Full spoilers for Spider-Man: Brand New Day follow. If you have seen the movie once, you have missed a lot. The film is packed with over 100 easter eggs, comic book callbacks, cameos, and hidden references.
Screen Rant catalogued over 100 of them, and we picked the best ones you probably missed. Here they are, grouped by what they connect to.
The MCU connections
The opening Marvel Studios logo is different this time. It replays scenes from Peter’s past movies, and Peter visibly disappears from each one, showing his friends have forgotten him.
Peter’s apartment has a crime board tracking Scorpion and Tombstone. Both are classic comic villains, and both show up on screen.
Ned’s social media handle is GratefulNed42. The 42 is a nod to the spider that bit Miles Morales, which had the same number.
Detective Jean DeWolff makes her MCU debut, played by The Bear’s Liza Colón-Zayas. She is a major Spider-Man ally in the comics.
Jon Bernthal’s Punisher debuts by slamming into Spider-Man with his classic black Battle Van. The two spend the whole movie arguing about something that happened on Staten Island, the MCU’s new “Budapest.”
A ripped poster of Wilson Fisk’s mayoral campaign sits in an alley, connecting to Daredevil: Born Again.
Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner is teaching at Empire State University. His Hulk inhibitor has the serial number ASM-14, referencing Hulk and Spider-Man’s first comic meeting in Amazing Spider-Man #14.
One of Banner’s students asks why Thanos did not just use the Infinity Stones to make more resources. Even in universe, people ask the same question.
Yelena Belova shows up working out of a hot tub office. She calls Spider-Man “small potato” stuff compared to the New Avengers and their “big potato” problems, a wink at Avengers: Doomsday.
Yelena also mentions graphic fan art of Spider-Man, including one he has seen of him with 10 versions of Mysterio.
The X-Men setup
Sadie Sink’s character is revealed to be Jean Grey. She wears green, her sister Sara wears yellow, a nod to Jean’s classic costume colors.
Banner’s line about nature needing to be expressed is a clear tease of the X-gene and the coming X-Men franchise.
Metzger credits Spider-Man’s inhibitor design as the prototype for the universal inhibitor, one of the biggest anti-mutant weapons in the comics.
Jean’s mind control powers evolve under stress and trauma, the classic way an X-gene activates in the comics.
At the end, Jean is on a bus headed upstate. Westchester, where the Xavier School is located in the comics, is that way.
The multiverse and legacy callbacks
Struggling with his new powers, Holland’s Spider-Man says “Peter 2 had them,” referencing Tobey Maguire’s organic webs.
He also sticks his hand out and tells his webs to “go,” exactly like Tobey did in the first Raimi film.
When Jean drops MJ off a roof, Peter catches her with two webs, mirroring Andrew Garfield’s save in No Way Home and redeeming his failure to save Gwen.
The movie ends with Ned and Peter doing their classic handshake from Homecoming, pure muscle memory.
Peter mentions his back still hurts, a wink at Tobey Maguire’s real back injury that nearly cost him Spider-Man 2.
The post credits scene shows Spider-Man’s tracker pinging in space. The theory: he may be on another Earth, one about to collide with 616 in an incursion, exactly what Doomsday is teasing.
The comic book cover homages
The film recreates several famous covers. Spider-Man carrying a thug pays tribute to Amazing Fantasy #15, his first appearance.
Holding Spider-Man over a rooftop recreates Spectacular Spider-Man #142 with Tombstone.
There is also a perfect recreation of Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #1 with Tarantula, and The Amazing Spider-Man #221 with Ramrod.
The best one: Punisher carrying a battered Spider-Man into the hospital recreates the page from Civil War #5.
The video game references
Tom Holland confirmed the fight choreography borrows from Insomniac’s Spider-Man games. You can spot the roof takedown, the ground strike, web grenades, and webbing enemies to walls.
Ned’s Spidey Tracker app is nearly identical to the Friendly Neighborhood app from the games, created by Miles Morales’ best friend Ganke.
Spider-Man’s 360-degree web attack against The Hand also resembles the Spectacular Spin ultimate in Marvel Rivals.
The tiny details you probably missed
Ned’s LEGO Palpatine from Homecoming sits on Peter’s desk, and a LEGO Chewbacca and X-Wing appear later. Peter and Ned even quote Frodo and Gandalf from The Fellowship of the Ring.
A picture of Mr. Harrington is on Ned’s board as a possible Spider-Man suspect, which is objectively hilarious.
Peter’s new AI is named E.V., voiced by Naomi Watts, Tom Holland’s co-star from The Impossible.
MJ’s new boyfriend is played by Eman Esfandi, credited only as “The Boyfriend,” a tease of Paul from the comics.
Peter drinks Bero, Tom Holland’s non-alcoholic beer brand. There is also Takis and Liquid IV product placement, both with real Spider-Man promo campaigns.
Keith David narrates the spider documentary Peter watches while figuring out his new powers. The scene where he falls out of his web cocoon mirrors “The Other” comic storyline.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is now playing in theaters. This movie rewards repeat viewings more than any MCU film in years, so go see it again and look closer.
