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Spider-Man fights street-level criminals like Scorpion and Tombstone in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, a far cry from the universe-destroying villains he has previously faced off against. This is intentional from director Destin Daniel Cretton and the creative team behind the new Spidey film as, rather than go even more gargantuan with multiversal antics after Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the decision was made to scale things back and offer a more intimate, street-level portrayal of the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
But questions inevitably arise regarding Spider-Man’s role in the broader Marvel Cinematic Universe. When is Peter Parker’s web-slinging alter ego called in to team up with other superpowered individuals and save the world? What threats constitute Spider-Man being brought into the newly anointed The New Avengers or Sam Wilson’s The Avengers?
Spider-Man: Brand New Day offers an answer to these questions, albeit not one that holds up under much logical scrutiny. With so many heroes populating the Marvel Cinematic Universe, many of whom are located in New York City, it was clear that the new Spidey film had to address the web-slinger’s role in the broader universe and how it compares to other heroes like Black Widow, The Winter Soldier, Captain America, and more. Unfortunately, the way in which the film addresses Spidey’s role makes no sense.
Spider-Man Deals With "Small Potatoes"
Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova looks confused in Thunderbolts*
In the first act of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Peter Parker seeks out Yelena Belova, the leader of The New Avengers, at a Russian bath house that she uses as her home base. As Peter asks for Yelena’s assistance in investigating the mysterious figure threatening New York City, Florence Pugh’s character draws a clear distinction between Spider-Man’s role and The New Avengers’ roles in facing threats.
Yelena discusses how Spider-Man deals with “small potatoes,” while The New Avengers deal with big potatoes.” In other words, Spider-Man is responsible for lower-level, localized threats, while The New Avengers take on bigger issues, such as the space crisis teased in the post-credits scene of Thunderbolts*.
Yelena does not mince words. In her eyes, The New Avengers are a more formidable force and, therefore, more capable of tackling the greatest threats to the planet, whereas Spider-Man is better suited for street-level conflicts.
Spider-Man Is More Powerful Than Every New Avenger Besides Sentry
Spider-Man wearing the Iron Spider suit in Spider-Man: No Way Home
Yelena’s small and big potatoes conversation may elicit chuckles, primarily due to Florence Pugh’s comedic delivery, but it hardly adds up. The New Avengers consist of Yelena Belova / Black Widow, Bucky Barnes / The Winter Soldier, John Walker / U.S. Agent, Ava Starr / Ghost, Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian, and Bob / Sentry. Barnes, Walker, and Shostakov are all Super Soldiers, Ghost has superhuman powers of intangibility and invisibility, and Yelena has no powers at all.
Spider-Man’s abilities, meanwhile, include superhuman strength, agility, reflexes, and Spider-Sense, not to mention an intellect that enables him to build mechanical web-shooters and integrate Stark AI technology into his suit. Based on sheer abilities alone, Spider-Man offers more in a fight than Black Widow, The Winter Soldier, U.S. Agent, Ghost, and Red Guardian. Arguably the toughest of the bunch, The Winter Soldier, was rather easily disposed of by Spider-Man during the airport battle in Captain America: Civil War.
Only Sentry, who has been positioned as one of the most powerful characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, dwarfs Spider-Man in terms of superhuman abilities. And, as established by the end of Thunderbolts*, Sentry is not a readily available member of The New Avengers given the instability of Bob and the possibility that he turns in The Void once again.
As such, Spider-Man’s exclusion from The New Avengers boggles the mind. His abilities and power are superior to virtually every other member of Yelena’s team, making it difficult to understand why she would relegate him to “small potatoes.”
The World Forgot About Peter Parker, But It Didn't Forget About Spider-Man Saving The Universe From Thanos
Spider-Man becoming an Avenger in Avengers Infinity War
Beyond a discussion of abilities, Spider-Man would surely make a worthy member of The New Avengers given his reputation for defeating formidable foes. Doctor Strange’s spell at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home made everyone forget about the existence of Peter Parker, but they did not forget about Spider-Man. This is confirmed as MJ and Ned recall how Spider-Man saved them throughout their high school years.
If the world has indeed only forgotten about Peter Parker and not Spider-Man, then his battles against Mysterio, Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Lizard, Electro, Sandman, Thanos, and more are public knowledge. The latter villain seems particularly relevant in this discussion. Spider-Man was recruited by Tony Stark himself to go into space and fight off against the man who killed half of the known universe. Spider-Man was brought into the fold once again to fight off against Thanos’ army in the final battle of Avengers: Endgame. Surely, this engendered the web-slinger with a sterling reputation.
It is difficult to conceive, therefore, how anyone assembling a superpowered team would not see the value that Spider-Man would bring. The hero who played a key role defeating Thanos and bested an array of multiversal Spidey villains in Spider-Man: No Way Home surely has both the reputation and abilities to stand among Yelena, U.S. Agent, Ghost, and others as a member of The New Avengers.
As evidenced by the overwhelmingly positive reviews the film has received and the box office records it continues to break, Spider-Man: Brand New Day certainly gets a lot right, but the explanation underlying his presumed exclusion from The New Avengers is not one of them.