Opinion: 'Brand New Day' Reminded Me Of My Biggest MCU Spider-Man Pet Peeve
Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026) is in many ways an ideal return to form for the Wall-Crawler. While the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of Spider-Man has all the charm, heroism, and comedy of the comics character, some fans have been critical of the ways he has been tweaked for the broader superhero franchise. Making him a pupil of Iron Man undercuts him at times, which is why seeing the more grounded and solitary hero in Brand New Day is more exciting for fans of the Spider-Man comics.
However, there’s one key element of the character that remains largely unmentioned in the MCU. While the time might have been ideal for the Spider-Man adaptation to finally address a key aspect of Peter Parker’s origin story, Brand New Day doesn’t do so. In other words, the MCU still hasn’t introduced Uncle Ben, and as a fan who thinks he’s crucial to what makes Spider-Man the best superhero in the genre, I’m frustrated.
Uncle Ben Is Crucial To (Almost) Every Version Of Spider-Man
Uncle Ben is one of the key elements of the Spider-Man mythos, making his lack of appearance in the MCU all the more frustrating for fans of the source material. In the original comics, Ben Parker is Peter’s uncle and raised him with Aunt May. His lessons to Peter about how great power must come with great responsibility don’t really take hold until an empowered Peter’s refusal to stop a robber inadvertently leaves the window open for the robber to kill Ben later. This memory and guilt are the defining motivation for Peter Parker to turn Spider-Man into one of Marvel’s most prolific superheroes.
While Uncle Ben rarely survives Spider-Man’s origin story, this has made him a crucial part of the mythos. In most adaptations, Spider-Man goes through similar stories. This includes live-action movies, like Spider-Man (2002) and The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), and was even established as a multiversal constant in movies like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023). Despite that, Ben Parker has never really been a factor in the MCU, leaving the Peter Parker introduced in Captain America: Civil War (2016) a heroic figure right from the start.
Uncle Ben Has Been Relegated To Easter Eggs In The MCU
There have been some subtle nods to Ben Parker over the years, such as Peter’s mention of May’s tough year in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and a suitcase with his initials in Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019). However, the character has only even been referenced by name in Marvel Zombies (2025) as one of the many people Peter has lost over the years. Still, Ben Parker has little overt impact on Spider-Man’s motivations in the MCU, with the franchise even largely ignoring the origins of the character entirely.
While this had a positive impact on the inclusion of Spider-Man as a fully formed hero in Civil War, it also means some of the defining elements of Peter Parker’s heroism, namely his guilt and drive, have never really been addressed. Even the “great power and great responsibility” speech is given to Aunt May when she’s dying in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). While this made the speech more emotionally affecting because of the audience’s relationship with May in the previous films, it also means Ben is more or less non-existent in the MCU movies, something Brand New Day reinforced.
Why I'm Mad That 'Brand New Day' Didn't Reference Uncle Ben
Brand New Day largely focuses on Peter Parker’s efforts to fully commit to being Spider-Man without any more connection to his civilian identity. When Peter visits May’s grave, there’s no indication that it’s next to Ben Parker’s grave. Even though the film uses the inclusion of Jean Grey to venture into Peter’s memory where she finds inspiration in Peter’s memory of May, there’s also no indication that Ben had a similar impact on Peter.
It’s frustrating because while I understand why the MCU movies wanted to skip doing another Spider-Man origin after two other cinematic adaptations did them earlier, it leaves Peter Parker as a more basic character. MCU audiences meet Peter once he’s already Spider-Man, which is quicker. However, we don’t get a real understanding of why he’s Spider-Man. It means we’re missing a lot of the motivation behind the character and the philosophy behind his choices, especially ones that have led him years later to abandon his civilian identity for the sake of his heroic duty.
Spider-Man’s guilt is what makes him such a fascinating character. He’s someone who can’t give up, not because of some eternal duty or preordained destiny. It’s only his awareness of the cost of inaction that forces him to be proactive in the world. It gives him a pathos that many other heroes lack, a genuine motivation to be a hero even when things get tough. I’m not saying I need extended flashbacks to Ben or the full speech in a movie. However, even just an overt reference to Ben’s part in Peter’s origin would go a long way to shutting up fans like me who love that aspect of the character and take inspiration from it.
Brand New Day had the perfect chance without throwing off the momentum of the film, showing Ben alongside May or even having her memory bring him up. Even an overt callout to Ben and what his death means to Peter would add a crucial bit of background to the modern version of the character. His continued lack of appearances just means it’s less and less likely we’ll ever actually see the MCU Ben Parker, which is a bummer for fans who see the value in part of Spider-Man’s backstory.
