10 Scenes In Spider-Man: Brand New Day That Will Remind You Why The MCU Rocks

Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Spider-Man: Brand New Day

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has taken some pretty big swings throughout the Multiverse Saga, which is nearly at its end. Some have landed remarkably, while others have justifiably divided audiences more than anything seen in the previous Infinity Saga in terms of quality. The MCU has never lacked ambition, though balance and execution have sometimes become key challenges over the last few years. However, I'm very much seeing Spider-Man: Brand New Day as the new gold standard for what MCU movies should always be going forward.

Rather than trying to be the biggest MCU movie ever made with the highest multiversal stakes, Spider-Man: Brand New Day succeeds at being incredibly satisfying in terms of personal stakes and being dynamically character-driven, while still having some of the coolest and action-packed moments the MCU has ever seen.

To that end, several sequences in Spider-Man: Brand New Day feel like solid reminders of why so many fans fell in love with the MCU in the first place. It may sound corny, but I genuinely walked out of my first viewing thinking of Captain America's classic line from Age of Ultron: "This is what S.H.I.E.L.D.'s supposed to be", the idea being that Brand New Day perfectly encapsulates everything a good MCU movie is supposed to have. Having said that, here are some of the best moments/reminders from Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Spider-Man's New MCU Status Quo

From its very first opening minutes, Spider-Man: Brand New Day establishes that Peter Parker has truly entered a new era. Opening with Peter's heartbreaking letter to MJ, which he chose not to give her during Spider-Man: No Way Home's ending, audiences are brought right back to the painful decision that has defined his life ever since:

"Sometimes Spider-Man has to do the hard thing, even if it breaks Peter Parker's heart."

It perfectly summarizes where Peter now stands. Nobody remembers him, he's living alone, and is fully devoting nearly every waking moment to protecting New York as Spider-Man at the expense of neglecting Peter Parker. As such, it's easily the closest Tom Holland's Spider-Man has ever felt to the typical status quo of his comic book counterpart.

The MCU's Best Opening Montage Ever

The following opening montage celebrates everything fans love about Spider-Man. Showcasing everything Peter has been up to as Spider-Man while his friends have been at MIT, we see Spider-Man taking on all sorts of villains, including Scorpion, Boomerang, Tarantula, Tombstone, and more, all while perfectly recreating iconic comic book covers in slow-motion.

While most comic readers will likely recognize the famous poses and recreations spanning decades of Spider-Man history (like the Webslinger's first appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15), they're also just awesome shots for mainstream audiences to enjoy as well. They're exactly the kind of reference/homage/Easter eggs the MCU should have, those that enhance the viewing and don't take away from those not in the know. It's fan service done right, honoring over 60 years of Spider-Man history.

Surprise Character Appearances With Purpose (Yelena Belova)

The MCU has occasionally been criticized for having cameos and surprise appearances that were more gratuitous than anything else, especially in the Multiverse Saga where variants are all over the place. However, Spider-Man's primary surprise character is quite well done with Florence Pugh's Black Widow.

Just like when she first met Kate Bishop's Hawkeye, Yelena Belova has some truly excellent chemistry with Spider-Man, offering him crucial intel while having him meet her in her "office" bathhouse. She gets one of the most memorable lines when comparing the work of her New Avengers compared to what he's currently dealing with: "This is small baby potato stuff, not big potato brain stuff.”

More importantly, Yelena's appearances in Brand New Day serve an actual narrative purpose, giving Peter critical intelligence on the Department of Damage Control. Likewise, her involvement makes perfect sense as a fellow hero operating in New York (regardless of potato sizes). Rather than stealing the spotlight, she serves to enhance Spider-Man's story while naturally expanding the wider MCU and making it feel more lived-in (the whole point and primary benefit of an interconnected cinematic universe).

Spider-Man & Punisher's History (And Rivalry)

From their very first on-screen encounter in the MCU at the beginning of Brand New Day, it's immediately established that Spider-Man and Jon Bernthal's Punisher have one of the best relationships/rivalries that will no doubt make audiences wonder why they weren't put together sooner. Even though they're both New York-based vigilantes, Peter and Frank obviously have very different methods of delivering justice, resulting in a lot of hilarious bickering and disagreements throughout the entire movie (the running Staten Island gag being a great example).

However, the duo ultimately works quite well together, and the fact that they form a genuine bond of respect by the movie's end is the character arc we never knew we needed. Although Frank never overshadows Peter's story, it's just as amazing to see how his character evolves in Brand New Day, making his involvement and big-screen MCU debut more than worthwhile.

Peter Parker's Reunion With Ned & MJ

Some of Brand New Day's strongest scenes don't involve action at all. We've spent a full decade watching Peter Parker grow and evolve alongside Ned Leeds and MJ in the MCU, so seeing Peter start to rebuild those relationships despite neither of them remembering him post-No Way Home is as heartbreaking as it is hopeful. That struggle and challenge is not glossed over in the slightest, and the movie very much proves there is no magic reset button.

