For years, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has looked to give audiences the same thrill as the comics that comes with character crossovers. The Avengers was the first real example of Marvel Studios uniting its biggest heroes, and the $1.5 billion blockbuster success led them to assemble incredible character pairings.
The MCU has since made team-up movies for Captain America and Black Widow, Thor and Hulk, Spider-Man and Doctor Strange, Captain Marvel and Nick Fury, and Deadpool and Wolverine, to name a few. There have also been many other examples of known Marvel characters popping up for smaller roles, such as Sam Wilson in Ant-Man or Daredevil in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
The Avengers movies have long been the cream of the crop when it comes to MCU crossovers. Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame gave us exciting first-time meetings between the Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers, Doctor Strange and Iron Man, and Thanos with everyone. Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars are going to do the same, with the Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, and more all finally sharing the screen.
Before that, Spider-Man: Brand New Day will have its own major Marvel crossovers. Bruce Banner, The Punisher, and (according to rumors) Jean Grey are among the Marvel heroes slated to be part of Peter Parker’s next adventure. That specific combination of characters is a bigger deal than any previous MCU crossover.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day Unites All Corners Of The Marvel Universe For The First Time
Jon Bernthal’s Punisher in Spider-Man: Brand New Day looking off-screen
The reason that Brand New Day’s list of Marvel characters is so impressive is due to the complicated history of their rights. Marvel sold the movie rights to many characters in the 1990s to avoid bankruptcy, with Sony, Universal, Fox, and more coming to own various characters over the years. That left Spider-Man, the X-Men, Fantastic Four, Hulk, the Avengers, and other heroes separated across multiple franchises.
This will finally change with Brand New Day. The Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures co-production will be the first instance where characters who previously appeared in Sony (Spider-Man), Universal (Hulk), Lionsgate (Punisher), and Fox (Jean Grey) productions are all together. Spider-Man and Hulk add in an MCU movie tie, while Jon Bernthal’s Punisher return even ties in the Netflix era of Marvel TV.
Friendly Neighborhood Assessment · MCU Era
Tom Holland’s
Spider-Man Trivia
🏠Homecoming2017
✈️Far From Home2019
🌌No Way Home2021
😈VillainsSinister…
🤖MCUAvengers
THWIP! LET’S GO →
01
Before getting his own solo film, Tom Holland’s Peter Parker made his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut by being recruited by Tony Stark to help in a massive superhero conflict. In which MCU film did Holland first appear as Spider-Man?
AAvengers: Age of Ultron
BCaptain America: Civil War
CSpider-Man: Homecoming
DAvengers: Infinity War
✓ Correct! Tom Holland first appeared as Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War (2016), where Tony Stark visits Peter in Queens and recruits him for the airport battle against Team Cap. His quippy, starstruck portrayal instantly won over audiences.
✗ Web miss! The answer is Captain America: Civil War. Holland debuted in the 2016 film before Homecoming (2017). He was recruited by Tony Stark for the iconic airport fight scene, stealing Captain America’s shield with his webs in one of the film’s most memorable moments.
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02
In Spider-Man: Homecoming, Peter faces a blue-collar salvage contractor who turned to arms dealing after being shut out of the Chitauri cleanup by Damage Control. Using an alien-tech wingsuit, he becomes one of Spider-Man’s most grounded villains. Who is he?
AThe Vulture (Adrian Toomes)
BThe Shocker (Herman Schultz)
CThe Scorpion (Mac Gargan)
DThe Tinkerer (Phineas Mason)
✓ Correct! Adrian Toomes, played brilliantly by Michael Keaton, is the Vulture — a working-class father who builds a criminal empire selling alien-derived weapons. The twist that he’s the father of Peter’s date Liz is one of the MCU’s best surprises.
✗ Web miss! The answer is The Vulture (Adrian Toomes). The Shocker and Tinkerer are his henchmen in the film, and Scorpion (Mac Gargan) only briefly appears. Toomes is the main antagonist who personally confronts Peter in the unforgettable car ride scene.
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03
Tony Stark built Peter a high-tech suit loaded with features Peter didn’t even know about, including an AI assistant that helps him in combat, provides tactical analysis, and even gives dating advice. What name does Peter give this AI?
AFriday
BEdith
CKaren
DJocasta
✓ Correct! Peter names his suit’s AI “Karen,” voiced by Jennifer Connelly. She assists him with web shooter modes, reconnaissance, and even his love life. Friday is Tony Stark’s AI, and E.D.I.T.H. is the Stark satellite system that appears in Far From Home.
✗ Web miss! The answer is Karen. Friday is Tony Stark’s personal AI, E.D.I.T.H. is the Stark defense satellite Peter inherits in Far From Home, and Jocasta is an AI from the comics. Karen, voiced by Jennifer Connelly, is Peter’s suit assistant throughout Homecoming.
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04
In Spider-Man: Far From Home, Peter encounters a seemingly heroic figure who claims to be from an alternate Earth, battling elemental creatures across Europe. In reality, he’s a disgruntled former Stark Industries employee using advanced holographic drones. What is his real name?
AWilliam Ginter Riva
BAldrich Killian
CJustin Hammer
DQuentin Beck
✓ Correct! Quentin Beck, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, is Mysterio — a master of illusion who uses Stark Industries’ B.A.R.F. holographic technology and weaponized drones to fabricate the Elementals and pose as a hero. His final act of revenge shapes the entire third film.
✗ Web miss! The answer is Quentin Beck. William Ginter Riva is one of Beck’s team members, Aldrich Killian is the villain of Iron Man 3, and Justin Hammer is from Iron Man 2. Beck is Mysterio, the illusionist who manipulated Peter’s trust across Europe.
