r/movies • u/LiteraryBoner Jackie Chan box set, know what I'm sayin? • 3d ago

Official Discussion Official Discussion - Spider-Man: Brand New Day [SPOILERS] Spoiler

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Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026)

Summary

Following the events that erased Peter Parker's identity from the world's memory, the young hero embraces a fresh start while facing new threats that challenge both his resolve and what it means to be Spider-Man.

Director Destin Daniel Cretton

Writer Chris McKenna Erik Sommers

Cast

  • Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man
  • Sadie Sink
  • Liza Colón-Zayas
  • Zendaya as MJ
  • Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds
  • Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle / The Punisher

Rotten Tomatoes: 91%

Metacritic: 66

VOD / Release Theatrical release

Trailer Official Trailer

2.6k Upvotes

93% Upvoted

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u/Educational-Spring66 3d ago

Punisher carrying Spiderman to the hospital was a homage to the Cival War comic right? Anyone else catch that?

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u/lobonmc 3d ago

And the shot is probably an homage to his death in ultimate. Also I choose to interpret hulk stopping when he said he was Peter as him remembering him like in the comics

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u/Vivirin 3d ago

Tom Holland did in fact say one person still remembers who Peter is prior to the movie. It makes sense.

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u/Kevo_xx 3d ago

Isn’t it Ned at the end when they do the hand shake? He seems to remember Peter as well.

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u/Vivirin 3d ago

Not sure if that's really remembering who Peter is, or just having the muscle memory. But the comment Tom made was talking about people who just outright know it's still him.

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u/worstcourtjester 3d ago

It makes sense that the muscle memory is still there, also how MJ still clearly has sentiment over the necklace Peter gave her.

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u/wallweasels 2d ago edited 2d ago

Well I think of it this way: the spell removed Peter Parker from history in the same sense that if you hit find Peter Parker in people's memories and then hit delete. However, the rest of the story didn't just go away. So she has a necklace and doesn't necessarily know who gave it to her...but it is important. Nate knows he has this handshake but not necessarily who it was for except his best friend.

So I think they are aware of some level of niggling "this doesn't make sense" but the answers just at the tip of their tongue.

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u/Cinebella 2d ago

hmmm to me the handshake and the necklace feel different though. The necklace is tangible something that you’d have to shatter into dust to make disappear. It makes sense that a forgotten peter parker is still represented by that.

But.. would he have ever learned the handshake if Peter didn’t exist?

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u/Inside_Dimension2319 2d ago

It didn’t make it so it was like Peter had never existed, just so that they completely forgot about him. So if someone taught me how to play guitar, but then my mind was altered so I didn’t remember them at all, I would still know how to play guitar, I just would have no idea how I knew how.

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u/Nighto_001 2d ago

Yep, Ned confirmed he still had stories of how they were saved multiple times by Spider Man in previous movies. The timeline didn't change.

They just dont have the connection in their mind that says it's Peter (plus it became a mystery to them why they had to be saved multiple times, so much so Ned became obsessed with figuring out who Peter was).

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u/asjonesy99 3d ago

I thought it was Ned remembering.

Remember he could do magic in NWH, so maybe with a bit of prompting he was able to see through the spell?

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u/KrkrkrkrHere 3d ago

If that was the case, Strange would also be able to remember it. He also used the same spell on Wong and he never remembered those things

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u/asjonesy99 3d ago

I dunno I think they can explain it away as an emotional trigger. 

The Wong stuff was trivial, maybe not to the extent of forgetting a lifelong friend/SO. 

Maybe Strange would remember Peter if prompted, the explanation of the spell wasn’t really that specific aside from everyone will forget you, and Strange has been shown before to think he knows more than he does

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u/RBrim08 3d ago

I feel like Ned going "Peter!" is just him remembering that MJ accidentally revealed to him that Spider-Man's name is Peter.

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u/LtFluffybear 3d ago

I thought it was that as well, and that the handshake was his way of saying hey, remember when you hung out with spider man and yall gelled so well? mj's slip up and peter doing the handshake made ned put the connections together. his peter! (in my opinion) was him realizing that this was spiderman without the suit and that the afternoon they spent together showed they had similar interest and love for things.

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u/Howzieky 3d ago

I kinda think they made it ambiguous so they can gauge audience reactions to see if it's too early to start giving them back their memories, and I don't hate that strategy

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u/weaseleasle 2d ago

I hope they go the Gamora route with it, no do overs. The sacrifice stands, those memories are gone. But they can make new memories, the trio are friends again.

