{"id":721710,"date":"2026-07-31T22:12:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T22:12:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/721710\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T22:12:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T22:12:18","slug":"spider-man-brand-new-day-avoids-repeating-a-lazy-marvel-pattern","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/721710\/","title":{"rendered":"Spider-Man: Brand New Day avoids repeating a lazy Marvel pattern"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spider-Man: Brand New Day<\/a> spoilers follow. <\/p>\n

Marvel has a villain problem, and no, it’s not the one you’re thinking of.<\/p>\n

While fans used to complain that most Marvel antagonists were bland, twisted reflections of the heroes they fought, there’s always been a bigger underlying issue that the MCU carried over from the source material. <\/p>\n

And at first, it really did look like Spider-Man: Brand New Day<\/a> was at risk of perpetuating this problem even further. As many fans already guessed prior to its release, the hooded figure controlling people in the trailers turns out to be Jean Grey<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"sadie<\/p>\n

Sony Pictures<\/p>\n

It’s a bold move to introduce Sadie Sink’s version of the character as a villain, and not just because Jean Grey helped found the X-Men, a group rather well known for doing hero stuff.<\/p>\n

Marvel Girl, as she was first known in the comics, started out as a weak link in the team, a do-gooder damsel in distress who was regularly saved by her male teammates. Classic ’60s comic book fare, unfortunately.<\/p>\n

But then everything changed with 1979’s “Dark Phoenix Saga”. Consumed with unbridled cosmic power, warm-hearted Jean turned up the heat and burnt an entire planet to a crisp, killing five billion innocents in the process.<\/p>\n

With her strength came hysteria, forming the foundation of the ‘Unstable Powered Woman<\/a>‘ trope which has plagued comics \u2013 and comic book adaptations \u2013 ever since. <\/p>\n

Other writers soon drew inspiration from Jean’s downfall, transforming more female heroes into villains who change once they’re overcome with a power they can no longer handle.<\/p>\n

Rogue going mad from all the voices in her head, Scarlet Witch killing the Avengers and de-powering mutants worldwide, Invisible Woman \u2013 uh \u2013 dressing up as an evil, semi-naked dominatrix named Malice…<\/p>\n

In each case, women go mad with power, only to be saved by the men in their lives, men who rarely struggle to wield such strength in the same way. And crucially, when male superheroes do get their bad boy on, it never becomes their defining story in the same way that it does for women like Jean, who continues to be synonymous with the Dark Phoenix, all these decades later. <\/p>\n

\"sophie<\/p>\n

Twentieth Century Fox<\/p>\n

You can see it in almost every iteration of Jean’s story on screen. Just like Wanda was pushed into villainy again in both WandaVision and Multiverse of Madness, so too has Jean throughout the X-Men movie franchise. <\/p>\n

This fall from grace was the focal point of not one but two Fox movies, Last Stand and Dark Phoenix. Time and time again, these films wouldn’t let up on Jean, feeding into sexist tropes that robbed Marvel’s omega-level psychic of agency over her power and her actions.<\/p>\n

Spider-Man: Brand New Day also plays the villain card at first, introducing Jean as the film’s biggest threat by far. Even before we find out who she actually is, the MCU’s version of Phoenix drives the bulk of the narrative, be it through that tank she crashes into Damage Control or how she torments Peter when he tries to get in her way. <\/p>\n

Jean is about as far from heroic as you can get at this point. Not only does she break into Spider-Man’s apartment, she even tricks him into thinking that MJ still loves him. An emotional reunion sealed with a kiss turns out to be an illusion of sorts because Jean is the one controlling MJ’s body. <\/p>\n

The cruelty of this cannot be overstated. Even before she ends up throwing MJ off a building, the torment she puts Spidey through is genuinely quite sadistic, firmly placing her in the so-called “evil” camp. <\/p>\n

\"spiderman<\/p>\n

Sony Pictures<\/p>\n

Jean’s villainy doesn’t stop there either. She also forces Bruce Banner to Hulk out, undoing years of work on himself, and she thinks nothing of possessing other people, forcing them to do her bidding against their will. Never mind the amount of bystanders put at mortal risk too.<\/p>\n

This is all undeniably bad, make no mistake about it. But then Brand New Day flips what could have been a repeat of the ‘Unstable Powered Woman’ trope, adding some much-needed depth that begins to redeem this version of Jean (not to mention other past portrayals of the character on screen).<\/p>\n

It all starts when Spidey helps Damage Control capture Jean by inhibiting her powers. <\/p>\n