Keeping that in mind, the fact that Brand New Day takes the time to let Spider-Man build a LEGO set with Ned and quote Lord of the Rings while MJ sketches is incredible, an opportunity for reconnection despite the lack of memory about who Peter was to each of them (especially after MJ found Spider-Man's letter and confessed she didn't love Peter).

The scene simply allows these characters, whom audiences genuinely care about, to exist together again. It's that kind of character-driven writing and moments MCU movies should always take the time to have.

The Dawn Of The MCU's Future (Jean Grey's Debut)

One of Brand New Day's biggest accomplishments is introducing Sadie Sink as Jean Grey, a character who instantly feels essential to the MCU's future with the X-Men. Rather than being a cameo or existing solely as set-up for said future, Jean is fully integrated into the story as the primary antagonist, attempting to break into the Department of Damage Control using her telepathic abilities to find her sister, whom the agency abducted and experimented on (something Spider-Man himself doesn't learn until the movie's third act).

Rather than taking away or distracting from Spider-Man's story, Jean ends up serving his personal journey while Peter serves hers by the movie's end in some incredibly satisfying ways. It proves that the MCU can indeed introduce major heroes organically with intention, and it's remarkably similar to how Spider-Man himself was introduced in Captain America: Civil War (and yet very much improved with Jean receiving a much bigger role in Brand New Day by comparison).

Spider-Man & Punisher vs The Incredible Hulk

Every MCU movie has at least one major action sequence fans want to watch again and again. For Spider-Man: Brand New Day, it's absolutely Spider-Man and Punisher working together and taking on the long-awaited return of Bruce Banner's Savage Hulk. Despite The Punisher being incredibly out of his element and Spider-Man really hoping Frank doesn't kill anyone, the slo-mo shot of Spider-Man web-pulling Punisher across the floor while he unloads a full round at the Hulk has to be one of the greatest MCU action moments of all time.

It's the stuff MCU dreams are made of, showcasing the franchise's full potential in one of the coolest ways imaginable (especially for a non-Avengers movie).

Spider-Man vs The Hand

The involvement of The Hand represents another huge example of peak MCU interconnectivity. After years of only being featured on the small screen in the Netflix-era shows, the villainous ninja clan plays a key role working for the DODC as a secret Spider-Man task force. Not only that, but their inclusion in the movie's third act remarkably involves one of the movie's most crucial character moments for Spider-Man, with the hero finally choosing to embrace not just the part of himself that's Spider-Man, but Peter Parker as well, highlighted by removing both his mask and his inhibitor before taking on the entire clan of ninjas.

Punisher's big-screen debut in Brand New Day is awesome, but The Hand is the excellent cherry on top when it comes to connecting the movie and television sides of the MCU. With more and more Netflix-era characters entering the MCU with new shows, it would be very exciting to see the Hand return in something like Daredevil: Born Again season 3.

Jean Grey Becomes An Omega-Level Mutant

The introduction of Jean Grey was great, but her full transformation by Spider-Man: Brand New Day's ending was just as epic, a true moment of peak MCU superpower spectacle with major ramifications for the franchise's future.

After learning the truth about her sister's death and the DODC's horrific experimentation on her, Jean's trauma from the revelation, combined with her own DODC torture, triggers a major evolution in her mutant powers. Not only does her telepathy extend from 33 feet to nearly a full mile, freezing everyone in the vicinity, she also manifests her comic-accurate telekinesis, the true dawn of an Omega-level mutant in the main MCU timeline, which is absolutely crazy to see.

Combined with Peter breaking through to Jean using the memory of Aunt May and convincing her that she's not alone, Spider-Man: Brand New Day once again merges major spectacle with one of the most emotionally charged moments the MCU has ever had, perfectly setting up a more redemptive future for Jean and her powers going forward (especially with the MCU's X-Men reboot right around the corner).

A Post-Credits Scene That Gets People Talking

The MCU built its reputation on unforgettable post-credit scenes teeing up the future. However, too many Multiverse Saga movies have had post-credits scenes with unfulfilled payoffs (and many that likely never will). At the same time, there have also been post-credits scenes that don't set anything up at all and are just fun gags. That said, Spider-Man: Brand New Day continues what looks to be a renewed franchise-wide focus on meaningful post-credits scenes that are guaranteed to pay off, as seen with Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts*, and Fantastic Four: First Steps.

Featuring Ned's "Spidey Tracker" app with someone reporting a Spider-Man sighting that's surprisingly in space, Brand New Day's post-credits then features a tag confirming that "Spider-Man Will Return." However, the entire thing is intentionally vague enough to get people talking and speculating like crazy, which is such a big part of the fun with the MCU movies after watching them.

Is Peter heading to Avengers: Doomsday and its major crisis involving parallel Earths? Is there another Spider-Man on a parallel Earth? Could it be connected to Battleworld and Avengers: Secret Wars? So many options, and they're all exciting to think about and discuss. While other big movie franchises have followed suit, there's nothing quite like a really good MCU post-credits scene.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is now playing in theaters from Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures.