By Patrick Lugo
If Christopher Nolan and Greta Gerwig can have Barbenheimer then why can’t Nolan and Destin Daniel Cretton share a Spideyssey? Spider-Man (Spidey to his friends) + THE ODYESSY (2026) share a few characteristics, not just cast members. But first, a question for KungFuMagazine.com readers who’ve seen Nolan’s epic - did anyone else think Twin Tiger Hooks when Matt Damon’s Odysseus started swinging around that set of double axes?
We’re not here to discuss weapons used in Nolan’s film. Otherwise we’d have to delve into how well iron-aged xiphos fared against steel Dao wielded by the Laestrygonian giants - those armored guys we saw in the trailer. This review is meant to cover SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY, the fourth Spider-Man movie featuring Telemachus - ahem, Tom Holland - returning to the titular character. This movie marks the twelfth live action adaptation of Marvel comics’ premier superhero: not counting appearances in CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016), AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (2018) and AVENGERS: ENDGAME (2019). Sam Raimi’s SPIDER-MAN 2 (2004) and SPIDER-MAN 3 (2007) earned their own coverage here, but those reviews have yet to return to our online archives. We never really tackled the 2012 and 2014 reboots, nor the Spider-Verse animated masterpieces of 2018 and 2023.
We have, however, taken a previous look at the lost first Spider-Man movie of 1981. SPIDER-MAN: THE DRAGON’S CHALLENGE also known by the title THE CHINESE WEB. It features a glorious retro movie poster - Spider-Man throwing a high sidekick and also fighting Gi clad foes. It’s an image well-worth sharing again. Plus, it represents the first time Spider-Man encountered agents of Asia’s organized super-crime. Like this year’s outing, both feature the Ninja among Spider-Man’s rogues gallery, but it happened here first.
It’s been five years since movie-goers were treated to a friendly neighborhood wall crawler. In SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME (2021) we encountered three versions of Spider-Man; Tobey Maguire from the aforementioned Raimi adaptation of the aughts and Andrew Garfunkel’s take joined Tom Holland in a movie whose greatest strength was the reappearance of an A-list rogues’ gallery.
That movie achieved two significant storytelling feats for serialized superhero narratives. The first was correcting a problem which has plagued most superhero adaptations until only recently; the killing off of the supervillain. It also engaged in the classic comic trope of resetting the status quo, putting all the toys back in the toy-box, so to speak. In the MCU that means no support from a parental figure (no Tony Stark, no Aunt May and an Uncle Ben that never was), no friends, no girlfriend and nobody who knows Peter Parker is actually Spider-Man.
Anthrofoes & Arachnids
After nearly 90 years of comics history, only Batman has a rogues’ gallery more iconic and interesting than Spider-Man. This might have been why it was so easy to use a villain once, then have them die over the course of many movie adaptations. But this always undercut one of the most significant moral quandaries these characters face in the comics, the returning villain our hero would rather not kill.
Add the perpetual need for new foes along with recurring villains and headlining characters like Spider-Man accumulate an ever expanding gallery of antagonists. Also true for Batman and to a lesser degree Superman and the rest. Certain characters can rely on genre tropes; pagan mythology for Thor, Wonder Woman and Shazam - space-opera for GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (2014, 2017, 2023) and SUPERGIRL (2026). Spider-Man’s urban crime influences have regularly spawned characters adopted by Marvel’s other street-level characters like Daredevil or The Punisher.
Frank Castle, The Punisher, also first appeared in the pages of Spider-Man before achieving prominence individually, that was in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 (February 1974). He makes an appearance in this movie, played pitch perfectly by Jon Bernthal - also freshly returned from a role in THE ODYSSEY as Menelaus King of Sparta (not to be confused with Leonidas of 300 (2006)). One of the most delightful surprises in this movie is the chemistry and interplay between these two types of New Yorkers. Maybe you’d have to have grown up there to truly feel it.
The trailers for Brand New Day have not been shy about showing how full this movie is with characters causing Spidey problems. It’s one superhero tangled up with a handful of morally gray super- and not-so-super-characters, plus a whole array of supervillains. Whereas Batman’s foes function as cracked funhouse mirrors, Spider-Man’s foes are often zoological in nature - Doctor Octopus, The Lizard, The Vulture, we can also add VENOM (2018, 2021, 2024) and KRAVEN THE HUNTER (2024) for their tangential connection. Past cinematic exceptions include Electro, The Shocker, Sandman, the Green Goblin and various ne'er-do-well.
Brand New Day brings a bunch of Spider-foes to the screen. Of them The Scorpion, as played by a returning Michael Mando, gets the most screen time; first appearance The Amazing Spider-Man #19 (1964). The Tarantula first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #134 (July 1974) and the newest among them is Tombstone. First published in Web of Spider-Man #36 (March 1988) and played by Marvin Jones III, the character originates from the gritty criminal underground of Marvel’s NYC. This is where perennial Daredevil foe Wilson Fisk, The Kingpin of Crime, also originates - The Amazing Spider-Man #50 (July 1967).
Ninjas in Action (IYKYK)
Also making a big return to the MCU is ninja death cult the Hand. We can thank legendary comics creator Frank Miller for this iconic contribution to the Marvel Universe. The Hand first appeared in Daredevil #174 (September 1981) and were introduced shortly after the debut of Elektra, whom they trained. An origin loosely adapted in ELEKTRA (2005) starring Jennifer Garner who reprised that role in DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE (2024). The Hand also famously antagonized Wolverine throughout his own comics and as alluded to but never named in THE WOLVERINE (2013). They were the major antagonists moving into New York throughout the Marvel/Netflix TV series Daredevil, Iron Fist, and The Defenders and are returning to the MCU in Brand New Day.
They’ve also got a badass new boss in the form of actor, stunt-performer and wushu star Fan Xiaoshuang. She previously worked as stunt-double in other Marvel films THE MARVEL (2023) and Cretton's own SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE 10 RINGS (2022) where she stunt-doubled for Meng’er Zhang, who played Shang Chi’s own sister Xialing. Fan has also done stunts in KARATE KID: LEGENDS (2025), AMERICAN BORN CHINESE (2023: stunt double for Michelle Yeoh, plus a speaking role in two episodes), THE YINYANG MASTER (2021), THE GREAT WALL (2016 - which by the way, starred Matt Odysseus Damon) and CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON: SWORD OF DESTINY (2016).
Sword wielders will instantly clock that costume designer Sanja Milkovic Hays or one of their assistants might consider a metaphorical Seppuku for the most classic mistake made in costuming Katanas. When worn, the Katana blade faces the sky. This has been a regular dividing line for those familiar with Japanese weapon arts and those not. It’s a problem ubiquitous in countless comic pages, pin-ups and covers, if one is keen on such details. This wouldn’t have been a problem if they were armed properly with straight Ninjado.
As part of the Big Boss battle in the movie the Hand are a great choice. The movie on a whole is brightly colored and almost cartoonish in its sensibilities, a stark contrast to Nolan’s everything-in-the-camera approach and initially a little jarring. Contributing to this effect is an early sequence of nearly first person POV web-swinging throughout New York City. But all of this hyper-stylized action choreography serves to build believability in the truly physics defying fight choreography that takes place between Spider-Man and the Hand. The Ninjas in action move as a single organism composed of multiple bodies, all in one epic cage-match, requiring the level of wire-fu only a Hong Kong fight team could create.
The Return of Spider-Fu
With all these adversaries lined up against him, one must ask the question. Is anyone on Spider-Man’s side? Among Spider-Man’s Allies we can count Marvel’s other Arachnid as well as Director Destin Daniel Cretton, Peng Zheng, Xu Xiangyang and the Jackie Chan Stunt Team.
