Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Spider-Man: Brand New Day!A small moment in Spider-Man: Brand New Day might be the latest setup for Norman Osborn and Oscorp joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While Osborn and Oscorp are foundational parts of Spider-Man lore, playing a central role in Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man trilogy and taking on a different form in Andrew Garfield’s The Amazing Spider-Man films, the MCU has made four movies with Tom Holland’s version without either.
Yes, Willem Dafoe played Green Goblin again in Spider-Man: No Way Home, but that was through the multiverse. The MCU has taken the approach of pitting Spider-Man against villains he hasn’t already faced on the big screen. That meant Vulture, Scorpion, and Shocker in Homecoming and Mysterio in Far From Home, while he got the multiversal versions of Norman, Doc Ock, Electro, Sandman, and Lizard.
Brand New Day‘s villains continue this tradition by making Peter battle a host of antagonists beyond his usual rogues’ gallery: Damage Control, The Hand, Hulk, and Jean Grey. To be clear, there is no direct role for Norman or a namedrop for him or Oscorp. Yet, a seemingly innocent conversation between MJ and Ned may have established their place in the MCU.
Friendly Neighborhood Assessment · MCU Era Tom Holland’s Spider-Man Trivia
🏠Homecoming2017
✈️Far From Home2019
🌌No Way Home2021
😈VillainsSinister…
🤖MCUAvengers
01
Before getting his own solo film, Tom Holland’s Peter Parker made his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut by being recruited by Tony Stark to help in a massive superhero conflict. In which MCU film did Holland first appear as Spider-Man?
✓ Correct! Tom Holland first appeared as Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War (2016), where Tony Stark visits Peter in Queens and recruits him for the airport battle against Team Cap. His quippy, starstruck portrayal instantly won over audiences.
✗ Web miss! The answer is Captain America: Civil War. Holland debuted in the 2016 film before Homecoming (2017). He was recruited by Tony Stark for the iconic airport fight scene, stealing Captain America’s shield with his webs in one of the film’s most memorable moments.
02
In Spider-Man: Homecoming, Peter faces a blue-collar salvage contractor who turned to arms dealing after being shut out of the Chitauri cleanup by Damage Control. Using an alien-tech wingsuit, he becomes one of Spider-Man’s most grounded villains. Who is he?
✓ Correct! Adrian Toomes, played brilliantly by Michael Keaton, is the Vulture — a working-class father who builds a criminal empire selling alien-derived weapons. The twist that he’s the father of Peter’s date Liz is one of the MCU’s best surprises.
✗ Web miss! The answer is The Vulture (Adrian Toomes). The Shocker and Tinkerer are his henchmen in the film, and Scorpion (Mac Gargan) only briefly appears. Toomes is the main antagonist who personally confronts Peter in the unforgettable car ride scene.
03
Tony Stark built Peter a high-tech suit loaded with features Peter didn’t even know about, including an AI assistant that helps him in combat, provides tactical analysis, and even gives dating advice. What name does Peter give this AI?
✓ Correct! Peter names his suit’s AI “Karen,” voiced by Jennifer Connelly. She assists him with web shooter modes, reconnaissance, and even his love life. Friday is Tony Stark’s AI, and E.D.I.T.H. is the Stark satellite system that appears in Far From Home.
✗ Web miss! The answer is Karen. Friday is Tony Stark’s personal AI, E.D.I.T.H. is the Stark defense satellite Peter inherits in Far From Home, and Jocasta is an AI from the comics. Karen, voiced by Jennifer Connelly, is Peter’s suit assistant throughout Homecoming.
04
In Spider-Man: Far From Home, Peter encounters a seemingly heroic figure who claims to be from an alternate Earth, battling elemental creatures across Europe. In reality, he’s a disgruntled former Stark Industries employee using advanced holographic drones. What is his real name?
✓ Correct! Quentin Beck, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, is Mysterio — a master of illusion who uses Stark Industries’ B.A.R.F. holographic technology and weaponized drones to fabricate the Elementals and pose as a hero. His final act of revenge shapes the entire third film.