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05
In one of the MCU’s most shocking mid-credits scenes, J. Jonah Jameson broadcasts doctored footage from Mysterio’s final moments that completely upends Peter Parker’s life. What does this broadcast reveal to the entire world?
AThat Spider-Man killed Mysterio in cold blood
BThat Spider-Man is Peter Parker
CThat Spider-Man is a Skrull impersonator
DThat Spider-Man commanded the drone attack on London
✓ Correct! Mysterio’s doctored footage, broadcast by J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons reprising his iconic role), exposes Spider-Man’s identity as Peter Parker to the entire world. This revelation drives the entire plot of No Way Home as Peter desperately seeks to undo the damage.
✗ Web miss! The answer is that Spider-Man is Peter Parker. While the footage also frames Spider-Man for the London drone attack, the earth-shattering reveal is Peter’s unmasked identity being broadcast globally by The Daily Bugle’s J. Jonah Jameson.
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06
With his identity exposed and his loved ones under threat, Peter seeks help from a powerful sorcerer to cast a spell that would make the world forget he is Spider-Man. Peter’s constant modifications to the spell cause it to fracture the multiverse. Which sorcerer casts this spell?
AWong
BWanda Maximoff
CDoctor Strange
DKarl Mordo
✓ Correct! Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) casts the memory-wiping spell at Peter’s request, but Peter keeps asking for exceptions — for MJ, Ned, May, and Happy to still remember him. These constant changes corrupt the spell and tear open the multiverse, pulling in villains from other Spider-Man universes.
✗ Web miss! The answer is Doctor Strange. While Wong is the Sorcerer Supreme and actually warns Strange against it, it is Stephen Strange who agrees to cast the spell. Wanda’s multiverse interference occurs in Multiverse of Madness, not here.
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07
Throughout all three films, Peter’s loyal best friend serves as his “guy in the chair,” helping with tech support and keeping his secret. In No Way Home, this character even discovers he can open magical portals using a Sling Ring. Who is Peter’s best friend?
ANed Leeds
BFlash Thompson
CHarry Osborn
DMiles Morales
✓ Correct! Ned Leeds, played by Jacob Batalon, is Peter’s best friend and self-proclaimed “guy in the chair.” He discovers Peter’s secret identity in Homecoming, supports him across all three films, and in No Way Home he accidentally uses Doctor Strange’s Sling Ring to open portals to other Spider-Men.
✗ Web miss! The answer is Ned Leeds. Flash Thompson is Peter’s rival and bully who ironically idolizes Spider-Man. Harry Osborn is Peter’s friend in the Raimi and Webb films but doesn’t appear in Holland’s trilogy. Miles Morales is only hinted at. Ned is the irreplaceable “guy in the chair.”
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08
At the emotional climax of No Way Home, Peter makes an enormous personal sacrifice to save the multiverse. Doctor Strange completes the spell, and when it takes effect, Peter is left completely alone. What does the final spell do?
AIt sends Peter to an alternate universe where no one knows him
BIt erases Spider-Man from existence entirely
CIt removes Peter’s spider powers permanently
DIt makes everyone in every universe forget who Peter Parker is
✓ Correct! The final spell makes every person in every universe forget that Peter Parker exists. MJ, Ned, Happy, the Avengers — everyone. Peter visits MJ at the coffee shop afterward but decides not to re-introduce himself, choosing to protect them. He starts over completely alone, sewing his own suit in a small apartment.
✗ Web miss! The answer is that everyone forgets who Peter Parker is. The spell doesn’t erase Spider-Man — people still know the hero exists — but nobody remembers Peter Parker the person. This devastating sacrifice means MJ, Ned, and even Happy Hogan have no memory of him at all.
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↻ SWING AGAIN
Not even any of the Avengers movies have managed to pull off a crossover that is as big as what Brand New Day has planned. Captain America: Civil War (or Avengers 2.5) checked the Sony box for the first time, but we’ve had to wait for Doomsday for a Fox character to appear. The biggest crossovers have either been Spider-Man: No Way Home — which counts as a Sony, Marvel Studios, and Fox/Netflix crossover, with the latter due to Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock appearing — or Deadpool & Wolverine — which combined multiple Fox eras, New Line’s Blade franchise, and the MCU.
Spider-Man being in a movie with an Avenger, a Defenders-verse hero, and a mutant would have been unthinkable barely a decade ago. Even just a few years ago, this would have felt possible only in an Avengers film. Now, Spider-Man’s franchise gets the chance to usher in a new era of the MCU where all these different properties can coexist.
Brand New Day Is An Appetizer For The MCU’s Future
MCU art of Thor, Loki, Wolverine, Deadpool, Star-Lord, Yelena, Captain America, the Fantastic Four, and Shuri
Rather than only pulling off a crossover of this magnitude by using the multiverse, Brand New Day is being used as a sign of what is to come. It’s the last film before Doomsday and Secret Wars, which will be where Marvel Studios really unleashes a fully formed Marvel universe.
These movies will unite the Avengers, X-Men, and Fantastic Four for the first time on screen. It’s expected that Secret Wars will take things a step further by including Spider-Man and the Guardians of the Galaxy. Some of the street-level characters that originated on Netflix, like Daredevil or Punisher, could even appear.
The MCU has spent its first 18 years only being partially realized. Spider-Man: Brand New Day is a chance to show everyone what a united Marvel universe will look like after Secret Wars and how many different fresh character crossovers could come after the Multiverse Saga wraps up.
Release Date
July 31, 2026
Director
Destin Daniel Cretton