Jean later wakes up in a cell where Bill Metzger, head of Damage Control, begins to conduct experiments on her. It’s then that we learn that Jean’s sister, Sara, died undergoing these same experiments. Jean realises that the “V-Max” message her sibling sent before dying was actually nothing more than the brand of her cell’s air vent.<\/p>\n

With that revelation, Jean’s power explodes in an outpouring of grief that freezes everybody within a kilometre of the holding facility. Not ideal, but very understandable under the circumstances.<\/p>\n

Just before Jean kills Metzger \u2013 who happens to be an anti-mutant activist in the X-Men comics \u2013 Peter arrives and invites her into a core memory he holds of his now-deceased Aunt May.<\/p>\n

\"marisa<\/p>\n

Sony<\/p>\n

There, Jean shares in the feeling of comfort that May gave Peter before she died, a feeling she never had after she was abandoned by her mother. Realising that she’s no longer alone, that Spider-Man is there for her now, something shifts in Jean.<\/p>\n

There’s little time to sit with that though because The Punisher, not realising what’s happened, shoots at Jean from a distance, only for Peter to jump in the way and take the bullet that was meant for her. <\/p>\n

When it looks like Spider-Man might die saving her, Jean uses her telepathic powers to keep Peter alive long enough for his body to heal. With his recovery under way, Jean then leaves on a bus for what looks like upstate New York, which just so happens to be where a certain School for Gifted Youngsters is usually located\u2026<\/p>\n

And with that, Jean’s redemption is under way, setting the stage for her to become a hero with the X-Men who are soon set to make their debut in the MCU. <\/p>\n

This Jean isn’t a villain who’s overwhelmed by power and loses herself in the process. This is a new version of the character who actually finds herself through said power. It’s not until the true extent of her strength becomes apparent that Jean finally acts heroically, a direct inverse of what we’ve come to expect from the character onscreen.<\/p>\n

\"potential<\/p>\n

Sony Pictures<\/p>\n

Jean’s initial turn to villainy has nothing to do with outdated tropes. She is fundamentally misunderstood and abused by people in power, so it’s only natural that she would act the way that she did.<\/p>\n

That’s not to excuse some of the crueller decisions she makes, especially when it came to that rooftop exchange between Peter and a mind-controlled MJ. But Sink’s Jean has turned a corner now, moving towards a future of her own design that won’t resort to mindless villainy. <\/p>\n

In doing so, Brand New Day doesn’t just do right by Jean at last. It also signals a brand new day for other female characters like her who have long deserved better on both page and screen. Let’s just hope they survive long enough with Doomsday<\/a> looming. <\/p>\n

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is out now in cinemas.<\/p>\n

Visit our Streaming Guide<\/a> now to see at a glance where you can view ALL your favourite shows and movies.<\/p>\n

The new edition of Living Legends, celebrating the global phenomenon of BTS, is here! Buy this ultimate fan guide in newsagents or online<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Headshot<\/p>\n

After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2019, David moved to London to join Digital Spy<\/a>, where he could indulge his love of comics, horror and LGBTQ+ <\/a>storytelling as Deputy TV Editor, and later, as Acting TV Editor.<\/p>\n

David has spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created the Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates LGBTQ+ talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads.<\/p>\n

Beyond that, David has interviewed all your faves, including Henry Cavill, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Colman, Patrick Stewart, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Dornan, Regina King, and more \u2014 not to mention countless Drag Race<\/a> legends.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As a freelance entertainment journalist, David has bylines across a range of publications including Empire Online, Radio Times<\/a>, INTO, Highsnobiety, Den of Geek<\/a>, The Digital Fix and Sight & Sound.\u00a0<\/p>\n

LinkedIn<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Spider-Man: Brand New Day spoilers follow. Marvel has a villain problem, and no, it’s not the one you’re…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":721711,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[148341,155084,155083,171638,379,238572,381,96,190731,1156,2839,238571,223205,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-721710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-collection-digital-spy-features","tag-collection-marvel","tag-collection-spider-man","tag-collection-x-men","tag-content-type-news","tag-contentid-70a50b1e-6d13-4433-a4f0-fd3f3736a9dd","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-entertainment","tag-issyndicated-false","tag-locale-gb","tag-movies","tag-shorttitle-spider-man-brand-new-day-avoids-lazy-marvel-trope","tag-sponsored-false","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/721710","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=721710"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/721710\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/721711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=721710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=721710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=721710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}