✗ Web miss! The answer is Quentin Beck. William Ginter Riva is one of Beck’s team members, Aldrich Killian is the villain of Iron Man 3, and Justin Hammer is from Iron Man 2. Beck is Mysterio, the illusionist who manipulated Peter’s trust across Europe.
05
In one of the MCU’s most shocking mid-credits scenes, J. Jonah Jameson broadcasts doctored footage from Mysterio’s final moments that completely upends Peter Parker’s life. What does this broadcast reveal to the entire world?
✓ Correct! Mysterio’s doctored footage, broadcast by J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons reprising his iconic role), exposes Spider-Man’s identity as Peter Parker to the entire world. This revelation drives the entire plot of No Way Home as Peter desperately seeks to undo the damage.
✗ Web miss! The answer is that Spider-Man is Peter Parker. While the footage also frames Spider-Man for the London drone attack, the earth-shattering reveal is Peter’s unmasked identity being broadcast globally by The Daily Bugle’s J. Jonah Jameson.
06
With his identity exposed and his loved ones under threat, Peter seeks help from a powerful sorcerer to cast a spell that would make the world forget he is Spider-Man. Peter’s constant modifications to the spell cause it to fracture the multiverse. Which sorcerer casts this spell?
✓ Correct! Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) casts the memory-wiping spell at Peter’s request, but Peter keeps asking for exceptions — for MJ, Ned, May, and Happy to still remember him. These constant changes corrupt the spell and tear open the multiverse, pulling in villains from other Spider-Man universes.
✗ Web miss! The answer is Doctor Strange. While Wong is the Sorcerer Supreme and actually warns Strange against it, it is Stephen Strange who agrees to cast the spell. Wanda’s multiverse interference occurs in Multiverse of Madness, not here.
07
Throughout all three films, Peter’s loyal best friend serves as his “guy in the chair,” helping with tech support and keeping his secret. In No Way Home, this character even discovers he can open magical portals using a Sling Ring. Who is Peter’s best friend?
✓ Correct! Ned Leeds, played by Jacob Batalon, is Peter’s best friend and self-proclaimed “guy in the chair.” He discovers Peter’s secret identity in Homecoming, supports him across all three films, and in No Way Home he accidentally uses Doctor Strange’s Sling Ring to open portals to other Spider-Men.
✗ Web miss! The answer is Ned Leeds. Flash Thompson is Peter’s rival and bully who ironically idolizes Spider-Man. Harry Osborn is Peter’s friend in the Raimi and Webb films but doesn’t appear in Holland’s trilogy. Miles Morales is only hinted at. Ned is the irreplaceable “guy in the chair.”
08
At the emotional climax of No Way Home, Peter makes an enormous personal sacrifice to save the multiverse. Doctor Strange completes the spell, and when it takes effect, Peter is left completely alone. What does the final spell do?
✓ Correct! The final spell makes every person in every universe forget that Peter Parker exists. MJ, Ned, Happy, the Avengers — everyone. Peter visits MJ at the coffee shop afterward but decides not to re-introduce himself, choosing to protect them. He starts over completely alone, sewing his own suit in a small apartment.
✗ Web miss! The answer is that everyone forgets who Peter Parker is. The spell doesn’t erase Spider-Man — people still know the hero exists — but nobody remembers Peter Parker the person. This devastating sacrifice means MJ, Ned, and even Happy Hogan have no memory of him at all.
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During a party at their apartment, Ned asks MJ about a job interview she had earlier that day, which went well enough for her to get the job before turning it down. Brand New Day doesn’t provide much of any details about where she interviewed at or what job she was up for, but the clues related to the tease make Oscorp a plausible option, potentially making this a piece of setup for Norman and his business joining the MCU.
MJ’s Job Interview Being With Oscorp Would Make Sense
MJ watching Spider-Man make something in Spider-Man Brand New Day
The biggest tease that Brand New Day offers about the place MJ interviewed at is her calling it a “soulless corporation.” This could be an accurate descriptor for countless businesses, especially with how MJ views the world. But in terms of looking at Marvel Comics and New York-based corporations, Oscorp certainly fits the bill and is arguably the biggest one.
