Spider-Man: Brand New Day – Over 115 Easter Eggs, References, & Major Cameos Explained

Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Spider-Man: Brand New DaySpider-Man: Brand New Day has finally released in theaters, featuring an absolutely stacked number of exciting Easter eggs, MCU references, comic book homages, fun nods, and more.

Following the ending of Spider-Man: No Way Home, a new chapter of Peter Parker’s life has begun with no one remembering who he is and largely working on his own. However, a new threat emerges to shake Peter’s entire status quo, as well as major changes to his powers. While the movie is packed to the gills with exciting characters and concepts, it’s also remarkably character-driven amid all the great connections to the greater MCU, tributes to the original comics, and more cool ties.

Without a doubt, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is built to reward repeat viewings with all of its awesome deep cuts and fun nods in the background, while also having more direct callbacks tying together Spider-Man’s entire journey in the MCU (and even some nods to his fellow multiversal Webslingers). Keeping that in mind, here are over 115 of the biggest Easter eggs, Marvel references, connections, comic book callbacks, fun ties, and key cameos we found in Spider-Man: Brand New Day (though there’s bound to be some we missed).

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The Biggest MCU Easter Eggs & References In Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Here are all of the biggest and best Easter eggs, references, cool ties, and callbacks we’ve found in Spider-Man: Brand New Day (so far):

A New Marvel Studios Logo

The opening Marvel Studios title card features scenes from past MCU Spider-Man movies largely focusing on Peter Parker’s loved ones with Ned and MJ together with Peter before he tragically disappears from each of the scenes to show they’ve forgotten him.

Peter’s Crime Board

Peter Parker’s apartment features a bulletin board and map with ongoing cases and criminals he’s tracking down across New York, including major foes like Scorpion and Tombstone.

Daily Bugle Articles

While we unfortunately don’t see J.K. Simmons return on-screen as J. Jonah Jameson, his anti-Spider-Man rhetoric lives on with articles on Peter’s board covering Spider-Man’s “garish new suit” seen at the end of No Way Home and another clipping covering reports of multiple Spider-Men around the Statue of Liberty.

Coffee Cup Letter

Peter keeps the letter he was going to read to MJ in the same coffee cup he ordered when he chose not to reveal who he was at the end of No Way Home.

GratefulNed42

Ned’s social media handle is GratefulNed42. While there’s obviously the play on words with The Grateful Dead, there’s also the number 42 (a potential nod to the spider that bit Miles Morales, which had the same number).

Sitting Upside Down

Peter is shown sitting high above, sitting upside down and sticking to the underside of a girder, not unlike Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy in the opening act of Across the Spider-Verse.

Jean DeWolff

NYPD Detective Jean DeWolff makes her MCU debut in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, a major ally to Spider-Man in the comics played by The Bear’s Liza Colón-Zayas.

Manfredi Gang

During Brand New Day’s opening montage showing Spider-Man’s various hero exploits in New York while his friends were at MIT, it’s revealed that he helped take down the Manfredi gang, a faction of the Maggia run by Silvio “Silvermane” Manfredi. A 1930s alternate universe version of Silvermane was just featured in Nicolas Cage’s live-action Spider-Noir series, played by Brendan Gleeson.

Takis/Bero/Liquid IV/Little Ceaser’s

While Peter picks up flowers from a nearby bodega, some key product placement is featured with Takis and Liquid IV, which have both had significant Spider-Man promotional tie-in campaigns over the last few months. There’s also Bero, Tom Holland’s non-alcoholic beer brand. It’s also revealed that Peter Parker orders quite a bit of Little Caesars pizza (hey, it’s hot-n-ready, cheap, and has its own real-life promotional tie-in with its current Webberoni offering).

Lego Palpatine

A LEGO minifigure of Star Wars’ Emperor Palpatine can be seen on Peter’s desk, the same one that belonged to Ned’s LEGO Death Star first seen in Spider-Man: Homecoming and one of the few possessions Peter still had at the end of No Way Home.

