Brand New Day’s Latest Villain Reveal Could Confirm A Wild Fan Theory
To me, my X-Men.
There have been three live-action Spider-Man actors, and each has brought something unique to the role. Tobey Maguire brought out the quiet stoicism and conflict of early Ditko and Lee comics, Andrew Garfield inhabited the slightly emo turmoil of the late ‘80s, and Tom Holland’s turn in the MCU feels the closest to the coming-of-age chaos of the Ultimate Universe. He established an idiosyncratic depiction of the character with his first three movies, and now he has a whole new trilogy on the horizon.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is shaping up to be a sort of reset for Holland’s Spidey, stripping away the superpowered mentors (and replacing them with Jon Bernthal’s perpetually scowling Punisher) and firmly planting him on his own in a world that doesn't remember his secret identity. Now that he's solo, he's facing off against a whole host of villains, from the demonic ninja clan The Hand to sillier rogues like Boomerang and Tarantula — but the film’s mysterious primary antagonist, played by Sadie Sink, has yet to be revealed. However, the film’s official updated synopsis adds some new context for the character, and might have revealed a crucial hint in the process.
For the first time in the MCU, Brand New Day will see Spidey facing his rogue's gallery as an independent hero.
The new plot description on the movie’s official website adds a curious detail referring to a “powerful new villain no one can even see.” There are quite a few antagonists in Marvel Comics who can list invisibility as a superpower, like The Hood and Ghost. But those are characters we've met in the MCU before, and neither is exclusive to Spider-Man.
If we want to stretch the definition of “invisible,” then it could refer to the Chameleon, a villain who’s a master of disguise, but that doesn't feel quite right unless the film plans to drastically change his abilities. Truthfully, the detail reinforces a popular fan theory that the film’s antagonist will be Jean Grey, serving as the official introduction of an X-Men member to the MCU.
In the comics, Jean Grey's mutant power is telekinesis, the strength of which rivals even Professor X, especially when imbued with the power of the Phoenix. While not the most traditional usage of her powers, she's also used her telekinesis to create a mental "cloak" that serves as a form of invisibility. It's a deep cut that would make sense within the context of the trailer, which included a scene that seems to show the villain jumping bodies from an older woman to a police officer.
In the source material, Jean's telekinesis is among the most powerful in the Marvel Universe.
There's also a curious nugget regarding Peter himself: apparently, the "pressure of seeing his old friends move on without him" will spark a "change in Peter he may not have the power to control." In terms of metamorphosis, this could either refer to a brief Man-Spider transformation (a monstrous version of Spider-Man with eight arms) or it could refer to a loose adaptation of the 2005 storyline The Other, which sees Peter undergo an intense period of change induced by trauma (complete with a web cocoon) that ends with him gaining organic webbing and a few new powers. There are a lot of elements at play in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and hopefully, its existence as the start of a fresh trilogy leads to an exciting road for Holland's depiction of the Friendly Neighborhood Wall-Crawler.