The MCU has also made it clear why MJ would be someone who could get a job at Oscorp if she wanted to. She was one of the smartest people in her class in high school and made it into MIT because of her excellent academics. Brand New Day even reveals that she majored in aerospace engineering. Given all the different scientific avenues Oscorp explores, someone with an aerospace engineering degree would fit right in.
There is even some minor comic precedent for the idea of MJ working at Oscorp. She was an employee there on Earth-3109, a world where Harry Osborn was bitten by a radioactive spider, and Gwen Stacy became Green Goblin. Marvel Studios certainly isn’t looking to adapt this for the MCU, but it does go to show that Marvel has tinkered with this idea before.
Considering the MCU’s need to build up a world where Oscorp exists, small lines like this one in Brand New Day could become part of the setup, even if it wasn’t intentional. But since this is a Spider-Man movie, the thought that this is a subtle Oscorp tease does make a lot more sense. If a different character said this in a different movie, it wouldn’t be a big deal. However, MJ saying it here raises some eyebrows.
Brand New Day’s Tease Would Build On No Way Home’s Oscorp Set Up
Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin unmasked and crying in Spider-Man: No Way Home
MJ and Ned’s conversation feels a bit more notable, too, after No Way Home. The movie has Dafoe’s Norman explain that upon arriving in Earth-616, he attempted to learn about his place in it. In addition to finding someone else in his house, Norman confirmed that Oscorp did not exist, or at least is not widely known.
At the time, this was Marvel providing an explanation for Oscorp’s lack of presence in Holland’s Spider-Man trilogy. But it also doubled as the MCU’s first attempt at acknowledging Norman, his business, and his son. Since then, the question has been if Marvel would circle back around to this tease and expand upon it, allowing these key elements of Spider-Man’s world to enter the MCU before too long.
What’s important to remember is that Brand New Day takes place 4 or 5 years after No Way Home. That is a lot of time for a new technology company to rise to prominence or even enter the mix as a start-up on a path to becoming a mega-corporation. Either scenario would allow Oscorp to be an established business by the time of Brand New Day‘s events and in a position where it could be looking for new hires.
Will Spider-Man 5 Introduce The MCU’s Norman Osborn & Oscorp Next?
Willem Dafoe as the Green Goblin standing ominously in Spider-ManCredit: MovieStillsDB
These small details put the MCU in a position where Norman and Oscorp could finally enter the mix with Spider-Man 5. Marvel and Sony have yet to officially announce another solo film for Holland’s character, but the studios and star have both teased discussions and plans for the future. And with Brand New Day‘s record box office performance, Spider-Man 5 is a given.
After battling villains who haven’t been in movies before and the wider Marvel universe, it could be the perfect time for Norman and Oscorp to be introduced. They wouldn’t even necessarily have to be the main villain of Spider-Man 5. It might be tricky to have Norman be a mentor to Peter given he knows the villainous turn he takes in another universe, but that would make his introduction all the more fascinating for Peter to navigate.
It’s difficult to imagine Marvel Studios ignoring Norman and Oscorp forever, too. There is too much potential for great stories, including fresh material previous Spider-Man movies didn’t touch, to never touch them. Spider-Man 5 could go straight to Norman being Iron Patriot, launching his Dark Avengers team, or rebuilding SHIELD to help potentially throw Peter off the scent about his Earth’s Norman ultimately being a bad guy.
There is always the chance the MCU never touches Norman or Oscorp, or that they delay their introduction until Miles Morales is in the picture, making them central figures in Peter’s replacement’s story. But it would be a tad disappointing if Holland’s Spider-Man never gets his own turn battling a fresh Green Goblin or sparking a friendship with Harry. Hopefully, this Spider-Man: Brand New Day line winds up being an indicator that Oscorp is coming in Spider-Man 5 or beyond.
Release Date
July 31, 2026
Runtime
145 Minutes
Producers
Amy Pascal, Kevin Feige, Rachel O’Connor, Avi Arad
