Deep-cut cameos and Easter eggs feature in 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' for Marvel diehards

Move over Barbenheimer, this summer has been absolutely owned by Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which is smashing box office records as if on autopilot. Don’t be shocked — in just its first week, this fourth solo outing for Tom Holland’s Spidey has already whizzed straight past $1 billion worldwide, and as it stands, there doesn’t seem to be any sign of it skidding to a halt.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day topped $1 billion at the global box office within its opening week.

Audiences are loving it, critics are happy, and part of that comes down to how this film just leans all the way into the Marvel universe. I mean, it’s not shy — there’s Hulk dropping by, The Punisher blundering about, Jean Grey blasting through canon, and even Scorpion menacing poor Peter for old time’s sake. Among all this crossover chaos, the film is absolutely stuffed with Easter Eggs. I’ve spotted a fair few, but there are some curiosities lurking in here that only the hardcore Marvel heads will truly clock. And a few of these in-jokes? Well, they’re not just pointless cameos — they sneakily signal some massive plot twists for anyone paying attention. Let’s just say, get your fan theory hats on.

The Deeper Cuts: Marvel Lore in Motion

• Bill Metzger: Tramell Tillman plays William 'Bill' Metzger, the boss of the Department of Damage Control. Yes, the film hints they’re the real antagonists, and the name is a dead giveaway — Metzger comes straight out of 1999’s X-Men: Children of the Atom where he was an anti-mutant agitator running a hate rag called The Militia Press. Putting him here is a clear signal that this film is sneaking the X-Men into the MCU. Metzger slips away at the end, so you can count on him popping up again to stir anti-mutant trouble when the next set of X-Men inevitably show up.
• Sara Grey: Not just Sadie Sink’s debut as Jean Grey, but the film nods to Jean’s backstory with her sister Sara too — something the older Fox films never touched. In the comics, Sara’s a mundane (mostly) but has a bit of telepathy; Chris Claremont once toyed with the idea her powers would help trigger mutation in others. The film tweaks this — Sara’s death is reworked to be the reason Jean’s powers suddenly bloom.
• Flash Thompson: There’s a gag where Ned has narrowed down Spider-Man’s secret identity to either their old teacher Mr. Harrison or — amusingly — Flash Thompson (Tony Revolori back again). In comics lore, Flash is notorious for bullying Peter while also running the world’s most tragic Spider-Man fan club, never realising they’re one and the same. He even ends up hosting the Venom symbiote as Agent Venom for a while. No Agent Venom here (yet), but the joke lands either way.
• The Hand: That mysterious red ninja mob causing havoc in New York? That’s The Hand, pulled out of Daredevil comics and first seen back in ’81. They’ve tangled with both Daredevil and Wolverine, popped up in all the Netflix shows like The Defenders and Iron Fist, then promptly disappeared when their leaders were offed. Brand New Day marks their first MCU film appearance in yonks.
• Boomerang: There’s an action montage at the start with Spidey trouncing some bottom-tier criminals. One of these is Boomerang, and they even lovingly recreate the cover of The Amazing Spider-Man #345 from 1991. In recent comics, Boomerang actually ends up as Peter’s pest of a roommate, which — if the films want to really commit to sitcom chaos — is wide open for a sequel.
• Tarantula: Another deep cut — Spider-Man fights Tarantula, nodding back to The Amazing Spider-Man #134 from 1971. Multiple people have used the Tarantula name in the comics, but here it’s Anton Miguel Rodriguez, the OG. A female Tarantula called Maria Vasquez turned up in the animated Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man timeline, but no sign of her here yet.
• Tombstone: Lonnie Lincoln, aka Tombstone, gets his big screen return in suitably menacing fashion. In a fun bit of recasting, Marvin 'Krondon' Jones III (better known as DC’s Tobias White on Black Lightning) takes the role here. For reference, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man did a version where Lonnie’s just a mate of Peter’s who falls into crime, but in Brand New Day he’s back to being a proper villain.
• Cindy Moon/Silk: Quick blink-and-you’ll-miss-it bit here — when Peter goes to see Bruce Banner, one of Banner’s students asking about Thanos is Cindy Moon (Tiffany Espensen, making a return from Homecoming and Infinity War). In the comics, Cindy’s bitten by the same radioactive spider and becomes Silk, tangled up with Peter both emotionally and superhero-wise. Here, she’s still powerless, but Marvel seems to be keeping her in the wings in case they want to flip that switch later. Worth adding: Sony’s attempt at a Silk TV series quietly died in 2024, making this cameo a sly wink.
• MJ’s New Boyfriend: Paul: Here’s one guaranteed to rile comic fans. MJ has upgraded to a new boyfriend, played by Eman Esfandi (yep, from Star Wars: Ahsoka). Not named outright, but the film’s closed captions confirm he’s Paul — a divisive comic creation introduced only in 2022 who became infamous for being… well, too much. The film ditches the multiversal baggage (in the comics, he’s the son of an alternate villain) and just pitches him as MJ’s new love interest, standing squarely in Peter Parker’s romantic path. Marvel Studios might try to do what the comics couldn’t: make anyone not loathe Paul.

What This Sets Up

Hardcore Marvel fans will have clocked all the set-ups here — from Damage Control’s mutant-hating boss hinting at looming X-Men recruitment, to Cindy Moon getting teed up for future superheroics. A few of these story threads — like Paul and MJ’s new dynamic — are just there to wind up a comic readership still fizzing over certain storylines. Whatever your take, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is not so much a film as a giant, slightly mischievous Marvel treasure hunt, with its box office numbers doing all the shouting for it.