Spider-Man: Brand New Day's Marvel Cameos All Have One Thing In Common

This article contains spoilers for "Spider-Man: Brand New Day."

All four of the Tom Holland "Spider-Man" films have brought out Marvel Cinematic Universe guest stars to support Spidey. There was Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) in "Spider-Man: Homecoming," Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) in "Spider-Man: Far From Home," and Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) alongside many characters from older "Spider-Man" movies in "Spider-Man: No Way Home."

"Spider-Man: Brand New Day" continues the trend, weaving a narrative that's built around different, converging corners of the Marvel Universe. The "Brand New Day" trailers broadcast that Bruce Banner/the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and Frank Castle/The Punisher (Jon Bernthal) would be showing up. The movie has a few surprises, too, like Yelena Belova/Black Widow (Florence Pugh), current leader of the New Avengers, who shows up in two scenes. Then, as many fans suspected, Sadie Sink's mystery character is Jean Grey, making "Brand New Day" a backdoor pilot for Marvel's "X-Men" reboot.

From that, it probably sounds like a movie filled with some of the MCU's worst instincts: an unbearable commercial for future movies, and one that banks on you having kept up with previous movies/series with homework-esque diligence. You would think, but somehow "Brand New Day" bucks the trend. Each supporting turn or cameo from another Marvel character is about serving this story, and they come with real dramatic weight. Not a single character crossover feels truly extraneous or like a drag on the movie.

I'll echo /Film's own review of "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," which calls it the best of the Holland "Spider-Man" movies and the one that comes the closest to recapturing the Sam Raimi magic. Not even leaning on other Marvel movies for major chunks of its story subtracts from that assessment.

One reason the Marvel Cinematic Universe ran off course after "Avengers: Endgame" is it started growing for growth's sake. Take the post-credit scenes in movies like "Eternals" or "Thor: Love and Thunder" — cameos from C-list comic characters that gave fans no reason to care beyond assurance these people would be important later. 

That's not what "Brand New Day" does. The story relies on pulling pieces from a larger whole. Audiences largely know who Punisher, Hulk, and Yelena are, so the movie can drop them in with only the essential context; other movies have done the heavy lifting of full introductions. Watching "Brand New Day" reminded me of how Marvel comics will pull in characters from other titles. The cameos feel like using the full breadth of the setting, instead of (only) trying to sell you something. 

This is part of why audiences first fell in love with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The crossovers felt like extra fun or a mix of things you already liked, rather than solely sequel planning.

There's also the matter of presentation; in "Brand New Day," the guest stars feel like proper parts of the ensemble. Audiences can tell when a movie is detouring into an inorganic scene that's only there to foreshadow a spin-off. The closest "Brand New Day" gets to that is Peter dropping by Yelena's "office" (bath house) to ask for help on the mystery he's unraveling. 

But even that serves the movie. It feels like a scene out of a classic detective film, with the lead going to a source with whom he shares unspoken history. If you know who Yelena is the scene has extra entertainment. If you don't, it still works on its own terms.

The crossovers in "Brand New Day" also tie into Peter's own character arc in the film. The Hulk and the Punisher both echo themes of Spider-Man's identity, in similar though not identical ways. At the end of "Spider-Man: No Way Home," a magic spell made everyone forgot who Peter Parker is. "Brand New Day" shows that Peter thus became a full-time Spider-Man. That's a solid parallel to the Punisher, who lost his family and now wages a single-minded war against crime.

It's also the underlying theme behind Spider-Man's physical mutation, of becoming more spider than man. No Marvel hero better relates to have something inhuman inside them than the Hulk. 

The Hulk finally feels scary again in "Brand New Day," specifically when Jean lets his rage loose on Spider-Man. There was some confusion about how the very R-rated Punisher would fit in a lighter "Spider-Man" movie. The answer is to write Frank funnier, and he has great comedic chemistry with Peter. This is a Punisher who loves what he does, as terrifying as that sentence is, and refreshing after the mopey "Punisher: One Last Kill" special.

Jean makes the identity theme explicit by asking Peter if he's Peter Parker or Spider-Man? The answer, of course, is he's both. While Jean showing up is undeniably a launching pad for new "X-Men" movies, she is still central to this film; her "hurt people hurt people" arc allows Peter to reach some self-acceptance in the end. Marvel fans might bristle at a classic X-Man being a villain before she's even had the chance to be a hero, but "Brand New Day" sells it with gusto.

"Spider-Man: Brand New Day" is playing in theaters.