{"id":49394,"date":"2026-08-16T22:46:24","date_gmt":"2026-08-16T17:46:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=49394"},"modified":"2026-08-16T22:46:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T17:46:24","slug":"brand-new-day-is-the-mcus-best-spider-man-movie-but-this-critique-is-still-true","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=49394","title":{"rendered":"Brand New Day Is The MCU&#8217;s Best Spider-Man Movie, But This Critique Is Still True"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div xmlns:default=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n<p><em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/screenrant.com\/db\/movie\/spider-man-brand-new-day\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Spider-Man: Brand New Day<\/a> <\/strong><\/em>has been in theaters for two weeks now, and even as the fanfare begins to die down, it&#8217;s evident this movie is a game changer not only for the Spider-Man movies but also the MCU overall. In an era of the MCU in which so many projects have struggled to land with audiences or have been met with mixed reception, <em>Brand New Day<\/em> truly stands out, and its <a href=\"https:\/\/screenrant.com\/spider-man-brand-new-day-movie-review\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">glowing reviews<\/a>, impressive Rotten Tomatoes scores (which currently sit at 89% with critics and a staggering 98% with audiences), and <a href=\"https:\/\/screenrant.com\/spider-man-brand-new-day-highest-grossing-spider-man-movie-record\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">record-breaking box office performance<\/a> make that clear.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- No AdsNinja v10 Client! --><\/p>\n<p> Notably, though, the MCU\u2019s Spider-Man movies were already among the <a href=\"https:\/\/screenrant.com\/mcu-marvel-movies-ranked\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">best movies in the MCU<\/a>. Sure, some audiences weren\u2019t happy with the &#8216;fan service&#8217; of <em>Spider-Man: No Way Home<\/em>, but for the most part, Marvel fans were thrilled to see all three live-action iterations of Spider-Man come together like that. <em>Spider-Man: Homecoming<\/em> and <em>Spider-Man: Far From Home<\/em> were perhaps not quite as good, but they were still solid movies.<\/p>\n<p>Despite that fairly consistent success, though, there is one issue with the MCU\u2019s Spider-Man movies that has been around since the beginning but has largely been ignored, likely because the movies as a whole are so popular and therefore are easier to forgive for many fans. However, after <em>Brand New Day<\/em>, this problem is impossible to ignore, and the MCU really should fix it moving forward.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- No AdsNinja v10 Client! --><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"ned-and-mj-aren-39-t-as-fleshed-out-as-they-should-be\">\n                        Ned And MJ Aren&#8217;t As Fleshed Out As They Should Be<br \/>\n               <\/h2>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape mobile-optimized\">\n<div class=\"responsive-img  image-expandable  img-article-item\" style=\"padding-bottom:50%\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/tom-holland-s-spider-man-hugging-mj-and-ned-in-no-way-home.jpg\" data-modal-id=\"single-image-modal\" data-modal-container-id=\"single-image-modal-container\" data-img-caption=\"&quot;&quot;\">\n<figure><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 480px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/tom-holland-s-spider-man-hugging-mj-and-ned-in-no-way-home.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=500&amp;dpr=2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/tom-holland-s-spider-man-hugging-mj-and-ned-in-no-way-home.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=500&amp;dpr=2\"\/><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/tom-holland-s-spider-man-hugging-mj-and-ned-in-no-way-home.jpg?q=70&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=800&amp;dpr=1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/tom-holland-s-spider-man-hugging-mj-and-ned-in-no-way-home.jpg?q=70&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=800&amp;dpr=1\"\/><source media=\"(max-width: 1023px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/tom-holland-s-spider-man-hugging-mj-and-ned-in-no-way-home.jpg?q=70&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=825&amp;dpr=1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/tom-holland-s-spider-man-hugging-mj-and-ned-in-no-way-home.jpg?q=70&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=825&amp;dpr=1\"\/><img width=\"825\" height=\"413\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tom Holland's Spider-Man hugging MJ and Ned in No Way Home\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/tom-holland-s-spider-man-hugging-mj-and-ned-in-no-way-home.jpg?q=70&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=825&amp;dpr=1\" src=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/tom-holland-s-spider-man-hugging-mj-and-ned-in-no-way-home.jpg?q=70&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=825&amp;dpr=1\"\/>\n        <\/picture><figcaption style=\"display: none;\">Tom Holland&#8217;s Spider-Man hugging MJ and Ned in No Way Home<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>For as much as I love the MCU\u2019s Ned and MJ, I have to admit that they really are not fully fleshed out characters. Beyond some comments about their respective home lives, and a very brief glimpse into Ned\u2019s family with his Lola in <em>No Way Home<\/em>, for four whole movies now, there\u2019s been a serious show-don\u2019t-tell issue with these characters. But this isn\u2019t just a writing flaw, either.