Major spoilers below for the end of Spider-Man: Brand New Day and its post-credits scene, so be warned if you haven’t already watched it!
By the end of Spider Man: Brand New Day, Tom Holland‘s Peter Parker is seemingly set to usurp the magical power of Doctor Strange’s No Way Home spell with the power of friendship, after helping set up the future of MCU’s mutant population, and giving Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle a lot of bullets to scatter. But it’s that post-credits scene that we’re here to talk about, because what a nutty way to set up a connection between this movie and…probably the upcoming Marvel movie Avengers: Secret Wars, but maybe also Doomsday?
Let’s ascend the nearest skyscraper and leap from it right into breaking the scene down with questions and speculation. (And check out CinemaBlend’s thoughts on the movie!)
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What Happens In Brand New Day’s Post-Credits Scene
On the one hand, not a whole lot, but on the other, maybe a whole lot. The interface from Ned’s Spidey-Tracker fills the screen, with Peter’s icon showing up in Queens. Then, the app chimes with an alert for a “New Spider-Man Sighting. Location Unknown.”
The app then zooms out to beyond the planet Earth and shifts a bit past our moon, where a Spidey icon starts blinking seemingly in the middle of outer space, without a specific location getting zoomed in on as it says “Location Found.” Cut to the ominous message: “Spider-Man Will Return” and then black. (But not like, symbiote black…probably.)
#1: Does This Mean Spider-Man’s Heading For Battleworld In Secret Wars?
As soon as the app made the jump to space, my brain went right to Doctor Doom’s patchwork planet Battleworld (assumedly the same as plenty of others watching), since that’s presumed to be a major setting for the Russo brothers‘ Secret Wars after all the incursions go down in Doomsday. However, that theory actually seems highly unlikely for several reasons, barring any drastic changes from the Secret Wars comic arc.
For one, Earth-616 is among the many comic worlds wiped out of existence for Battleworld’s creation, and I don’t think that’s what the app is indicating. I don’t even know that the app would work anymore if Earth is destroyed. Second, Battleworld doesn’t exist within any Earth’s solar system, as far as I’m aware, and the second alert shows up not that far beyond the moon. (The glitching could indicate more distance being traveled, but the stars in the background stars don’t change at all.)
#2: Where Else Could Spider-Man Have Shown Up If Not Battleworld?
It’s admittedly a lot easier to guess where Spider-Man is not than to guess where he actually is, especially when there are no immediately obvious choices to pick from. If that really is the depths of outer space, then I’m guessing the webslinger re-popped into existence within the confines of a spaceship of some kind, presumably due to the actions of someone on the ship. But what ship?
One guess might be the Fantastic Four’s Excelsior, and another would be the Guardians of the Galaxy’s Bowie. Not that I have a whole lot of theoretical reasoning for why Spider-Man would get beamed up (so to speak) into either of this vessels, but either of those scenarios is easier to assume than most alternatives.
Wouldn’t it be awesome if this somehow tapped into Frank Tieri and Mark Texeira’s Space: Punisher, in which Frank Castle blasts enemies…IN SPACE? It’s probably not that, but I’m gonna keep quietly hoping to see leaked photos of Jon Bernthal in astronaut duds.
#3: Is That Even Tom Holland’s Spider-Man?
I’m not so sure. Given that the Queens-bound icon on the Spidey-Tracker doesn’t disappears when the other one shows up, and the “New Spider-Man Sighting” language used, it seems entirely possible that the post-credits scene isn’t showing us any weird blips for Tom Holland’s Peter, but rather another friendly neighborhood superhero, presumably the one portrayed by Tobey Maguire.
The star of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy returned in No Way Home alongside #3 Andrew Garfield, and had been heavily rumored to appear in Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday. (They did both inspire Peter’s new suit, FWIW.) And Holland’s wishy-washy responses to questions about Maguire appearing are also part of the speculation. So is it possible that it’s that version of Peter Parker’s Spider-Man that sparks the Tracker’s ping, as his Earth gets doomed for incursion? I kinda think so, yeah.
#4: Who Actually Saw Spider-Man And Set That Tracker Alert?
What might seem like the silliest and least important question could actually be pretty vital. Assuming Ned’s Spidey-Tracker works like most other mapping apps that directly depend on user input, that means someone with awareness of the app would be in the same unknown location as the new icon, and would have the wherewithal to input the sighting notification.
So who could that possibly be? (Seems like a good time to return to my Space: Punisher wishes.) Could it be that Sadie Sink‘s Jean Grey, Ned or M.J. is out there? Or will it be someone that has nothing to do with that trio? I wouldn’t be surprised if that doesn’t get explained at all, honestly, but I’m hoping.
#5: Will Tom Holland Return In Avengers: Doomsday Or Only In Secret Wars?
The ominiousness of the final message makes it seem like Tom Holland’s Spidey isn’t destined for Avengers: Doomsday, but that doesn’t mean that the star-studded sequel will be completely absent of arachnid-based superheroes. As discussed above, the Russo brothers may be bringing Tobey Maguire’s webslinger into their first Doctor Doom adventure to represent the Sony-verse getting incurred.
Which would theoretically then pave the way for Holland’s Peter Parker to make his heroic return in Avengers: Secret Wars. Not that I know what he’d be SO busy dealing with during the events of Doomsday, but it’s probably building sweet LEGO sets with Ned. So while the “Will Return” seems open-ended, I think the blank space is actually meant to imply that Spider-Man will return in both of the upcoming projects, if not more.
We’re still months away from learning how Avengers new and old will join forces to take down Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom, but I feel more optimistic about seeing Tobey Maguire’s biowebbing in the mix after Brand New Day‘s post-credits scene. But I’ve been disappointed before…