Marvel has been suffering a whole series of duds since the halcyon days of End Game and Infinity War, not least after the cinematic universe tried to shift to television. It looked almost like lights out for them were it not for the amazingly well-directed, well-conceived, well-cast and well-acted Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026). The standout here actually isn’t Tom Holland as Peter Parker, although he outdoes himself here, but the new addition to the MCU – Sadie Sink as the teenage version of Jean Grey!

By Emad Aysha
Everything about this movie is different. It almost doesn’t fit into the Spider-Man franchise, and so bodes well for both Spider-Man and the ailing Marvel series. It’s darker and moodier, and the story is much more sombre and grounded.

It’s not goofy or hyperactive in the slightest, and the action sequences are epic without being overdone. Zendaya is in good form too here. The soundtrack isn’t generic or hyperactive, and the visual storytelling propels the narrative.

TALENT POOL: Jon Bernthal as the The Punisher [right] proves the older generation of MCU heroes can still contribute to Tom Holland's escalating career.

The story picks up from where the previous Spider-Man instalments left off, Peter Parker suffering after losing Aunt May and scrubbing himself from the memories of Ned (Jacob Batalon) and MJ. He’s been better than ever in terms of his war on crime, but it’s taking its toll on him personally.

He keeps getting inexplicable headaches, and his contact in the police force, Jean DeWolff (Liza Colón-Zayas), keeps marshalling him to slow down. He’s also got a rogue vigilante on the loose, Frank Castle aka The Punisher (Jon Bernthal), who is willing to risk innocent bystanders to ‘kill’ the bad guy.

Then some master criminal who won’t show his face attacks the Damage Control HQ that houses all the supervillains Spider-Man’s captured. The new threat has psychic powers and inhabits a person’s soul.

Thank heavens this anonymous force can’t take over Peter Parker’s mind, but can get at those he loses. To complicate matters further, Spider-Man’s biology is rebelling, with his spider side getting too powerful.

In a confrontation with the escaped supervillain the Scorpion (Michael Mando), Spider-Man almost kills a cop. He visits Dr Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), who now has an inhibitor chip to keep the Hulk at bay, and imitates the technology.

Now, before I go any further, I want to share some early impressions. The aptly named Damage Control agency is housed in something that looks like the Empire State Building, while the maximum security prisoners resemble post-9/11 Arab terrorists, specifically the Scorpion.

The director of the agency, William ‘Bill’ Metzger (Tramell Tillman), is disarmingly charming. But you suspect that he’s hiding something, constantly retrofitting evil technologies – and people – in the service of his agency.

He’s less like Nick Fury (Samuel Jackson) and more like the CIA guy Will Traeger (Sterling K. Brown) in The Predator (2016). Turns out the master villain is Jean Grey.

She’s ruthless, violating MJ’s mind and hurting Peter Parker, but her rage is actually justifiable. Turns out Damage Control had kidnapped her elder sister Sara (Olivia Booth-Ford) in an effort to weaponise her person-hoping talents.

TURBO CHARGE: Meet the new Jean Grey aka Sadie Sink, the first installment in a new generation of younger but 'deeper' MCU heroes.

Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) informs Parker that this mysterious menace was trying to hack into the agency mainframe and the agency responded in kind by ‘scrubbing’ its sensitive data.

A cover-up, in other words. (Hey, is Damage Control for DC comics? MJ here is anti-corporation despite her MIT degree!)

In the penultimate scene, you have Spider-Man discovering that the agency developed technologies specifically against him. They even took a young, impressionable Ninja group he’d apprehended to use against him.

Combining swords and martial arts and other exotic weapons against Peter Parker’s super strengths and own technology toolkit is cool beyond measure. That’s when the Punisher enters the picture and almost messes everything up.

He thinks he can solve everything through brute force, trying to take out Jean Grey with a sniper rifle. In the process, he almost kills Spider-Man, even after the boy had beaten Jean Grey. He ‘invites’ her into his mind to show her the error of her ways.

That sequence is emotionally and intellectually breathtaking. Sadie Sink is great, equal parts sympathetic and menacing. She’s justifiably mistrusting of people since her mother abandoned her.

Her sister was the only person she had in the world and someone who posed no threat to anyone. Even the hopping sequences feel like a reference to communion with others, and living their lives.

In the penultimate scene you almost think she’s going to win. That is, talk Spiderman into giving up his Peter Parker persona because people with special abilities are always mistrusted and anathema in regular society.

This movie has a lot in common with the original Sam Raimi Spider-Man series, which is still the best by far. The Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) also tries to tempt Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) away from the hero’s path, given the way the media and public opinion can turn on you at a moment’s notice.

Spider-Man goes it alone in the second movie to keep everybody safe, but learns that doesn’t work. And in the third movie, he confronts his uncle’s true killer and learns to forgive and forget.

Kudos to Chinese American director Destin Daniel Cretton for dreaming up these scenarios, compressing them, and executing them perfectly. The scenes where Jean Grey is ‘inhabiting’ someone are creepy, with the actors behaving like her; talking in a girlish, youthful fashion.

TEENAGE OBSESSION: Inde Navarrette is the new Rogue in the earmarked X-Men series. Nobody is going to want to mess with her, even the goodguys!

Admittedly, the movie is a bit long, and Florence Pugh and Mark Ruffalo aren’t that necessary or likeable. The same for Jean DeWolff’s character. But Zendaya was good, acting with her eyes as she did in The Odyssey, and Jon Bernthal fits his part like a glove.

The Punisher is the person Peter Parker could easily have become, and the closing scene where Ned recognises Peter’s handshake is especially endearing. This movie could easily revive Marvel’s fortunes and even resurrect the ailing X-Men franchise.

Oh, did I mention that there’s an even newer addition to the MCU you all know and fear? Inde Navarrette!!