Foswell/The Big Man

On the phone with DeWolff, it sounds like Spider-Man has been tracking down a criminal named Foswell. In the comics, Frederick Foswell was a major New York crime boss known as The Big Man.

POV Webslinging

Brand New Day features a few excellent first-person POV sequences while Tom Holland’s Peter Parker is webslinging, bringing to mind similar sequences first seen in Andrew Garfield’s Amazing Spider-Man films. It also helps that Holland’s suit was intentionally inspired by both Garfield and Tobey Maguire’s costumes.

Skyscraper Dive

Diving off the side of a building to intercept a rogue APC, it’s hard not to draw a comparison to a similar Spider-Man dive from Miles Morales in Into the Spider-Verse.

Chaka Khan – I’m Every Woman

During the tank chase, a “helpful” New Yorker speeds up while Spider-Man is on top of his car. Inside, he’s playing Chaka Khan’s “I’m Every Woman.” The fun tie here is that Sir Ben Kingsley’s Trevor Slattery repeatedly praised Chaka Khan and her famous song in 2025’s Wonder Man (which also came from director Destin Daniel Cretton).

Battle of New York

While trying to stop the tank, Spider-Man crashes into a tour bus where the guide had just been sharing that the street they were on had been totally rebuilt following 2012’s Battle of New York, as seen in The Avengers.

Spider-Sense Sound

Sensing incoming threats, there’s seemingly a new specific sound when Spider-Man’s spider-sense goes off during Brand New Day, a classic trope featured with several past versions of the Webslinger on-screen.

Punisher’s Battle Van

Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle debuts in Brand New Day by slamming into Spider-Man with his black “Battle Van”, his classic and heavily armed mode of transportation from the comics.

What Happened On Staten Island?

Brand New Day consistently sees Peter and Frank arguing about something that happened in Staten Island, with Spider-Man specifically claiming he saved The Punisher’s life. Apparently, this is the MCU’s new “Budapest”.

Men In Black

Arriving at a bathhouse, a TV in the background is playing what looks to be the first Men in Black movie, another classic movie franchise owned by Sony Pictures.

“You And 10 Mysterios”

Meeting with none other than Yelena Belova’s Black Widow, Yelena mentions that there’s some pretty graphic art of Spider-Man online, including one Peter himself has apparently seen (and can’t unsee) of him and 10 different versions of Far From Home’s Mysterio.

New Avengers

While she’s willing to help Spider-Man out to a degree, Yelena makes it clear that the New Avengers handle “big potato” stuff, while New York’s Webslinger is more small potato stuff. Sure enough, the upcoming events of Avengers: Doomsday will definitely see Yelena and her team dealing with some pretty dang big potatoes.

Red Room

Spider-Man wanted to know from Yelena if the mind control he’d just seen could be connected to the Red Room, the Soviets’ brutal training program creating brainwashed and mind-controlled assassins, which was heavily featured in 2020’s Black Widow movie where Yelena made her first appearance.

Leshy

Yelena says this new form of mind control reminds her more of a leshy, a dark fairy-type spirit capable of disguising itself and tricking travelers from Slavic mythology.

“Enhanced”

Spider-Man is identified as an “enhanced” individual when scanned by the DODC, the classic term used for all types of superpowered people that first originated in 2015’s Age of Ultron.

Bill Metzger’s Comic Origins

Trammell Tillman’s Bill Metzger is revealed as the director of the DODC. In the comics, Metzger was the head of an anti-mutant group (which makes all kinds of sense by the movie’s end).

The Hand

It’s also revealed that members of the ninja clan known as The Hand are now working for Metzger, who reveals all they needed was leadership. This connects to The Hand’s role in Netflix’s Marvel shows, as they did indeed lose much of their leadership after the events of The Defenders.

LEGO Chewbacca

Visiting a party at Ned and MJ’s apartment, Peter finds a LEGO Chewbacca in Ned’s room, most likely coming from the same Death Star set.

“Is He British?”

Various pictures of Spider-Man and potential suspects can be found on Ned’s board in his room, including a note questioning if Spider-Man sightings in Europe suggest that he could be British, a fun wink to actor Tom Holland himself.

