Spider-Man: Brand New Day is the beginning of a new era for the Marvel Cinematic Universe‘s Peter Parker. Of course, at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, the titular hero allows Doctor Strange to cast a spell that will make everyone on Earth forget he exists, including his good friends Ned Leeds and MJ. Peter considers bringing them back into the fold, but he realizes his life is dangerous, and being part of it could mean they get seriously hurt. Going off on his own is the only option Spider-Man has, so he puts together a new suit and goes back to doing what he does best: helping people.
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It’s been a few years since Spider-Man reintroduced himself to the world, but he’s unlikely to miss a beat when Brand New Day kicks off. After all, he’s going to be in familiar territory because he will share the screen with two MCU veterans, Hulk and the Punisher. However, one of those characters has been part of their fair share of Marvel Studios movies, and Brand New Day may be doing them a disservice by having them relive old trauma that they’ve already dealt with.
MCU Villains Love to Use the Hulk for Their Own Gain
Bruce Banner’s alter ego is a problem, to put it mildly. Whenever Banner loses control, he never knows what’s going to happen, as he could come to and a whole city is in pieces. It takes years, but he learns how to control his outbursts, always making himself angry so he only lets loose when it’s the right time. What Bruce doesn’t account for, though, is that villains see the Hulk as a tool at their disposal, doing the dirty work for them so they can focus on other matters. The first instance of the Hulk being manipulated comes in The Avengers, when Loki is aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier after being captured in Germany. The God of Mischief’s entire plan is to unleash the Hulk, which will serve as a distraction as he steals the Tesseract.
A few years later, Banner is a fully fledged member of the Avengers, helping defeat the remnants of HYDRA. However, the evil organization has a trick up its sleeve, unleashing Wanda Maximoff, who can control minds. All she does to Tony is force him to see visions of his worst nightmare, but the Hulk gets the worst of it, going into a rage and destroying parts of Johannesburg. After the fight is over, Banner is reeling due to all the damage he did. Fortunately, that’s the last time he deals with something like that, but another Hulk isn’t so lucky.
In Captain America: Brave New World, Samuel Sterns, aka the Leader, realizes how much of a negative impact a Hulk can make, so he secretly turns President Thaddeus Ross into one. The politician’s first full transformation into the Red Hulk comes at the worst time, and it takes Sam Wilson getting through to the beast to stop him from tearing apart DC. It remains to be seen what kind of predicament Banner will find himself in during the events of Brand New Day, but it might not be that different than what Ross went through.
A Villain Is Probably Going to Pull the Hulk’s Strings in Spider-Man: Brand New Day
The rumors about Hulk being part of Brand New Day turned out to be true, which means the ones about him being a villain may also come to fruition. It would seem out of left field for Banner, in his Smart Hulk form, to break bad and start using his powers for evil. The more likely scenario is that a bad guy, such as Scorpion, who has been confirmed to appear, finds a way to separate the green monster from Banner and sends him on a rampage through New York City. Spider-Man will have to pull out all the stops to end the threat, but fortunately, he has plenty of tape to look back on.
Since Thor, Iron Man, and Captain America have all taken turns beating a Hulk, Spider-Man shouldn’t have any problem joining the list. Maybe Brand New Day throws in a wrinkle that changes everything, which would be great, but for now, it seems as if it’s just drinking from the MCU well to avoid taking any risks.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day hits theaters on July 31, 2026.
Are you worried that Spider-Man: Brand New Day is covering familiar ground with the Hulk? How would you switch things up? Let us know in the comments below!
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Image courtesy of Starz
