Commentary — ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Is Set In Spidey’s Greatest Era
by Frank Martin
Spider-Man is an extremely interesting character in the world of comics. Since his debut, he’s exploded in popularity, becoming one of the most iconic characters in the world. He first came onto the scene as a child, over the course of his story, Peter Parker has grown up and evolved many times over until he eventually reached middle-age. This is the time period a lot of characters get stuck in as they never seem to become elderly. Additionally, there was a time just before this that highlighted some of Peter’s best stories. These were in the aftermath of him graduating high school and entering college; the young adult years are the best era of Spider-Man, which is why Spider-Man: Brand New Day has been so wildly praised.
The film more-or-less picks up where the previous film left off. After the ramifications of Peter (Tom Holland) casting a spell that made everyone forget who he was, he enters a very solitary life. As his friends go on to live out their college years, he lives alone, devoting almost all of his time to being Spider-Man. Now a hero to many in the city, he works alongside detective Jean DeWolff (Liza Colón-Zayas) to put a serious dent in street crime. His webslinging career even causes him to butt heads with Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal), who is a completely different kind of vigilante.
The previous three Spider-Man movies focused on Peter during younger times of his life, primarily in high school. Although this is the original Spider-Man era, it wasn’t until he grew up and moved into his own place that fans got to see him juggle his crazy Spider-Man existence. The struggles of young adulthood are so much more relatable than that of a high schooler. So seeing Peter working hard to balance his sense of responsibility with his own personal life is the kind of thing fans crave. It mirrors Spider-Man 2 very well, which is also a very well-regarded Spider-Man film. And after three movies in a row of Spider-Man acting more like a kid, a focus on this more adult version of the character has been refreshing.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is now in theaters.