Spider-Man Ringtone

When Ned shows Peter his Spider Tracker app, the electronic jingle is the original Spider-Man theme, not unlike Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man and his ringtone heard at the beginning of Amazing Spider-Man 2 during his own armored truck chase sequence.

Maynard

Calling himself “May..nard”, it’s clear that the first name Peter could think of when asked was his own Aunt May.

“Friendly Neighbor”

With MJ referring to Peter as a “friendly neighbor”, the nod to the Webslinger’s classic moniker as the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man should be obvious to most.

Party Kegs (Different Villains)

Various beer kegs at Ned and MJ’s are inspired by different classic Spider-Man villains, including Jackal, Rocket Racer, and Chameleon.

Soulless Corporation

MJ reveals to Ned she didn’t take a job at what she believes to be a soulless corporation. While it’s never said which corporation this might be, perhaps it could be some subtle setup for Oscorp in the MCU?

MJ’s Flower Necklace

Despite not remembering Peter, MJ is shown still wearing the black dahlia flower necklace he got for her on their trip to Venice, as seen in Far From Home.

Peter and MJ’s Far From Home Kiss

Leaving the party and struggling with the fact that he can’t be with those he loves, flashbacks reveal Peter and MJ’s first kiss at the end of Far From Home.

No Way Home’s Midtown Rooftop

We also see Peter, Ned, and MJ all agreeing to live together at MIT at the beginning of No Way Home.

No Way Home’s Ending

Last but not least, the final flashbacks see MJ making Peter promise to find them and tell them who he is, only for Peter to make the decision to not tell them and keep them safe at the end of No Way Home.

Web Cocoon

Following the stress and trauma, Peter falls into a coma and wakes up in a web cocoon suspended over an alleyway. This is not unlike a similar cocoon Peter Parker emerged out of in the comics storyline known as “The Other”, where Spider-Man was also dealing with enhanced mutating powers and evolving spider instincts.

Peter’s Alleyway Fall

Struggling with his new powers, Peter Parker falls to the ground fairly hard down to the alleyway below, not unlike when Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man was trying to turn his powers back on in Spider-Man 2, only to fall down to the street below.

Kingpin Poster Garbage Can

In the alley, a ripped poster from Wilson Fisk’s past mayoral campaign can be seen, connecting to the events of Daredevil: Born Again, and tying nicely with the show’s own Spider-Man reference from Kingpin himself in the show’s first season.

“Peter 2 Had Them”

Tom Holland’s Spider-Man references “Peter 2”, and how Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man had organic webs (so he should be fine too).

“Go Web!”

Holland’s Spider-Man sticking his open hand out and telling his new webs to go has to be an intentional reference to Tobey Maguire when he was first figuring out his own new webs in Sam Raimi’s first Spider-Man movie.

Pigeons

Peter runs and sticks to a flock of pigeons while trying to get a handle on his enhanced powers, which feels like a great nod to both Miles Morales’ pigeon troubles when he first got his powers in Into the Spider-Verse and the heartbreaking pigeon missions in Insomniac’s Spider-Man games.

Bruce Banner Teaching Physics & Chromodynamics

Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner is shown teaching quantum physics at Empire State University, specifically teaching about chrono-dynamics and the concepts of time and space when Peter arrives to ask for his help. Following Engdame, Banner would definitely be an expert on the subject.

A Classic Thanos Argument

One of Banner’s students brings up the classic argument asking why Thanos didn’t just use the Infinity Stones to make more resources, rather than wiping out half of all life. It’s pretty fun to see in-universe civilians wondering the same thing.

Cindy Moon?

The ESU student asking Bruce Banner the Thanos question is named Cindy. While played by different actresses, there was also a Cindy on Peter Parker’s high school debate team, with many theorizing that she could have been Cindy Moon, another webslinging hero from the comics and Spider-Man ally known as Silk. Given the passing resemblance, perhaps Brand New Day’s Cindy and Homecoming’s are meant to be the same character?