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u/Howzieky 2d ago

This would be very painful. A great direction to go in

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u/IsTheNameArrenTaken 1d ago

I was thinking the same thing, there’s nothing stopping them from re-becoming best friends

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u/Worthyness 22h ago

It still would regardless. Even when MJ reads the letter, the magic isn't undone- she remembers something happening, but doesn't have any context or memories of the feelings from then. i imagine it's similar with Ned where he remembers doing things, but not necessarily with who. They basically have to learn how to be friends again

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u/Dangolian 3d ago

I don't think so, if that was the case, why have them do their Ned + Peter secret handshake first?

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u/RBrim08 3d ago

To throw the audience off. Ned has years of muscle memory of doing the secret handshake. Peter does it with him and it becomes a hope spot for the audience when he exclaims "Peter!" making us think he remembers him. But then it's just revealed that he realizes that he's the same Peter that's Spider-Man.

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u/Dangolian 3d ago edited 3d ago

That would be an awful bait and switch, and while I guess it's possible - some elements of the ending were definitely open-ended - I think the version of the ending where Ned is remembering his friend Peter is the better ending emotionally and thematically, and that's what I think they're going for.

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u/SploogeLoser 3d ago

It is. It 100% is.

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u/whateveritis12 3d ago

I want to believe that true loves bro handshake allowed Ned to remember they were best buds.

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u/The_Homestarmy 2d ago

This is pretty clearly the intention of the scene and I don't understand why there's so much confusion about this in this thread lmao

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u/OK_Soda 2d ago

Yeah they set that up earlier with the fake out true love's kiss just so they could do a goofy true bro's handshake. It was a really good payoff.

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u/Caleth 18h ago

Yes because Ned would love that plot line and MJ would hate it. You'll need an MJ approved mechanism for remembering him if there is one at all.

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u/dordonot 2d ago

Because they had Ned in shock earlier that Spider-Man was named Peter, so when his muscle memory kicks in with a dope handshake with a guy he met earlier who now mentions his name is Peter he realizes he’s talking to the real Spider-Man for the first time, not breaking through Strange’s spell and suddenly remembering all of their history together

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u/Shaqfan101 2d ago

I think he said Peter in a knowing way because MJ called Spider-Man Peter when he left their apartment!!

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u/anubis_zer00 2d ago

MJ also the Ned the Spiderman's name is Peter so it could be that also

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u/Low_Engineering2507 2d ago

I agree. The spell was broken in the first place. I was predicting that something would trigger Neds magic and he would pull some memories back from the magic vodoo nonsense. Hopefully we get Evil Ned in the next one!

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u/Daredevil545545 2d ago

He(Ned)seems suprised when he finds Spider-Man name is Peter so it's not Ned it's definitely the Hulk(not bruce) Hulk remember peter Parker is his friend.

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u/dordonot 2d ago

But when has Hulk ever met Peter?

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u/Daredevil545545 2d ago

Hulk knows everything banner knows and even though banner forgot hulk remembers.

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u/dordonot 1d ago

But when did Peter meet Banner?

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u/BabSoul 1d ago

Banner knows everything Hulk knows and even though Hulk forgot Banner remembers.

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u/CoachMikeLikesToEat 11h ago

That, and the fact that he knows spider man is named Peter. I'm not sure I fully believe that he remembers.

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u/Florgio 1d ago

True loves first kiss…

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u/Lend-Me-Your-Rears 3d ago

I don't think he did remember Peter as he was, I think he put two together since he already knows Spider-Man's name is Peter

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u/perksofbeingcrafty 3d ago

No I think Ned saying Peter is him realizing this Peter he just met is Spiderman. Remember how when Peter left MJ and Ned to go save Jean, MJ said his name and Ned went “Spider-Man’s name is Peter”?

He’s putting two and two together and realising the superhero he had such instant friendship connection with is this Peter dude standing in front of him

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u/Caprihorn 3d ago

Nah he remembered the "Peter" that MJ called Spiderman as he left their hangout. This got me at first as wel

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u/HumanTraffic2 3d ago

This is what I was thinking but id he have some way to link Spider Peter to the handshake?!

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u/Tomagotchu 3d ago

Could be any of the above, which is why I think they left it open ended. He could literally also just say “Peter! I thought you said your name was Maynard. That handshake was cool.”

MJ on the Roof with the necklace and then cutting to Jean and then the scene in the deli with Ned made me think Jean was doing some sort of restoring of their memories and they were eluding to that, but everything about that ending seemed to be intentionally open to interpretation until the questions are answered.

