Peter Parker has always been a morally sound character. From his first introduction in 1962, your friendly neighborhood hero always made sure to protect the people of New York. Often as a sacrifice to himself and his own well-being. But Spider-Man: Brand New Day helps to make one thing clear about Spidey: His heart has always been in the right place because of one person.
Spoilers for Spider-Man: Brand New Day lie ahead.
Peter (Tom Holland) is alone. His life is basically be Spider-Man, go home, work on being Spider-Man, eat, barely sleep, rinse, and repeat. He doesn’t have a life after Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) erased him from existence. He’s completely by himself and it is forcing changes within his Spider-Man persona. They are out of his control as the arachnid genes are in overdrive but still, it all stems from Peter’s selfless act to erase him from the minds of those he loves.
All of this leads to proving one very important point about Peter Parker: His moral compass has always been and will always be his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei). In Spider-Man: No Way Home, May ends up dying in the battle between Peter and the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) and leaves Peter with the lasting advice that Uncle Ben often gives him. “With great power comes great responsibility” has always been a weight on Peter’s shoulders.
But even though Aunt May gave him those words of wisdom this time around, it doesn’t change the fact that she has always been, in every version of the character, why Peter Parker has been grounded and just that “friendly” neighborhood guy when he could have turned into something more.
Peter Shared His Compassion with Jean Grey
The emotional core of Spider-Man: Brand New Day is split in two. On the one hand, you have MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon). On the other, you have Peter without Aunt May. In most Spider-Man stories, he always has his Aunt to go back to no matter what ends up happening in his life. But this is a new era for Peter. He doesn’t have a safety net to keep him grounded and human. But what Jean Grey (Sadie Sink) continues to access in his mind is a moment he shared with May.
When the time comes for Peter to try to relate to Jean, he uses that moment to teach her how her powers can be scary and a lot but she can do good with them. He allows May’s words that keep him in line do the same for Jean. The moment is beautiful because it gives insight into how Peter thinks. May didn’t just let him take on being a superhero as a child without understanding the responsibilities of it.
For the most part, Peter has always come home to May. In Brand New Day, it is more hypothetical than the literal times he went to May’s house in the comics and other Spidey stories, but he still returns to his Aunt for guidance time and time again. Brand New Day just proves it.
The Ones Who Keep Him Grounded
While May has always been and will always be his moral guide, that doesn’t negate the importance of his “team.” In the MCU universe, that’s MJ and Ned. He is operating, in Brand New Day, as someone who is trying to protect his loved ones and that means keeping them in the dark. Throughout the film, both MJ and Ned deal with the knowledge that they once knew Spider-Man. MJ confronts it more head on when she finds Peter’s letter to her that he wrote at the end of No Way Home and Ned’s moment comes at the end of the film when he and Peter do their hand shake together.
The two ground Peter, even when he’s not with them. Throughout the film, Peter sees Ned in a store or rushes to protect MJ from Jean. He still is looking out for them and protecting them because even when they’re not his girlfriend and best friend they are still the two people who can bring him back down to earth. Peter is “alone” but he never really is completely on his own. He always has the memories of his best friends with him to keep him safe.
Brand New Day managed to make so many things clear about Peter Parker. But the most important things about him, his moral compass and his heart, will always belong to the friends and family who helped him become the Spider-Man that New York needed.
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