Hulk’s Inhibitor

Bruce Banner shows Peter his inhibitor keeping him human, the same device first seen in Shang-Chi and She-Hulk. It also has the serial number ASM-14, a reference to Hulk and Spider-Man’s first encounter in the comics in The Amazing Spider-Man #14.

“Nature Needs To Be Expressed”

Banner’s comments about questioning what parts of nature are good or bad and whether all of it needs to be expressed can easily be applied to the imminent emergence of the X-gene and what will likely be humanity’s imminent evolution with the coming of a new X-Men franchise in the MCU.

Delmar’s Deli

Peter is shown wearing a shirt from Delmar’s Deli, the same deli he visited in Queens and was first in all three movies in Spider-Man “Home” trilogy.

A Nod To Doc Ock

Building his own inhibitor to block what he sees as the bad aspects of his new mutation, it’s worth remembering that Spider-Man has experience building inhibitors, seeing as how he created a working model for Doc Ock’s Otto Octavius in No Way Home.

Spider Swallowing The Man

Sadie Sink’s mysterious mind-controller (revealed to be Jean Grey) realizes that the “Spider is swallowing the Man”, a solid nod to the similar struggle Peter Parker had in the “The Other” storyline in the comics.

A Classic New York MCU Street

When Spider-Man is trying to catch the mini-controller before they can get to MJ, he sees them jumping from body to body on the street below. This is the same street set built by Marvel Studios in the Pinewood Studios backlot, featured in Deadpool & Wolverine during the major Deadpool Corps fight and as Yancy St. in Fantastic Four: First Steps.

Webbed Up Helicopter

Catching a helicopter and webbing to a crane, it definitely brings to mind one of the original teasers for Tobey Maguire’s first Spider-Man movie where he similarly webbed up a helicopter between the Twin Towers (though the promo was pulled from theaters following the attacks on September 11th).

Night Monkey

Not only was there a newspaper clip of the “Night Monkey” on Ned’s board, but MJ also brings up Peter’s Night Monkey alias from Far From Home and their time in Europe as well.

MCU Peter’s Turn To Save A Falling MJ

After Jean releases her hold on MJ, she falls off the roof. Thankfully, Peter uses two webs and catches her safely, just like Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man did in No Way Home, redeeming his failure to save Gwen in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

MJ Scared of Swinging

When Peter takes MJ to Frank’s place to keep her safe, MJ is scared of swinging with Peter just as she’s always been. However, MJ notably wasn’t scared when Jean secretly had control of her mind.

Frank Castle’s Family

MJ finds pictures of Frank’s family in a cupboard on the boat he’s living in, and they’re the same actors seen in both the recent Punisher special and original Netflix series.

Gerry’s Chili

Although you don’t see the front of the can in the movie, it’s since been revealed online that the brand of Frank’s chili is “Gerry’s Chili”, named after the later comic book writer Gerry Conway who created the Punisher for Marvel Comics.

Smart Hulk

Jean takes control of Hulk to break into the DODC, and he’s first shown as “Smart Hulk”, the merging of Hulk and Banner together that first debuted in Endgame.

Chitauri Head in A Jar?

In one of the labs, Punisher finds what might be a Chitauri head in a glass jar being studied by the DODC’s agents.

“The Other Guy”

Banner says “The Other Guy” is coming out and that he can’t control him, Banner’s original name for the Hulk first heard in 2012’s Avengers.

“No Banner, Only Hulk”

Conversely, “No Banner, Only Hulk” is Hulk’s classic line from MCU movies past, confirming the return of the classic Savage Hulk who hasn’t been seen since Infinity War.

Hulk Thunderclap

Hulk uses an iconic thunderclap to clear all of Spider-Man’s webs slowing him down in a hallway, a truly peak MCU moment followed by an epic slow motion shot with Hulk, Spider-Man, and The Punisher all duking it out.

Gauntlet X – Shocker

The DODC was working on an electrified gauntlet taken from The Shocker, a weapon originally featured in Civil War and Spider-Man: Homecoming. It becomes incredibly helpful for Spider-Man while taking on Bruce Banner’s Hulk.