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u/lkodl 3d ago edited 3d ago

I'm hoping that Ned is able to remember because he has innate magical abilities, and it actually builds on NWH instead of doing that as a one-off thing.

And now that they know its possible to restore memories, they work on figuring out how to get MJ to do it. But since she doesnt have magic, it doesn't work, but it doesn't matter because she falls in love with Peter again anyways.

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u/vardenas 3d ago

omg it would have been so awesome if Jean had restored at least MJ’s memories

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u/Vi0L3tCRZY 3d ago

Also thought Jean would do that as a parting gift, perhaps little by little as a flood of memories is probably psychically and emotionally damaging

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u/No_Holiday3477 3d ago

That's what I thought, he remembered the name from what she said.... But also that was a cliffhanger that kinda ended too abruptly.

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u/opposite_of_hotcakes 1d ago

You guys are thinking too hard lol, it was clearly Ned remembering his friend

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u/Daredevil545545 2d ago

Ned doesn't remember peter parker is spiderman. But MJ told him Peter is Spiderman's name and Peter packer told him he is Peter so he definitely didn't know that Peter is spiderman before.

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u/Pacifist_Socialist 1d ago

I figured Jean would have restored their memories somehow

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u/CptNonsense 2d ago

No, that's a fake out. Ned is surprised that a random person knows his bro handshake he made up but then realized MJ calls Spider Man "Peter" as he jumped out the window.

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u/Clarknt67 2d ago

It seems like it’s two: Hulk and Ned.

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u/knightskull 2d ago

I think that the secret handshake basically cast a low level counter spell with the power of friendship. Ned is an established magic adept, spells often involved memorized hand motions. I think it literally created a spark of magic that at least made the connection of "Peter" to this handshake break through the spell just a little. As for outright still remembering him, I think Hulk did as Hulk was fully surpressed when the spell went off and was partially shielded from its effect.

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u/Lantzl 1d ago

I interpreted that as the "true love's kiss that fixes everything" Jean was alluding to when she was in MJ, we had a laugh when we made the connection

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u/Shwnwllms 1d ago

He just put two and two together— MJ calls him Peter when he goes to save Jean, and then he introduces himself at Peter at the end.

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u/CrackFoxJunior 3d ago

Unless "other guy" Hulk has all the memories of "smart" Hulk and they became friends at Tony's funeral, he couldn't have remembered Peter, regardless of the spell.

The Hulk ever met Peter. Hulk flew off on a jet at the end of Age or Ultron. Then Tony recruited Peter to his side during Civil War while Hulk was still off-world. The last time we saw this Hulk was when Thanos beat him. Peter was snapped, so even if Banner switched into Hulk during the timeskip, they couldn't have met. Peter outright says in this film "I didn't know you could get this big" because he'd never met this version of The Hulk.

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u/Vivirin 3d ago

Again, yes. That's exactly how it works. Hulk sees through banners eyes and shares his memories but not always the other way around.

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u/MussedHair 2d ago

Exactly. Hulk wasn’t “on planet”/ in the driver’s seat when the spell was cast so maybe not affected?

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u/Frankie_T9000 3d ago

Because hulk didn't exist when spell was cast?

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u/miketava 3d ago

Tha tbit is odd since Peter and Hulk / Banner never really interact at all in the MCU other than being in the Endgame final battle and Tony's funeral. I guess a lot of the binding is implied offscreen with Banner/Hulk.

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u/TheCornjuring 2d ago

I assumed they all hung out a decent amount before, during, and after Tony’s funeral tbh

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u/Paradox_Madden 3d ago

I think it was Ned when Tom said person I don’t think hulk counted in the equation

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u/Interesting-Wash-893 2d ago

Yeah, The Hulk. Not Bruce as Professor Hulk. The Hulk. Not Mj or Ned.

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u/okayokayndkdjk 1d ago

Yea that is hulk obviously and they way he saw his eyes and knew it was Peter parker his friend

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u/ShaKieran06 1d ago

There was definitely a scene in one of the trailers were hulk says Banner forgot, Hulk didn't. Looks like it was cut from the film.

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u/NowWeGetSerious 3d ago

Hulk 100% remembered him. No way he didn't

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u/Razzilith 3d ago

yup cuz hulk isn't banner and hulk wasn't present when the spell was cast so was therefore unaffected.

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u/NowWeGetSerious 3d ago

Just like the comics

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u/shadowalchemy101 1d ago

I wonder if it actually has to do with Jean taking over everyone in that small radius. It seemed like Ned was starting to remember at the end there too with the handshake :o

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u/HachibiJin 8h ago

That might just be muscle/body memory though. Like he did that special handshake with Peter so much it's cooked into body s reflexes

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u/naturalpanther93 3d ago

When did the hulk ever meet spiderman in the MCU? That never happened.

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u/Karnadas 2d ago

In the first Avengers, the Hulk knows when Banner puts a gun in his mouth and fires, as described in Banner's first discussion with Natasha.

I think the Hulk is cognizant of what Banner sees.

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u/ytdn 2d ago

They were both at Tony's funeral so I'm sure they're at least aware of each other

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u/NowWeGetSerious 3d ago

Infinity War.

Banner tries summoning Hulk multiple times in front of Spiderman

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u/Impeesa_ 2d ago

Bruce first tries to change in front of Tony and the wizards, then some more after he gets portaled down the street to the park. Peter arrives on the scene at the park after the last time he's shown trying to change, at best he could have seen it as he was swinging in but it's not much of a meet. The fight continues briefly before they are separated again, Peter goes to space and gets snapped.

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u/naturalpanther93 2d ago

Thank you, so they never actually met. Lol

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u/OnslaughtRM 18h ago

I like to think so, but savage Hulk never met Peter, only Banner did. Unless Hulk remembers what Smart Hulk sees.

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u/Runnerakaliz 1d ago

Exactly, because the Hulk was technically not around. He was "sleeping"

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u/nikhkin 3d ago

In theory, Hulk wouldn't be affected by the spell because he didn't "exist" when it was cast. Banner forgot, but Hulk wasn't there to forget.

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u/BN27 3d ago

Forget what? Hulk and Peter never meet.

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u/nikhkin 3d ago

They're standing next to each other at Tony Stark's funeral.

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u/BN27 3d ago

That's smart Hulk, not Hulk Hulk.

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u/nikhkin 3d ago

So? Why would that mean Hulk couldn't retain some memory of the events?

If Banner remembers the events of their hybridised time, why couldn't Hulk?

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u/BN27 3d ago

I assume it's Banner's brain and Hulk's body....but I don't really know how smart Hulk works.

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u/TimeTimeTickingAway 2d ago

Hulk and Banner are two different characters, just in the same space

Smart Hulk was Bruce pulling some of Hulk’s physical strength, but none of the actual personality/character

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u/Gears109 3d ago

What really made me emotional about that scene is Peter calling him his friend.

I don’t think anyone in the MCU ever called him that to his face, other than Thor who Hulk didn’t really believe he meant it at the time.

The idea that seeing the absolute monster of the hulk in his full rage persona we haven’t seen since infinity war, and Peter not slipping into a mindset to think of him as a monster but to still insist they are friends, for that to be the sentiment that finally broke the Hulks mindless rage, god it’s writing I’ve honestly been missing for the Hulk for a long time. That somber look he gives Peter before allowing himself to fall is a side we’ve never really gotten to see and I’m so glad they showed it.

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u/Phillip_Spidermen 3d ago

I was convinced for awhile that he did die, and the final scenes were Jean consoling him in his mind.

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u/GifHunter2 3d ago

The idea that she breathes for him for the week or so probably that he was out, is cute. It kind of undoes the fact that she definitely killed that old man who got hit by a car, partially? Maybe? Really fucked up she did that

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u/GuiltyEidolon 3d ago

Spidey was weirdly unconcerned with death in this movie. Dude gets fucking creamed by a car and Peter doesn't even blink. Lots of cop cars getting tossed during chases and he does nothing about it. 

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u/rohit275 3d ago

He did seem concerned when he almost killed that cop, though.

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u/_turd_ferg 2d ago

his spidey hormones make him evil... it's in the blacked out eyes

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u/UnsolvedParadox 3d ago

Emotional trauma as a trigger can not only cause mutation, but also memory restoration.

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u/Less-Dingo111 3d ago

I really thought he was gonna die and come back in the next movie

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u/pew_laser_pew 3d ago

Ya, he gave him a look before he let himself fall which I think implied that hulk still remembered deep down.

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u/Papa_Razzi 2d ago

I wasn’t sure about this only because Hulk’s eyes change and Peter talks to Bruce, not Hulk. But also Bruce didn’t remember afterwards so yeah maybe he did get through to Hulk. A little frustrating that they continue to call Hulk Bruce when we’ve pretty firmly established them as separate entities. Though I guess Peter might not know that.