Fresh from his success with SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS (2021) Marvel Studios had Cretton signed to an overall deal which included directing its sequel, developing the WONDER MAN series on Disney+ (2026–present) and directing the canceled AVENGERS: THE KANG DYNASTY, the movie reworked into what will be AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY (2026). By 2024 this fourth Spider-Man became the priority for Marvel Studios once Tom Holland secured his own creative input and RDJ-esque deal. A sequel to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings remains on hold for now, although the character is due back in AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY, which is set to premiere on December 18 of this year.
Much to our delight, Cretton had the good sense to take what worked and bring that with him to Spider-Man. Xu Xiangyang was a stunt double in SHANG-CHI and has since earned some fight choreographer credits for movies like DETECTIVE DEE: THE FOUR HEAVENLY KINGS (2018), I AM WHAT I AM (2024) and KARATE KID LEGENDS (2025). Xu often works alongside Peng Zhang who is credited as both as supervising stunt coordinator and second unit director; congrats on the level-up. Long time KungFuMagazine.com readers might recognize his name from work on THE LAST SAMURAI (2003) or HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY (2008). But paramount to all of them was an appearance on the set from the Drunken Master himself, Jackie Chan. Just this August the Chinese outlet HK01 (via Total Film) reported that Jackie Chan paid a visit to his team on the movie’s Long set. He said –
“I went to London for a meeting and visited the set.. My Stunt Team was busy filming Spider-Man, and I went to watch their rehearsals. The director was so excited when he saw me.”
Goddess of Girlfriends
Kevin Feige admitted that when Zendaya was cast as the MCU’s Mary Jane Watson, he had no idea who the East Bay native was. Who knew that her star would rise to such mythological proportions? Among the array of stellar acting roles, she’s also been the goddess of wisdom in Nolan’s epic and Chani, warrior of the Fremen of Arrakis in DUNE (2021), DUNE II (2024) and DUNE III (also set to premiere on December 18 of this year). In BRAND NEW DAY she also has a homecoming of her own, returning to the character of MJ more akin to her original portrait and subsequent take. This being a plot contrivance of the previous Spider-Man movie which deleted all knowledge of Peter Parke as the mild mannered incognito incarnation of the amazing Spider-Man. Outside the movie’s continuity, she’s acting opposite her real-life leading man as she and Tom Holland are newlyweds.
In the comics, Mary Jane Watson achieves superhero status in her own right. In fact, if one were to hunt down a current issue of one of the titles mentioned here, we’d find that she’s now the secret identity for that lethal protector. Not that any of that matters in this movie. What matters is that Zendaya remains true to the initial sharp, smart and slightly unattainable interpretation she brought to the role. Much more grounded than the liminal Athena of her last role, the maybe-too-long sappy parts are there so that she can deliver some heart-felt and heart-rending moments. Is it a spoiler to say Peter Parker doesn’t get the girl? Towards the movie’s close I began to anticipate a sort of “You just struck the jackpot tiger” denouement; the opportunity was there, and the Easter egg would have been welcome.
Despite some woe-is-me type scenes which slow the movie down, Spider-Man: Brand New Day remains a fun romp in the Marvel Studio tradition. Like most classic MCU offerings, this movie draws from previous plot and character points, moves its primary story forward and sets up in-universe elements that will be explored during franchise installments we won't have a look at for a few years yet. But the movie ends on a redemptive note, and the astute observer will notice how that ending offers a hearty handshake to the importance of muscle memory, something martial artists will likely appreciate.
Author
Patrick Lugo is a freelance author, illustrator & comic creator who consults on comic Crowdfunding campaigns when not running one of his own. His acclaimed graphic novel series A Tiger’s Tale vols. 1 & 2 can be purchased at aTiger’sTale.com, as well as his newest comic UNDEAD KUNGFU GHOST KILLER #1. He has also been Senior Graphic Artist for Kung Fu Tai Chi magazine.
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