“It’s Peter, I’m Your Friend”

Still within the Hulk, Banner recognizes Peter, and it’s enough to make the Jade Giant pause long enough to fall off the side of the building, a subtle homage to Hulk still remembering Peter even when the rest of the world similarly forgot his secret identity in the comics.

The Empire Strikes Back

Ned is shown playing The Empire Strikes Back on a monitor in the background, connecting to his and Peter’s shared love of Star Wars and one of Peter Parker’s very first pop culture references heard in Civil War while webbing up Giant Man’s legs.

Lego X-Wing

Even more LEGOStar Warswith Spider-Man and Ned building an X-Wing together.

A Perfect Webshooter Explainer From Ned

Ned gives a perfectly comic-accurate explanation of how Spider-Man’s web shooters work in the MCU and in the comics.

“Keep Your Secrets” (LOTR)

Ned and Peter have a fun back-and-forth quoting Frodo and Gandalf’s opening scene in The Fellowship of the Ring, which is even funnier considering Sir Ian McKellen’s involvement in Avengers: Doomsday.

MJ Drawing People In Crisis

MJ’s drawing of Ned and Peter sitting together is incredibly sweet, while also connecting to when she was in detention by choice in Homecoming so she could draw people in crisis.

PS5

Seeing as how this is a movie produced by Sony Pictures just as much as Marvel Studios, it makes sense that we’d see a PlayStation 5 in Ned and MJ’s apartment.

MacaroniFiend1001

When Peter hops on a video call with Yelena, her username is “MacaroniFiend1001”, tying back to her love of macaroni seen in Hawkeye when she first met Kate Bishop and in Black Widow when she was a child.

Naruto

A Naruto poster is in the background of Ned’s room among several other anime posters. A live-action Naruto movie is confirmed to be director Destin Daniel Cretton’s next project.

New Meaning Behind Jean Grey’s Classic Colors

In comics, green and yellow are Jean’s classic and most frequent costume colors. In Brand New Day, Sadie Sink’s Jean Grey wore green while her sister Sara wore yellow (along with a green and yellow scrunchie). While trying to save her in the present, Jean is shown wearing both colors.

“Thanks To Spider-Man…” (Prototype Inhibitor Collars?)

Metzger credits Spider-Man for helping create the universal inhibitor, suggesting that the MCU’s Peter Parker may have inadvertently created the prototype for one of the biggest anti-mutant weapons in the comics.

The DODC’s Experiments Are Giving Stranger Things

Even if Jean Grey wasn’t played by Sadie Sink, the DODC trying to record her telepathic brain waves and unlocking new powers like telekinesis gives some major Stranger Things vibes with the experiments done on Millie Bobbie Brown’s Eleven.

Jean’s Evolving Powers

Unlocking telekinesis and an even further radius, Jean’s evolving powers due to such an intense moment of stress and trauma connect perfectly with the comics as the most common scenario to activate a mutant’s X-gene to its full potential.

V-MAX/VGER/KRAGLE

The reveal that V-Max is nothing more than a partially obscured name for an air ventilation system is a stellar twist, one that’s very similar to past epic twists like VGER/Voyager in Star Trek or even Kragle/Krazy Glue in The Lego Movie.

Slow Motion Ninja Star

Taking off his inhibitor and accepting both parts of himself fully, Spider-Man dodging the ninja star in slow motion and watching it pass by has the same energy as Tobey Maguire dodging the slo-mo punch from Flash Thompson in Raimi’s first Spider-Man movie.

“This Belongs To You”

During the flashback with Aunt May, a brown paper bag is on the floor of Peter’s room in the corner with writing on it: “This Belongs To You” – T.S. This is the same bag that had Spider-Man’s costume in it, which Tony Stark returned to him at the end of Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Star Wars Figures

On the other side of the room, various Star Wars figures can be seen on Peter’s shelves, the same ones he sold in the extended version of Far From Home to afford MJ’s necklace (all except Lobot, which he couldn’t give up).

Jean Breathing For Peter

After Peter helps Jean with memories and guidance from Aunt May, he takes a bullet for her fired by the Punisher. Taken to the hospital, Jean uses her powers to breathe for Spider-Man long enough so that the doctors can work and save him, an inversion from the comics when she first developed her powers, inhabiting the mind of her best friend as she died.

