Welcome back to the Entertainment Variance Authority, where superheroes face judgment, continuity is always under investigation, and not even Spider-Man is safe from a good pruning.
This week, the EVA swings back into the MCU for a full spoiler-filled investigation of Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Agent Nakware and Agent J-Mac crack open the case file on Tom Holland's latest adventure to answer the question that really matters: Did Marvel finally get Spider-Man and maybe the MCU back on track?
Peter Parker is older, more experienced, and more alone than ever. Everyone he loves has forgotten he exists, he's traded high-school shenanigans for street-level crime fighting, and his social life mostly consists of police contacts and Frank Castle. But when a mysterious young telepath collides with Peter's increasingly complicated world, Brand New Day starts pulling at threads that could reshape the future of the entire MCU.
And yes, we're talking about Jean Grey.
Along the way, the agents investigate:
🕷️ Whether this more mature, grounded Peter Parker is the best version of Tom Holland's Spider-Man yet and whether the movie finally escapes the "Iron Lad" criticism.
💔 Peter's heartbreaking attempts to reconnect with MJ and Ned, including one absolutely brutal conversation that proves No Way Home still has consequences.
💀 Why Jon Bernthal's Punisher and Tom Holland's Spider-Man might be one of Marvel's best pairings.
🧠 Sadie Sink's introduction as Jean Grey, how Brand New Day quietly lays the groundwork for the X-Men, and why giving an emotionally overwhelmed young mutant terrifying amounts of power might be exactly the setup Marvel needed.
🧬 The Man-Spider storyline, Peter's increasingly unstable mutation, and whether the movie actually commits to the idea or throws one comic book ingredient too many into an already crowded pot.
🥷 The baffling treatment of The Hand, including the most important unanswered question in the MCU: Do the ninjas have individual government email addresses, or is there just one big Hand distribution list?
💚 The return of a more savage Hulk, the mysterious limits of Peter's new inhibitor technology, and whether the Hulk might remember something about Peter Parker that Bruce Banner doesn't.
🎲 The great Ned debate: Did Peter's best friend actually remember him, figure out that he's Spider-Man, or are Marvel fans about to spend the next few years arguing about a handshake?
By the end, the agents arrive at a surprisingly decisive verdict. So grab your variant badge, fire up the web shooters, and prepare for arguments about mutants, friendship, ninjas, post-credit scenes, and exactly how many times Jon Bernthal can almost say the thing without actually saying the thing.
The EVA has reached its verdict.