'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' Finally Fixes The MCU's Most Offensive Mistake

Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026) is the flick that knocks down all the dominoes that Daredevil: Born Again (2025) and Marvel's Netflix shows set up. This has been best proven by the return of the evil ninja clan known as The Hand, which first appeared in Daredevil (2015-2018).

Notorious as Daredevil villains, the reason why the Hand is in a Spider-Man movie in the first place boils down to them losing their masters. But for all the other questions there are, there's still a hope that this could be exactly what the Hand needs to finally fix its most offensive mistake that came from the Netflix era of shows.

The Hand Was A Formidable Force In The Marvel Netflix Shows

Daredevil Season 2 is often remembered as a divisive season because the content that featured the Punisher was amazing, but the back half of the series, which focused on the Hand, wasn’t as good. Nevertheless, it properly showcased their menace as an undead ninja force.

Leading into The Defenders (2017), the Hand was set up as the chief enemy to the street-level heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and was the source of conflict in the miniseries. Spanning generations, their forces were only opposed by K’un-Lun and the Chaste, but no one else.

Criticisms aside, there was no denying how powerful and dangerous the Hand was even when only one member, Nobu, first appeared and nearly killed Matt Murdock in Daredevil Season 1. They also forced Daredevil to adapt his senses, focusing on their breathing rather than a heartbeat, because the Hand’s ninja had none. As frustrating as they became in the end, the Hand was nothing to laugh at, and their undead forces are still the strongest enemies Daredevil faced.

The Hand Changed Its Lore To Offensive Levels

In Marvel Comics, the Hand was an all-Japanese ninja clan that worshipped the Beast, a hellish demon that made it easy for them to build their resurrected ranks. They're most famous for resurrecting Elektra, being led by the Punisher, and having the Beast possess Daredevil and start the Shadowland event.

The Netflix shows changed many aspects of the Hand outside of them being undead ninja. For example, in Daredevil Season 1, it was initially accurate in that the only opponents of the Hand were the Chaste, a clan Stick, Daredevil's mentor, was a part of. But rather than fight them and the Beast, they changed the Beast to a weapon known as the Black Sky, who was supposed to be Elektra.

We never found out what the Black Sky was, and by Iron Fist (2017-2018) Season 1, we learned that K'un-Lun and the Iron Fist were the sworn enemies of the Hand, which isn't accurate at all. More than that, the ninja angle was all but abandoned.

The Defenders was the final nail in the coffin, and the most offensive, as it completely erased its solely Japanese origins and went for a more worldwide approach with the five fingers of the Hand representing different nations. Not only did this make the ninja aesthetic redundant, but it wasn't even seen through, as it just became stunt performers in suits looking for the bones of a dragon to be immortal rather than its dark magic.

'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' Sets Up The Hand's Return

The Hands' return in Spider-Man: Brand New Day came out of left field but was still refreshing to see, and they finally embraced their ninja roots. Rather than wearing black and red, they wore comic-accurate red outfits. They may not be taking on Daredevil or Elektra, but Spider-Man is a great way for us to see just how powerful they are.

We've seen them give Spider-Man a struggle even with his enhanced powers. But more than that, it's proof that the Hand is finally being represented the way it should've been. The organization is no longer an international outfit; they are separated clans looking for a leader, and because of that, it can bring them back to their roots.

With that in mind, this was only one small group and doesn't represent the others still out there, and it also helps us get more excited for Daredevil: Born Again Season 3. If the Hand is back, even as splintered groups, that means Daredevil and Elektra can finally get a chance to stop them again, now that Brand New Day finally got the group right.