‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day‘ isn’t just Peter Parker’s fresh start. It also gives Marvel fans the first real chapter of Jean Grey’s story, and honestly, it feels like the perfect setup for the Phoenix Saga.
In fact, she becomes the movie’s biggest setup for Marvel’s future. There isn’t a single mention of the Phoenix Force. But by the end, it feels like Marvel has already started laying the groundwork for the most iconic X-Men stories.
Sadie Sink’s Jean Grey Is Way More Than A New MCU Hero
Marvel could’ve introduced Jean Grey with a simple mutant cameo and called it a day. Instead, ‘Brand New Day‘ gives her an origin story that instantly makes her one of the most important new characters in the MCU.
The movie confirms that Sadie Sink is playing Jean Elaine Grey, and unlike several recent MCU additions, she isn’t from another universe. Jean has always existed on the main MCU Earth. She naturally developed mutant abilities alongside her younger sister, Sarah Grey. While Jean has both telepathic and telekinetic powers, Sarah only has telepathy and nowhere near the same level of strength.
That reveal is a pretty big deal because it shows Marvel is finally planting the X-Men inside the MCU instead of bringing them in through multiverse chaos. Jean joins mutants, while also teasing what’s coming after ‘Avengers: Secret Wars‘.
Marvel has already confirmed that ‘Secret Wars‘ will lead into a soft reboot inspired by Jonathan Hickman’s comics. There, the Avengers, X-Men, and Fantastic Four all will share the same world. ‘Brand New Day‘ even hints that Jean could remember everything that happened before the reboot. That could make her one of the MCU’s most important characters going forward.
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Jean’s Story Is Heartbreaking And Reveals Where Marvel Is Heading
Things get really emotional once the movie digs into Jean’s past. It reveals that she and Sarah were abandoned by their mother after their mutant powers started showing up as kids. Believing their mother no longer wanted them, the sisters ended up in foster care and tried to survive on their own.
Flashbacks set shortly after ‘Avengers: Endgame‘ reveal that William Metzger took over Damage Control and secretly captured Sarah for experiments that aimed to recreate telepathic abilities using advanced technology. Sarah managed to help Jean escape, but she remained trapped inside a hidden facility for years while Damage Control continued experimenting on her.
For most of the movie, Jean looks like the villain. She appears to attack innocent people and uses her powers to control characters like Scorpion and Hulk. Then the movie flips everything. Jean believed Sarah had sent her one final telepathic clue before she died. Sarah repeatedly showed her the words “V-Max,” making Jean think it pointed to a secret Damage Control location. William Metzger even tricks Spider-Man into helping capture Jean so the experiments can continue.
Once Jean is locked inside the facility, she finally learns the truth, and it’s honestly heartbreaking. “V-Max” was never a secret location. It was simply part of the “Vents Max” logo printed on the ceiling vents inside Sarah’s prison. Sarah wasn’t sending coordinates. She was desperately trying to tell her sister where she had been all along.
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The Ending Feels Like Marvel’s First Step Toward The Phoenix Saga
Finding out what really happened to Sarah completely breaks Jean. She discovers her sister’s belongings inside the laboratory and realizes Sarah died trying to send one final message. Damage Control then decides to experiment on Jean too, but things don’t exactly go according to plan.
Instead of controlling her, the experiment unlocks Jean’s full Omega-level telepathic and telekinetic powers. In one moment, she goes from being incredibly powerful to being almost unstoppable. The movie also makes sure fans know one important thing: this isn’t the Phoenix Force yet. Everything Jean does comes from her own mutant abilities, which means Marvel is clearly saving an even bigger transformation for later.
Jean unleashes a massive psionic blast that freezes nearly an entire kilometer of New York City. Blinded by grief, she prepares to wipe out William Metzger and everyone responsible for Sarah’s death. At the same time, Spider-Man embraces his evolving spider abilities and takes down the Hand, who have been working with Damage Control after receiving a government pardon. Jean had been controlling the Hand telepathically throughout the final battle, forcing them to fight Peter.
Peter realizes he can’t punch his way out of this one. Instead, he lets Jean enter his mind. That’s when the movie hits fans right in the feels. Marisa Tomei returns as Aunt May in a brand-new ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming‘-era flashback. She reminds Peter that people love him because he’s Peter, not because he’s Spider-Man. Jean experiences the memory as if Aunt May is talking directly to her, helping her let go of her anger before it’s too late. It’s a surprisingly emotional scene, but it also feels like Marvel preparing Jean for everything she’ll eventually go through in the Phoenix Saga.
Just when things seem to calm down, Frank Castle shows up with a completely different plan. Believing Jean is still too dangerous to live, Punisher fires a sniper shot at her. Peter doesn’t think twice and jumps in front of the bullet, nearly bleeding to death. Jean uses her newly awakened powers to keep him alive until Frank carries Spider-Man to the hospital, recreating the iconic Civil War comic cover.
The movie originally had one more surprise waiting. Rosario Dawson filmed scenes as Claire Temple, the Night Nurse from ‘Daredevil‘ and ‘The Defenders‘. She was supposed to help Peter recover while sharing a reunion with Frank Castle. But unfortunately, those scenes were eventually cut.
Marvel could’ve saved Jean Grey for an X-Men movie, but bringing her into ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day‘ first makes her debut feel even bigger. Between the emotional ending, her Omega-level powers, and all the little hints about what’s coming next, it really feels like Marvel has only scratched the surface of her story.
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