Spider-Man: Brand Fresh Day’s Record-Breaking Trailer Signals a Brighter Future for the MCU’s Villain Landscape
Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s first trailer understandably broke the internet. The first look at the fourth MCU Spider-Man solo film set an unbelievable record of 718.6 million trailer views in the first 24 hours, easily eclipsing the previous record holder, Grand Theft Auto VI’s 455 million views [IGN]. The people yearn for Tom Holland’s Peter Parker, it seems. Yet although there is much about the new film’s plot and characters we don’t yet know – get your final guesses as to who Sadie Sink is playing in now, folks – one aspect of the trailer is reason to be optimistic not just about Brand New Day, but about the future of the MCU as a whole: just how many villains there seem to be running around.
I don’t signify that ironically. We get glimpses of Scorpion, Boomerang, Tarantula, and even some ninjas from the Hand. Plus, we also know Tombstone will be showing up and possibly even more characters depending on who winds up in the main antagonist role. Why is this a big deal? Isn’t the prevailing wisdom that comic book movies with too many villains are disappointing? Well, this speaks to the MCU finally delivering on one of its outstanding promises when it comes to adapting the source material: faithfully portraying a world chock-full of villains, and vigilantes. Let’s take a look at how Brand New Day is changing the game for the MCU.
Life, Death, and Villains in Comic Book Movies
I’ve been banging this drum for quite a even as, and I’m doing it again: One of the MCU’s biggest missteps has been killing off too many villains. Major foes who have been recurring threats in the comics like Obadiah Stane, Ronan the Accuser, Baron Strucker, Crossbones, Ego the Living Planet, Hela, and Thanos have all been defeated. This trend, dating back to Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman, demonstrates a lack of foresight in eliminating potential recurring characters after a single appearance. While some villain deaths, like those of Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films, carry emotional weight, the prevalence of permanent villain defeats in a franchise-driven landscape seems counterproductive.
The big gambit of the Marvel Cinematic Universe was to recreate the universe of Marvel comics on the big screen. It’s kind of in the name, after all. But a huge part of the fun of that universe is that there are numerous heroes and villains running around who have lives outside of big battles. The relationships that villains develop with their adversaries as well as their fellow villains can be some of the most interesting dramatic material in the comic books, and Brand New Day including so many threats indicates the filmmakers are aware of that.
Let the Super Villains Live!
One of the common refrains in comic book movie discourse was that films in the genre with “too many villains” were worse than movies with a single threat. However, many successful comic book movies feature multiple antagonists. Batman Begins features Scarecrow, Ra’s al Ghul, and Carmine Falcone. Both Spider-Verse movies feature tons of antagonists from across the multiverse. And regarding MCU Spider-Man, No Way Home featured several villains from previous Spidey movies and still had a coherent story. Less than some arbitrary number of villainous characters, what matters is narrative purpose and thematic clarity.
This also relates to other goings-on in the MCU, specifically Daredevil: Born Again. A major storyline of both seasons is Mayor Fisk cracking down on vigilante activity in New York with his Anti-Vigilante Task Force. Born Again sets up that there are many such characters running around the city doing their own thing. Between Brand New Day and Daredevil: Born Again, the MCU finally feels like the sort of place where you could bump into all kinds of superpowered characters while just walking the street.
Is Spider-Man: Brand New Day Setting Up the Sinister Six?
Any Spider-Man fan worth their salt knows that the Sinister Six is the premiere team of Spider-Man villains who join forces to take down the Wall-Crawler. While the original incarnation founded by Doctor Octopus is the most iconic, the roster has been remarkably malleable. So many villains being part of Brand New Day has us wondering if some of them will wind up being part of a Sinister Six in this or a future movie. Especially since Spider-Man: Homecoming’s post-credits scene indicates Michael Mando’s Scorpion has some friends who also hate Spidey, is Scorpion in Brand New Day putting together a team to take out Spider-Man?
Sony has wanted to adapt the Sinister Six into live action for some time. Perhaps the MCU’s Sinister Six will be similar to the team in the “Foes” comics, those being Deadly Foes of Spider-Man, Lethal Foes of Spider-Man, and the more recent Superior Foes of Spider-Man. All three series involve teams of Spidey’s more obscure enemies and their misshapen plans.
Either way, what the trailer hints about Brand New Day’s approach to villains seems like a welcome change. Even if many of the characters from the trailer only wind up being part of a montage, it still helps create a setting that feels more akin to the source material than the MCU has attempted in the past.