Empire State Building Colors

If Spider-Man was real, loved by the public, and in the hospital, one can only hope the Empire State Building would be lit up with his colors like at the end of Brand New Day.

Bellevue Hospital (Or Metro-General?)

Although Bellevue Hospital is mentioned multiple times in news reports as the hospital Spider-Man is admitted, signs and a shirt worn by Peter say Metro-General, a slight visual continuity error. Perhaps this was due to the reported cut cameo from Rosario Dawson’s Claire Temple? In the Netflix Marvel shows, Claire was (and presumably still is) a nurse at Metro-General.

Frank Finally Wears A Mask

For all the crap he’s given both Daredevil and Spider-Man in the MCU for their costumes and masks, The Punisher finally wears a mask himself in the MCU (and you have to believe he’s having fun with it).

“I’m Not Going To Do This Alone Anymore”

Peter visits Aunt May’s grave, promising that he’s going to stop living his life so isolated and alone. Hopefully, that means he will continue to reconnect with Ned and MJ, and maybe even work with more heroes like the New Avengers in the future (like in the next Avengers movies). Even further down the line, perhaps it could even mean mentoring someone like Miles Morales.

Jean Headed Upstate

Jean is shown on a bus headed upstate. Could she find herself in Westchester (where the Xavier School is located in the comics)?

“Some Pain In My Back”

On the phone with Detective DeWolff, Spider-Man mentions he still has some pain in his back. For those who know their original Tobey Maguire Spider-Man history, the actor actually hurt his back before Spider-Man 2 on the set of Seabiscuit, which nearly caused Maguire to be recast (ironically by Jake Gyllenhaal). This led to the hurt back wink in the movie itself as well as in No Way Home. Keeping that in mind, it’d be pretty funny if Tom Holland’s Spider-Man now had some minor back issues as well.

Ned & Peter’s Handshake

Seemingly the result of pure muscle memory, Brand New Day ends with Peter and Ned doing their classic best friends handshake that was first seen in Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Spider-Man In Space (Another Earth?)

Brand New Day’s post-credits sees Ned’s Spider Tracker app suggesting that Spider-Man isn’t on Earth and is in space. As such, it’s possible he could be on another Earth and the app is registering another New York and/or another Spider-Man with an Earth that’s set to collide with the main 616 reality in a massive incursion, like Doomsday is teasing. Either way, the post-credits tag does promise that Spider-Man will return.

E.V.

Peter’s new AI named E.V. is voiced by actress Naomi Watts, one of Tom Holland’s very first co-stars in his breakout movie The Impossible.

NY1’s Pat Kiernan

Pat Kiernan has been a recurring news anchor in the MCU for years, having made multiple appearances on the big and small screen.

Mayor Sheila Rivera

Having been Mayor Fisk’s chief aide in the first two seasons of Daredevil: Born Again, Sheila Rivera is shown as New York’s newest mayor giving Spider-Man the key to the city, confirming the events of Brand New Day take place after Fisk’s exile and Daredevil is in prison.

Aunt May

Despite her death in No Way Home, Marisa Tomei returns via a crucial flashback scene taking place after Spider-Man: Homecoming but before Infinity War. She tells Peter (and Jean experiencing the memory) that their deepest responsibility is to remember that the people who love them don’t love them because they’re special but because of who they are underneath, some incredibly wise words that help both Peter and Jean Grey by the movie’s end.

Yelena Belova

Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova aka Black Widow gets a handful of fun scenes working out of her “office” hot tub, helping Spider-Man and providing key information about the DODC.

Mr. Harrington

A picture of Peter Parker’s old teacher is featured on Ned’s boards as a potential secret identity for Spider-Man, which is objectively hilarious.

Flash Thompson

Similarly, Flash Thompson’s picture is on Ned’s board for the same reason.