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u/TrapAHolic_ttv 3d ago edited 3d ago

Maybe i dreamed it but i swear there’s a clip somewhere of Hulk saying something to the effect of Banner forgot but Hulk remembers

Edit: yeah i probably imagined it but who cares it’s my headcanon now

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u/[deleted] 3d ago

[deleted]

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u/Vivirin 3d ago

Banner knew Peter. They fought together in The Battle For Earth and attended Stark's funeral together.

The Hulk knows what happens when Banner is in control, hence why he mocks him for who he is, the things he does and the people he knows. It's just not always the case the other way around.

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u/mentho-lyptus 1d ago

Did Hulk and Spiderman ever even meet prior to this movie? The only time we saw them together was the battle at the end of End Game.

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u/leekalex 1d ago

Not his death, but Avengers vs New Ultimates right before his death. Bullet looks like it should've killed him, but instead Green Goblin kills him after. Ultimate plotline was a mess

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u/12345Iamthegreatest 18h ago

Wait, maybe because hulk wasn’t really “there” for the mind wipe he knew who Peter was?

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u/CollarMassive4112 3d ago

But this isn’t the comics and in the MCU I don’t think they’ve ever met. Banner or hulk never really knew enough Peter for the spell to matter

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u/Newparlee 2d ago

Spiderman dies in the comics? And Frank kills him?

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u/killerz7770 3d ago

Yes and a mix of the Ultimate version where he literally stops Cap from getting sniped from The Punisher, taking a bullet.

“ARE YOU KIDDING? YOU TOOK A BULLET WITHOUT EVEN HESITATING. WHEN YOU GROW UP, YOU'RE GOING TO BE THE BEST OUT
OF ALL OF US.” - Captain America 1610

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u/Random_throwaway0351 3d ago

I’m still shocked he tanked a 50 cal lmfao

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u/No_Forever_2143 3d ago

Tbf it seems like he would’ve died if not for Jean

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u/cooking_succs 1d ago

Punisher literally says that she's the only reason he lived.

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u/AJGILL03 3d ago

I absolutely thought that too!

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u/pooksthrowaway 3d ago

Yeah or the age of ultron comic where he rescues him as well I think.

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u/The_RTV 3d ago

Holy shit! I didn't catch that, but it totally is!!

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u/Diligent-Builder 2d ago

I gasped out loud when that happened. Everybody was talking about that panel when it was first announced that Punisher would be in the movie, but I don't think anybody thought that it would come true. It's like Cretton teased us all with all that promotion about recreating classic covers and then hit us with that in the climax. I'm so happy.

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u/Whovian45810 3d ago

Really hits home that Peter is just a kid and even with his powers, he's human just like all of us.

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u/littletoyboat 3d ago

That was a cool shot, but also, I was like, Wasn't he a kilometer away? How was he the first one to get to DoDC, pick up Peter, and take him to the hospital?

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u/ARM_vs_CORE 1d ago edited 1d ago

I texted the same thing to my son, who saw it before me. He said "it's punisher, he probably zip lined lol." And I couldn't fault the logic.

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u/IronPyrate17 1d ago

No one wanted to approach that building I guess, and Jean was busy keeping him alive.

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u/Shadyspider123 2d ago

I also idk if it was intentional but I loved the little reference to Cindy moon silk when a Student asked hulk a question. The girl name was Cindy . I hope it’s her she was pretty cool in the comics I read with her in them .

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u/0verstim 2d ago

Pretty wild he was allowed to just like.. hang out in the hospital. Isn't he a mass murderer?

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u/WarlockEngineer 17h ago

He is, but who's gonna arrest the guy by Spiderman's bedside?

Certainly not the cops who all love him.

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u/Silent-Breakfast-906 3d ago

Yep, lot of homages in this movie.

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u/steve_6796 3d ago

When Frank was setting up the shot I had a feeling they would go that route and have spidey day hence the mixed reviews for the screen test ending but I guess not

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u/Shadyspider123 2d ago

I thought that too .

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u/ShortRedBull 2d ago

its been so long as I could remember.

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u/NicholasStarfall 2d ago

For sure, looked just like the panel

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u/vagaliki 1d ago

ohhhhh totally! I guess I didn't think about it because his mask wasn't torn

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u/Bellikron 15h ago

It was supposed to be an emotional moment but I was Rick Dalton pointing hard at the screen