The inevitable domination of the MCU by the X-Men is looming, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day is already preparing the world for their grand entrance. One of the biggest mysteries surrounding the film is the identity of Sadie Sink’s character. The leading theory is that Sink will be playing the MCU’s Jean Grey, introducing the iconic mutant to the franchise for the first time.
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However, even if Sink isn’t playing Jean, Brand New Day still has a lot of connections to the X-Men. We already know a good bit about the film’s mutant connections from the Brand New Day trailers, many of which flew under the radar of viewers. So, here are three ways in which Brand New Day is setting up the X-Men, regardless of who Sink is playing.
3) Brand New Day Is All About Mutating DNA
Despite the main villain of Brand New Day not having been revealed, we already know a lot about Spider-Man’s conflict in the upcoming film. The trailers have revealed that Peter’s DNA is mutating, giving him a variety of interesting new powers. Most notably, Peter will have organic webbing this time around. However, his black eyes and other traits are causing him to worry.
One scene in the trailer shows that Peter will go to Bruce Banner and ask him about mutating DNA. Peter is obviously looking for a cure to the changes that are occurring in his body, and since Bruce has learned how to control his Hulk transformations, Peter thinks he knows best. The aptly-named mutants are created by mutating DNA, so Brand New Day could introduce the concept to viewers ahead of the X-Men‘s proper MCU introduction. It is possible that more mutants could even show up in Brand New Day, as they have already begun creeping into the MCU in projects like Ms. Marvel and Wonder Man.
2) Tramell Tillman Is Playing William Metzger
A major X-Men character has already been announced to appear in Brand New Day, but it isn’t Jean Grey. Instead, it is William Metzger. Severance‘s Tramell Tillman was announced to have joined the film a while ago, but Brand New Day‘s second trailer revealed that he is playing Metzger. This version of Metzger is in charge of New York City’s division of the Department of Damage Control. So, if Wonder Man is anything to go by, he’ll be tasked with taking down some of the city’s most powerful and dangerous heroes and villains.
In the comics, Metzger is the leader of the Ani-Mutant Militia, with him being one of the most radical anti-mutant activists in Marvel history. He was involved with the creation of the Sentinels and other anti-mutant activities, meaning that he could be a big player in the MCU’s mutant saga. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Metzger appear in more X-Men-related MCU projects in the future, especially since the existing DODC villain Agent Cleary has already appeared in so many projects.
1) Bruce Banner Has Developed Inhibitor Collar Technology
After finding a synthesis between himself and Hulk in Avengers: Endgame, fans were surprised to see Banner back in his human form during the Shang-Chi post-credits scene. Now, Brand New Day is providing answers. In the trailers, Bruce explains that the device on his hand has allowed him to repress his gamma mutations, allowing him to remain human. If the device is broken, he will probably return to his Hulk form. For now, though, it completely depowers him.
With how many X-Men connections the movie already has, it wouldn’t be surprising if Bruce’s tech is used for nefarious purposes in the future. His hand device seems to work incredibly similarly to mutant inhibitor collars in Marvel Comics. These devices are put on imprisoned mutants in order to depower them, allowing humans to take them on. If Metzger gets his hands on the tech, this could spell doom for mutantkind once they start to pop up in the MCU.
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