The Boyfriend

Ahsoka’s Eman Esfandi is featured in Brand New Day for one scene as MJ’s new boyfriend. However, Esfandi is only credited as “The Boyfriend” rather than Paul, MJ’s widely hated love interest in the comics who’s been featured the last few years.

Keith David

Popular voice actor Keith David is the narrator for the spider nature documentary Peter briefly plays when trying to understand his growing powers.

Sara Grey

Sara Grey makes her debut via flashbacks in Brand New Day, Jean’s sister who was a less powerful telepath in the MCU before she was killed by the DODC’s experiments on her. In the comics, Sara was not a mutant (though writer Chris Claremont did want at one point to turn her into a replacement for Jean with powers connected to Cerebro.

Every Comic Book Cover Homage In Spider-Man: Brand New Day

One of the best references in Spider-Man: Brand New Day deserves its own section as there’s an impressive collection of comic book cover and iconic page recreations throughout the new MCU movie.

Amazing Fantasy Cover

Spider-Man carrying a thug is an homage to Amazing Fantasy #15, Spider-Man’s first appearance.

Spider-Man vs Scorpion Cover

An homage to the cover of Spider-Man Adventures #2 is featured in the movie as well.

Spider-Man vs Tombstone Cover

Marvin Jones III plays Tombstone for a brief sequence recreating the cover of Spectacular Spider-Man #142 holding Spider-Man over a rooftop.

Spider-Man vs Tarantula Cover

A perfectly posed recreation of Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #1.

Spider-Man vs Ramrod Cover

Recreating the cover of The Amazing Spider-Man #221.

Spider-Man vs Boomerang Cover

Amazing Spider-Man #345.

Spider-Man vs The Hand

Seemingly inspired by New Avengers #27, though the original cover had Elektra leading a horde of Hand ninjas ready to attack the Ronin.

Punisher & Spider-Man’s Civil War Page

Punisher carrying Spider-Man into the hospital recreates a page from Civil War #5, when Punisher brought Spider-Man’s beaten body to Captain America and his forces after Spider-Man defected from Iron Man’s side.

Eminem Cover

One of the most subtle comic book covers in Brand New Day is an inverted black-and-white version of the Eminem variant cover for 2022’s Amazing Spider-Man #1, seen on the wall just before Spider-Man gets hit by Punisher’s battle van at the beginning of the movie. (Also, Punisher and Eminem once had their very own Marvel Comics team-up story).

Every Spider-Man Video Game Reference In Spider-Man: Brand New Day

As confirmed by Tom Holland himself, there are several moves and fighting choreography inspired by Insomniac’s Spider-Man games, as well as some fun elements throughout. Some key moments seemingly inspired by the games include:

Roof Take Down

At the beginning of the movie, Spider-Man knocks a guy off a roof before webbing him to the side, just like in the games, ensuring Spider-Man doesn’t kill.

Ned’s Spidey Tracker App

Ned’s Spider Tracker app is very similar to the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man app created by Miles Morales’ best friend Ganke in the games, allowing citizens to report crimes and ask Spider-Man for help.

Web Pull And Flip

Spider-Man fighting the DODC agents at the end of Brand New Day seems to have been inspired by several great moves and takedowns in the games, particularly one where Spider-Man webs himself toward an enemy before flipping over him to fight another.

Ground Strike

While fighting Scorpion the second time, Spider-Man launches into the air before webbing the ground and pulling himself down for a major “ground strike”, a classic move in the Insomniac games.

Web Grenades

Two of Peter’s web grenades explode, and he was shown playing with one in Spider-Man: Homecoming. However, gamers playing as Insomniac’s Spider-Man have certainly used web grenades far more frequently as a key gadget during combat.

Web To The Wall

Rather than fighting one of the DODC guards, Spider-Man quickly webs one up to a nearby wall, one of the easiest ways to thin the herd while fighting several thugs at once in the Insomniac games.

“Spectacular Spin”

Although there’s a similar move in the Insomniac games, Spider-Man’s 360-degree web attack against The Hand at the end of Brand New Day also bears an epic resemblance to Spider-Man’s “Spectacular Spin” ultimate ability in Marvel Rivals.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is now playing in theaters from Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures.