7 Things To Know From Previous Marvel Movies & Shows Before Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Published Jul 29, 2026, 12:11 PM EDT Senior Music Editor at Screen Rant, Sarah's love of sound and story drive the beat. A globetrotting brand whisperer and award-winning journalist, she’s built cross-cultural narratives around the world—but music has always been her true north. She launched DJ Mag North America, successfully introducing the iconic UK brand to the U.S. market. Previously, she carved a space for EDM inside the pages of VIBE, blending electronic and hip-hop culture long before it was trendy. Every new Marvel movie arrives with years of MCU history attached, but Spider-Man: Brand New Day may depend on that history more than most. By the time audiences catch up with Peter Parker again, the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Daredevil: Born Again, Echo, The Punisher, and even She-Hulk: Attorney at Law have reshaped both his personal life and the world around him. Peter enters this movie in a very different place than he did during his previous trilogy. Tony Stark is gone, the Avengers are no longer part of his daily life, and the people he loves don't remember him. Early details also suggest a return to the grounded, street-level storytelling that has always defined Spider-Man's best adventures, placing him in a New York that has only grown more dangerous since his last appearance. Marvel has spent years laying the groundwork for this next chapter, even if those connections weren't obvious at the time. Before Spider-Man: Brand New Day arrives, these are the biggest MCU storylines worth having fresh in your mind. Doctor Strange's Spell Erased Peter Parker From Everyone's Memory (Spider-Man: No Way Home) Everything changed at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Faced with a collapsing multiverse and villains pouring into his universe, Peter asked Doctor Strange to cast one final spell that would erase all memory of Peter Parker from the world. Losing MJ and Ned was only part of the cost. Happy Hogan forgot the young man Tony Stark had mentored, and every other personal connection Peter had disappeared overnight. The film ended with Peter moving into a small apartment and sewing a new suit by hand, signaling a fresh start without Stark technology, Avengers resources, or anyone waiting to help if things went wrong. Frank Castle Brings A Very Different Kind Of Hero To Peter's World (The Punisher / Daredevil: Born Again) Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle has officially returned to the MCU after Daredevil: Born Again, bringing one of Marvel's most uncompromising vigilantes back to New York. Unlike Spider-Man, Frank doesn't hesitate to kill the criminals he hunts, and he has little patience for second chances. That difference has defined some of their strongest comic book stories. Peter believes almost everyone deserves the opportunity to change, while Frank sees mercy as a luxury that often creates more victims. If the two cross paths in Brand New Day, their biggest conflict may have nothing to do with fighting each other and everything to do with how they believe justice should work. Mac Gargan Is Finally Becoming Scorpion (Spider-Man: Homecoming) Marvel has been playing the long game with Mac Gargan. After Spider-Man defeated him during Spider-Man: Homecoming, Gargan approached Adrian Toomes in prison and hinted that people were still searching for the hero's real identity. It was a brief scene, but one fans have talked about for years. Brand New Day finally appears ready to pay off that tease. In the comics, Scorpion becomes one of Spider-Man's most formidable enemies, matching Peter physically while pushing him to his limits. After nearly a decade of waiting, Gargan's transformation could become one of the film's biggest moments. Bruce Banner hasn't shared the screen with Peter Parker since Avengers: Endgame, but She-Hulk: Attorney at Law subtely moved his story forward. Bruce returned from Sakaar with his son, Skaar, opening another chapter for one of the MCU's original Avengers. Banner hasn't been confirmed to play a major role in Brand New Day, but his current status is still worth remembering. Peter has lost nearly every mentor figure who once helped shape his journey. If Marvel decides to reconnect those threads in the future, Bruce remains one of the few surviving Avengers who could eventually step into that role, even if he no longer remembers Peter Parker. Matt Murdock Saw Something Different In Peter (Spider-Man: No Way Home) Peter first met Matt Murdock while trying to clear his name after Mysterio exposed his identity. Although their time together was brief, Matt immediately recognized Peter as someone trying to do the right thing under impossible circumstances. Their encounter also quietly introduced the MCU's most famous street-level hero into Spider-Man's world. Since then, Matt has returned in She-Hulk and Daredevil: Born Again, becoming one of the MCU's central vigilantes. If Brand New Day continues Spider-Man's return to smaller-scale stories, that early meeting could prove much more significant than it first appeared. Wilson Fisk's Influence Over New York Has Never Been Greater (Echo / Daredevil: Born Again) Spider-Man has spent much of his MCU career dealing with world-ending threats, but Brand New Day appears to be bringing him back to the streets of New York. That shift makes one character impossible to ignore: Wilson Fisk. Across Echo and Daredevil: Born Again, Fisk has steadily expanded his influence, proving that his greatest weapon isn't brute strength—it's his ability to manipulate the city from behind the scenes. Whether he's operating through politics, organized crime, or sheer intimidation, Kingpin has become one of the most powerful people in New York. That matters because Fisk represents the kind of enemy Spider-Man has rarely faced in the MCU. He's not an alien invader or a multiversal villain who can be defeated with a single punch. He controls systems, corrupts institutions, and creates problems that can't be solved by web-swinging across Manhattan. Even if Fisk doesn't play a central role in Brand New Day, the city Peter returns to has already been reshaped by his growing power, making it a much tougher place for a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man to protect.