, and the first trailer even showed him awakening in a web cocoon. While it’s doubtful Marvel will play the story straight – Holland is billing this as a mystery, and a straight adaptation would hardly be that – we’re clearly drawing inspiration from “The Other.”
Spider-Man: Brand New Day Comes at This Story From the Other Direction
In “The Other,” Spider-Man’s mutation is a result of consciously suppressing the spider part of his nature. According to that story, Peter is afraid of truly becoming the totem he was always meant to be; he instead needs to embrace both aspects of his being, living in the duality of Spider-Man. In contrast, Spider-Man: Brand New Day plays things in the opposite direction. This is a Peter Parker who has cut himself off from the world, and who no longer quite knows who he is when he takes the mask off. He’s reduced to watching his former loved ones as they live their lives.
This is a Spider-Man who has emphasized the “spider,” rather than the “man.” The result is inevitable; the spider-like mutation is accelerating, his powers are increasing, and animal instincts are growing. Notice that the second trailer uses Bruce Banner as a vehicle to give similar advice to the comic book story, with Banner asking how he would decide which parts of his mutation to embrace and which to suppress. It’s a subtle moment, hinting at the same overarching character arc, albeit played out in the opposite direction.
Are Spider-Man’s Mutations Triggered by Sadie Sink’s Mystery Character?
Sadie Sink’s mystery character is hiding in the Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer, and most are assuming she’s the psychic presence moving through New York. Curiously, the Brand New Day trailer hints that Spider-Man is working with the Department of Damage Control against this mystery threat because he is the only one immune to it. In fact, he’s the only one who can even sense it – presumably linked to his spider-sense. This hints Spider-Man’s mutations may not be random, but an evolutionary response to a threat.
If that’s the case, then all Brand New Day‘s various plots coalesce neatly into a whole. Peter Parker has emphasized the “spider” part of his nature too much, and has lost grip on his humanity. Now, his powers are responding to an unknown enemy (who may or may not be Sadie Sink, given trailers are designed to conceal as well as reveal). In order to find balance, he must embrace his humanity once again and seek connection. Unfortunately, that very connection becomes a weapon used against him, leaving MJ in danger once again.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day opens in theaters on July 31.
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