Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Spider-Man: Brand New Day gives audiences the first on-screen team-up between Tom Holland’s Webslinger and Jon Bernthal’s Punisher. While it’s all kinds of fun, it’s quickly confirmed that this isn’t the first time Peter and Frank have encountered each other in the MCU. Apparently, the two vigilantes have some off-screen history involving Staten Island.
Although the MCU’s Peter Parker and Frank Castle start in Brand New Day with very different ideas about justice and how to deliver it, they gradually develop a genuine respect for one another by the movie’s end. However, some sort of incident is referenced throughout the entire movie, a hilarious running gag involving Staten Island and the two MCU heroes.
Overall, the Staten Island incident feels very reminiscent of Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff constantly referencing their prolonged mission in Budapest. However, we did learn a few details about what went down between Spider-Man and Punisher before the events of Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day Is Not Spider-Man And Punisher’s First Team-Up (Staten Island Explained)
Spider-Man on the Punisher’s truck in Spider-Man Brand New Day
One of Brand New Day’s coolest elements was the reveal that Peter Parker and Frank Castle already know each other and have a history before the events of the new MCU movie.
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
While the movie never fully explains their first meeting, the repeated references to Staten Island serve as one of Brand New Day’s best running gags. Although they clashed during the opening act’s impressive armored tank pursuit, with Spider-Man kicking Frank out of his own van, Peter convinces The Punisher to help him keep MJ safe from Jean Grey, invoking Staten Island with the claim that Frank owes him for saving his life, which Frank fully denies.
Peter and Frank then start yelling over each other in front of MJ, each demanding that she validate their version of the incident. While it’s intentionally hard to make out all the details, it at one point sounds as though Peter saved Frank’s life from a drug dealer. However, Punisher adamantly rejects the idea that Spider-Man ever saved him. As such, it’s a hilarious moment proving that Peter and Frank very much have an endlessly entertaining older brother-younger brother dynamic in the MCU.
Will Punisher and Spider-Man Team-Up In Future MCU Projects?
Punisher One Last Kill Star Jon Bernthal As Frank Castle in Spider-Man Brand New Day.
After seeing how well Peter and Frank play off one another in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, it’s hard not to hope that this won’t be their only MCU adventure together at some point in the future.
While they still have issues with how the other operates, Spider-Man clearly got through to Punisher to some degree by the movie’s end after they took on the Hulk together and Spider-Man sacrificed himself to take a bullet from Frank meant for Jean. Shown watching over Peter in the hospital and even expressing genuine admiration for Peter’s bravery to the point of tears; you have to love their stronger bond by the movie’s end. It has to keep going.
Future MCU projects could easily build on this excellent foundation. Better still, there are plenty of fans who would love to see Marvel Studios one day bring Daredevil into the mix to fully complete the trio of New York’s biggest street-level heroes, especially after Kingpin called all three vigilantes out in Daredevil: Born Again season 1. Seeing as how Spider-Man has met and interacted with them both individually, and Matt Murdock and Frank have their own history, it wouldn’t be hard to get them all together at some point.
In any event, Spider-Man: Brand New Day proves Spider-Man and the Punisher have fantastic chemistry in the MCU that needs to keep going in some way. Combined with the lingering details behind the Staten Island incident, Marvel and Sony have given audiences plenty of reasons to want another team-up sooner rather than later.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is now playing in theaters from Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures.
Release Date
July 31, 2026
Runtime
145 Minutes
Producers
Amy Pascal, Kevin Feige, Rachel O’Connor, Avi Arad