<\/p>\n<p>These movies have generally neglected Ned and MJ for years now, consistently developing them only in relation to their dynamic with Peter\u2014that is, with Ned as Peter\u2019s best friend and MJ as his love interest. Even in <em>Brand New Day<\/em>, when MJ and Ned no longer remember Peter and are off on their own, audiences don\u2019t really get a look at them as separate characters. It\u2019s all through the lens of Peter missing and watching them.<\/p>\n<p>This is also a stark difference when compared to other Spider-Man movies, but arguably, it\u2019s especially true compared to Tobey Maguire\u2019s Spider-Man films. In those movies, both MJ and Harry are their own characters, in addition to being Peter\u2019s girlfriend and best friend. Harry has an entire arc as Green Goblin, for example, and his relationship with his father is a massive part of the trilogy. Likewise, MJ is shown to have family tensions, a failing acting career, and myriad other plot details.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- No AdsNinja v10 Client! --><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"brand-new-day-is-still-the-mcu-39-s-best-spider-man-movie-so-far\">\n                        Brand New Day Is Still The MCU&#8217;s Best Spider-Man Movie So Far<br \/>\n               <\/h2>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape mobile-optimized\">\n<div class=\"responsive-img  image-expandable  img-article-item\" style=\"padding-bottom:50%\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/spider-man-brand-new-day.jpg\" data-modal-id=\"single-image-modal\" data-modal-container-id=\"single-image-modal-container\" data-img-caption=\"&quot;&quot;\">\n<figure><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 480px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/spider-man-brand-new-day.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=500&amp;dpr=2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/spider-man-brand-new-day.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=500&amp;dpr=2\"\/><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/spider-man-brand-new-day.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=800&amp;dpr=2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/spider-man-brand-new-day.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=800&amp;dpr=2\"\/><source media=\"(max-width: 1023px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/spider-man-brand-new-day.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=825&amp;dpr=2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/spider-man-brand-new-day.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=825&amp;dpr=2\"\/><img width=\"1650\" height=\"826\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"spider-man brand new day\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/spider-man-brand-new-day.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=825&amp;dpr=2\" src=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/spider-man-brand-new-day.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=825&amp;dpr=2\"\/>\n        <\/picture><figcaption style=\"display: none;\">Tom Holland&#8217;s Peter Parker in\u00a0<em>Spider-Man: Brand New Day<\/em>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Despite the fact that <em>Brand New Day<\/em> repeats this issue, it is, nevertheless, still the MCU\u2019s best Spider-Man movie and perhaps the best Spider-Man movie overall. The emotional stakes, including what is revealed about Jean Grey, are incredibly high and feel genuinely profound. Peter\u2019s journey also continues to be a compelling one, and overall, it feels like an intentionally-crafted narrative, which hasn\u2019t always been true of the MCU, especially since <em>Avengers: Endgame<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>However, the MCU really should correct this issue going forward. Both the actors, Zendaya and Jacob Batalon, and the characters, MJ and Ned, deserve to have these characters be fully fleshed out on screen, and the MCU has had more than enough time to do this. Unfortunately, it\u2019s not clear how many more Spider-Man movies there will actually be in the MCU after <strong><em>Spider-Man: Brand New Day<\/em><\/strong>, but signs point to at least one more Spider-Man movie, which means one more chance to get these characters right.<\/p>\n<div class=\"display-card type-screen large\" data-show-streamrentbuy-links=\"true\" data-include-community-rating=\"true\" id=\"5b08-4dab-9ca71f53f87a\">\n<div class=\"display-card-main-content-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"display-card-main-content\">\n<div class=\"display-card-content image-column\">\n<p>                        <!--    Rating block community and brand ratings --><br \/>\n                        <!--  Image --><\/p>\n<div class=\"w-img  has-image-group\" data-stnl=\"%7B%22category%22%3A%22Click%20Interactions%22%2C%22name%22%3A%22Tag%20Display%20Card%22%2C%22action%22%3A%22Fullscreen%20Image%20Load%22%2C%22once%22%3Atrue%7D\" data-stnl-group-once=\"QGOIrsu9s4\">\n<div class=\"body-img portrait \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img  img-article-square\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/07\/spider-man-brand-new-day-poster-2.jpg\" data-modal-id=\"single-image-modal\" data-modal-container-id=\"single-image-modal-container\" data-img-caption=\"&quot;&quot;\">\n                                                                                                                                                            <picture><source media=\"(max-width: 480px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/07\/spider-man-brand-new-day-poster-2.