Spider-Man Almost Got Venom In 'Brand New Day' (But Not How You Think) - EXCLUSIVE
Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026) introduced a new evolution to Peter Parker and his abilities. As he lived a life of isolation from loved ones, he began to change in ways no one expected as his powers began to evolve. But one power he got almost gave us something he never had in the comics.
In an exclusive JustWatch interview with Spider-Man: Brand New Day writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, the two talked about the many abilities they considered for Spider-Man, including a nod to him having venom, and not the symbiote. If that stayed, he would've been far scarier than anyone could anticipate.
Did 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' Almost Get Venom? Kind Of
When asked about the ways that Peter Parker would change throughout his evolution, McKenna talked about the various ideas that included growing spider hairs on his legs that he would have to shave. They were designed to be elements that would horrify Peter without disgusting the audience, and another idea included the addition of venom.
McKenna mentioned, "He would be horrified by having a venom he's producing, which we thought was a really cool idea because it was so dark…" However, due to the reality that this would be too scary for the MCU, it was dialed back.
Another idea the writers had also explored was the possibility that Peter could use his venom in different ways. As McKenna explained, "…we thought 'Oh, what if he could tailor it so it could actually be used to counteract the effects of Jean Grey." Ultimately, they didn't go forward with the idea because the goal was to balance the changes with the tone and story, even if it was a fun concept.
The Most Horrifying Spider-Man Had Venom - But We'll Never See Him In The MCU
Spider-Man has had many variants over the decades that are both heroic and utterly terrifying. A great example of this was Patton Parnel, the Spider-Man of Earth-51412, who was introduced in Edge of Spider-Verse #4 by Clay McLeod Chapman and Elia Bonetti.
Patton Parnel was a twisted version of Peter Parker who killed cats and spied on his neighbor, Sara Jane. Helping her expose Alcorp Industries for their crimes, a spider bit Parnel and turned him into a human-spider hybrid. He ate live animals and shot webs, but also had fangs, the same way spiders do.
Because of his fangs, he had venom and operated just like any regular spider, turning the character into a dark mirror of the wall-crawling hero. For only existing in one issue, Parnel made a mark on the Spider-Verse as a twisted and horrifying character.
The book played like a '50s horror film and showed just how scary fangs could be and how deadly venom could be to a person. These reasons alone prove why Brand New Day couldn't use a similar angle because a hero can't do something so dark and animalistic, even if it made perfect sense as a mutation.
An Iconic Spider-Man Hero Also Had Venom - And He Appeared In Another Film
While Patton Parnel is a villain, Spider-Man 2099 is the bright side of venom, with Miguel O'Hara being a much different take on the hero. Unlike Peter, who gained powers from being bitten by a spider, Miguel's DNA was melded to a spider on a genetic level.
As a result, Miguel had claws, sensitive vision, and could shoot organic webbing. He also had fangs that paralyzed victims when he bit them. While Miguel was very much part spider, he never succumbed to deeper animalistic tendencies. Even so, his venom is scary to watch, even when it's teased in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023).
Venom doesn't always have to be a bad thing when utilized as a tool for Spider-Man, but it's all about the execution. In the case of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, seeing Peter do something so brutal feels out of character for him and, therefore, can't be normalized in the film. But in the case of Spider-Man 2099, it shows that this iteration isn't afraid to get dirty to stop the bad guy. In the end, venom is cool for a spider character to have, but when it comes to Peter Parker, it doesn't work as well.
