At a time when many are suggesting the superhero genre is suffering from severe fatigue — a point some believe is the reason Supergirl bombed so badly — along comes Spider-Man and simply does what Spider-Man does best: swings into cinemas and brings home a staggering opening weekend of almost $1 billion worldwide.
It’s perhaps unfair to compare this to DC’s latest offering. This version of the web-slinger was introduced nearly ten years ago — yes, it’s hard to believe — and there’s now an entire generation of fans loyal to Tom Holland and his supporting cast, desperate to discover what happens after the heart-breaking events of No Way Home. A finale that left Peter Parker completely alone, with everyone forgetting who he was, losing his best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) and the love of his life MJ (Zendaya) thanks to the spell by Doctor Strange.
The opening act of Brand New Day, with Peter swinging from one battle to the next while desperately trying to come to terms with everything he has lost, is pure comic-book magic and one of the finest sequences Marvel has produced since the last two Avengers films. It makes a complete mockery of those claiming the studio lost its way after the aptly titled Endgame.
And from there, the film simply oozes confidence.
It proves that sometimes a grounded, character-driven Spider-Man story is far more entertaining than endless CGI armies and world-ending battles. As one Avenger rightly points out in one scene, what Peter is dealing with here is “small potatoes” compared to the threats Earth’s Mightiest Heroes usually face.
But what a small potato it turns out to be.
Even the “big bad” is a breath of fresh air. While the stakes never become world-ending, there is one particular scene that is ruthless and downright cruel to Peter — a genuinely powerful display of evil intent that hurts almost as much as Thanos’ snap. And throughout it all, Holland delivers what is arguably his finest performance yet. You’ll root for him, you’ll feel for him and you’ll desperately want the world to remember the young man who has saved his friendly neighbourhood so many times before.
The overdue arrival of Jon Bernthal’s Punisher on the big screen was a slight concern going in. His television appearances made fans fall in love with the character because of the sheer brutality on display, and while we never expected the F-bombs to make the jump to the MCU, thankfully Frank Castle hasn’t been watered down to the point of becoming unrecognisable.
Instead, Bernthal and Holland share wonderful chemistry. In fact, I’d happily watch a one-off TV episode of Frank and Peter simply sitting in a café talking… and arguing. It’s the unlikely brotherhood you never realised you needed, and the film absolutely soars whenever the pair share the screen.
It’s not all perfect.
You’ll have to overlook a few illogical plot threads, the running time could easily have lost twenty minutes and one major plot twist doesn’t quite surprise the way it probably should. Yet those flaws become easy to forgive thanks to a crowd-pleasing Hulk smash-up (always a pleasure, Mark Ruffalo), the welcome arrival of Stranger Things star Sadie Sink to the MCU, and every scene shared between Peter, Ned and MJ.
The final shot will have fans jumping for joy and counting the days until a fifth film. And as the credits roll and excitement begins to build for Doomsday this December, you’re reminded once again that with Marvel’s incredible gallery of superheroes at its disposal…
Spider-Man is still the “King of the Swingers… the Marvel VIP.”
Leaving you with just one question:
What superhero fatigue?
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