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=contain&amp;w=300&amp;dpr=2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/07\/spider-man-brand-new-day-poster-2.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=contain&amp;w=300&amp;dpr=2\"\/><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/07\/spider-man-brand-new-day-poster-2.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=contain&amp;w=400&amp;dpr=2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/07\/spider-man-brand-new-day-poster-2.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=contain&amp;w=400&amp;dpr=2\"\/><source media=\"(max-width: 1023px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/07\/spider-man-brand-new-day-poster-2.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=contain&amp;w=320&amp;dpr=2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/07\/spider-man-brand-new-day-poster-2.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=contain&amp;w=320&amp;dpr=2\"\/><img width=\"960\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"spider-man-brand-new-day-poster-2.jpg\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/07\/spider-man-brand-new-day-poster-2.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=contain&amp;w=480&amp;dpr=2\" src=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/07\/spider-man-brand-new-day-poster-2.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=contain&amp;w=480&amp;dpr=2\"\/>\n        <\/picture>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>                        <!-- User Rating widget --><\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"display-card-content info-column\">\n                                                                                                                            <!--  Display card tags widget --><\/p>\n<p>                                                <!--  Display card community and brand rating widget --><br \/>\n                                                                <!--  Display card main info widget --><\/p>\n<div class=\"w-display-card-info main-info\">\n<dl>\n<p><dt>\n                                            <strong>Release Date<\/strong>\n                                        <\/dt>\n<dd>\n                                            <span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJuly 29, 2026<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n                                        <\/dd>\n<\/p>\n<p><dt>\n                                            <strong>Runtime<\/strong>\n                                        <\/dt>\n<dd>\n                                            <span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t145 minutes<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/span>\n                                        <\/dd>\n<\/p>\n<p><dt>\n                                            <strong>Writers<\/strong>\n                                        <\/dt>\n<dd>\n                                            <span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tChris McKenna, Erik Sommers<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/span>\n                                        <\/dd>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<dt>\n                                            <strong>Producers<\/strong>\n                                        <\/dt>\n<dd>\n                                            <span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAvi Arad, <a data-id=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/screenrant.com\/tag\/person\/kevin-feige\/\" target=\"_blank\">Kevin Feige<\/a>, Louis D&#8217;Esposito, Amy Pascal, David Cain<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/span>\n                                        <\/dd>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/dl><\/div>\n<p>                                        <!--  Display card main info widget end --><\/p>\n<p>                    <!--  Display card media widget start --><\/p>\n<p>                                        <!--  Display card media widget end --><\/p>\n<p>                    <!-- Cast widget start --><\/p>\n<p>                                        <!-- Cast widget end --><\/p>\n<p>                    <!-- Where to watch button preview --><\/p>\n<p>                    <!-- Where to watch preview end --><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>            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In an era of the MCU in which so many projects have struggled to land&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49395,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/mj-and-spider-man-in-brand-new-day-2.jpg?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsweek-trending"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=49394"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49394\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/49395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=49394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=49394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=49394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}