Spider-Man: Brand New Day: w/ Daniel Braindead on Consequences and Growing Up

Ways to support missions: Open Doors International // Mission Next // Wycliffe Bible Translators // The Voice of the Martyrs

Daniel, returning from some time off the show, joins Melvin to discuss the latest anticipated MCU entry, Spider-Man: Brand New Day! The two talk about how it’s the first proper “New York Spider-Man” movie in the MCU, it’s third-act getting lost in the weeds, and their disinterest in Avengers: Doomsday when compared against the smaller, more intimate scale of Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Topics:

• Editor’s Note: No Patreon Exclusive discussion! But, I do intend to trim this episode down from its original 1:56:58 length, so if you want to hear the UNCUT version, tune in on Patreon here!
• Daniel, “[Spider-Man] is the perfect superhero for externalizing a lot of the issues that his audience deals with.”
• Mel keeps things simple and shares what he likes followed by what he dislikes.
• Peter Parker’s angst at the start of the movie is simple: “all my friends from high school are not my friends anymore.”, and the film cleverly explores this difficult emotional experience.
• Mel wished he could have focused on Spider-Man: Brand New Day without thinking about future MCU projects.
• Disney/Marvel has shied from being “too woke” at risk of backlash, yet Spider-Man: Brand New Day feels like the first of many (from Disney/Marvel’s perspective) boundary pushing projects.
• What does the future hold for Spider-Man?
• Mel, “I have tickets for [Avengers: Doomsday]. I do not actually want to see [Avengers: Doomsday] now. I want to see what’s next [after Spider-Man: Brand New Day]!”
• Daniel, “I want to be excited, but…”

Recommendations:

• Get off the internet!
• Widow’s Bay (2026) (Series)
• Enduring Word Study Bible: Pastoral Commentary from Every Chapter of the Bible (2025) (Resource)
• Tinsman Road (2025) (Movie)

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is Rated PG-13 for sequences of action/violence and some language. It features Tom Holland, Zendaya, Mark Ruffalo, Jon Bernthal, Jacob Batalon, Sadie Sink, Florence Pugh, Liza Colón-Zayas, and Tramell Tillman. Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton. Spider-Man: Brand New Day is available here.

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Melvin Benson is the Founder, Editor-In-Chief, and Lead Host of Cinematic Doctrine. Whether it’s a movie, show, game, comic, or novel, it doesn’t matter. As long as it’s rich, he’s ready and willing to give it a try! His hope is to see King Jesus glorified as far as the east is from the west!

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