4 Ways Spider-Man: Brand New Day Sets Up Marvel's X-Men Reboot
It’s a given that Spider-Man: Brand New Day will have a huge impact on Peter Parker’s future in the MCU, but what about the mutants of the X-Men reboot?
The record-breaking fourth Spidey flick in Tom Holland’s Marvel journey leaves our hero in a pretty hopeful place ahead of his potential involvement in Avengers: Doomsday and a far more likely role in Avengers: Secret Wars.
With the foundations laid for the upcoming X-Men film by Jake Schreier after Marvel’s D23 announcements, it’s worth reflecting on the blocks put in place for the mutant reboot movie by Brand New Day, too. In order to discuss these possibilities, watch out for Spidey spoilers below.
Is Jean Grey Heading for Xavier’s Institute?
The worst-kept secret leading up to the release of Brand New Day was Sadie Sink’s so-called 'mystery' character who, let’s be honest, was always going to be Jean Grey.
We now know a great deal about this version of Jean and her origins, including her sister Sara, her incredible powers, and the fact that she went from being villainous to becoming a character we could totally see as a leading member of the X-Men team.
To join that team, though, she’s going to need to make acquaintances with one Charles Xavier, and we reckon we’ve already seen her take the first steps on that journey. By the end of Brand New Day, Jean is on a train that, based on the leafy setting, could well be headed to Westchester, the location of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.
William Metzger REALLY Hates Mutants
Given that the character more commonly known as William Metzger is one of the leading advocates for anti-mutant laws, experienced X-Men comic book readers would not have been surprised to see Bill Metzger (played by the brilliant Tramell Tillman) turn out to be the bad guy in Brand New Day.
As evidenced by the death of Sara Grey and a similar fate that nearly befell Jean at his hands, his work with the Department of Damage Control (DODC) clearly has abominable intentions for mutant kind. Metzger will likely return at some point in the future to stir up tensions in the MCU, especially as Xavier and Magneto make their case for either side of the man vs mutant divide.
Metzger's Technology Might Help Professor X
Ironically, Metzger’s array of dangerous technology might just prove to be the key to helping Professor Charles Xavier assemble his mutant team. The weapon Metzger used on Jean (and her sister) was able to tap into the minds and abilities of mutants and turn them against the user, but it could easily be reworked by Charles to help communicate with and locate mutants in the form of his trusted machine, Cerebro.
Now that Metzger has been ousted as the head of DODC, all that technology is just waiting to be picked up by someone who can put it to good use. Here’s hoping it is Charles who takes it, as Cerebro is a key component of his work as the leader of the mutants. The machine serves to amplify his telepathic abilities across the globe, pinpointing new mutants as and when they emerge so that no one else can get to them first.
Peter Parker Could Accidentally Make Life Miserable for Mutants
Sadly, it’s a technological breakthrough made by Peter Parker that could prove to be the most important tool in the fight against mutants in the future.
His inhibitor chip, which he used on himself, the Hulk, and Jean, suppresses the aspects of an individual’s DNA that could be considered harmful. That’s something Metzger and plenty of others in the government would likely love to get their hands on.
We saw a similar storyline in X-Men: The Last Stand, when a pharmaceutical company developed a miracle cure for the mutant gene. The MCU won’t want to retread old paths, we’re sure, but Bruce Banner’s warning that the inhibitor chip is a dangerous piece of tech is surely a foreshadowing for something very sinister.
