Spider-Man: Brand New Day Fixes The Biggest Issue With Modern Marvel Movie Costumes
by Witney Seibold · /FilmDestin Daniel Cretton's new superhero film "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" takes place four years after the events of "Spider-Man: No Way Home," which essentially wiped the slate clean on the character. As readers likely know, Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) cast a spell at the end of "No Way Home" that erased Spider-Man from the collective memories of the world, leaving him to start fresh with no friends or support system. In the last four years, Spider-Man has managed to make a few new friends as a superhero, although he's still hung up on his ex-girlfriend MJ (Zendaya), so he hasn't done any dating (as far as we know).
But Spider-Man does still have a few accoutrements left over from before Doctor Strange's spell. He lives in a small New York apartment with a lot of super-advanced computer equipment that allows him to track criminal activity throughout the city, and a sewing machine that can near-magically repair his costume any time it rips. His suit still has high-tech moving goggles, and it seems to be infused with an A.I. health-tracking system that can speak in his ear. (The computer is voiced by an Oscar-nominated actress.) Otherwise, though, it seems to be an ordinary spandex outfit.
It's a relief to see that Spider-Man no longer wears the golden costume he wore in "No Way Home." That costume was made from thousands of shape-shifting nano-bots that wrapped around Spider-Man's body. His face mask would whoosh on and off his face constantly throughout the film. It was annoying. In "Brand New Day," Spider-Man has to remove his mask with his hand, and put it down somewhere when it's not in use. It's such a dang alleviation to not have to watch those masks whoosh on and off all the time.
Marvel's disappearing-reappearing masks
The disappearing-reappearing masks were a problem in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Screenwriters must have gotten bored with the ideas of superheroes pausing to get out of their civilian clothes and into their superhero costumes, so they pioneered a conceit early in the series that the costumes were no longer made of cloth or metal plating. Instead, they were all made of nanobots, programmable matter, or some kind of high-tech ultra-foldable material that could be pressed down into a necklace. Then, when a superhero needed to prepare for violence, they could merely twitch their head, and their suit would grow around them in less than a second.
This might be cool to witness one or two times, but it became incessant. Star-Lord in "The Guardians of the Galaxy" had a mask that would pop on and off at a moment's notice. In "Black Panther," both the title hero and his arch nemesis had masks that could zip on and off should they need to converse. The worst offender of the vanishing masks was "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," which features three characters in high-tech shrinking suits whose masks popped on and off multiple times throughout a fight scene according to the whims of the film's screenwriters.
On a practical level, this makes some sense, as the actors likely don't want to have their faces completely covered all the time. Also, it's more exciting for the audience if we see a human engaging in a high-tech battle, and not an expressionless, masked figure.
"Spider-Man: Brand New Day" dispenses with the nanobots and programmable matter and has Spider-Man wear a suit that is made of cloth. Spider-Man's mask still magically lightens around his head, but at least he pulls it off with his fist.
Spider-Man's new costume is high tech, but not too high tech
There was a scene in "Spider-Man: Homecoming" wherein Spider-Man slipped into an alleyway and actually had to undress out of his street clothes before getting into his costume. He was able to slip into it easily, as it was baggy like a pair of pajamas. He then tapped a button on his chest, and his entire suit, including the mask, tightened around him. "Homecoming" did show that Spider-Man wasn't wearing street clothes under his costume, but also explained how he could get into his costume easily without having to pull and yank his legs into narrow, spandex tights. Have you ever put on a pair of pantyhose? It's not easy.
For "Brand New Day," that tightening technology still seems to be partially in place, notably around Spider-Man's neck. The mask always fits tight under his chin. Either it's high-tech, or it's just one of those superhero costume unrealities that the audience is willing to accept, like the black makeup around Batman's eyes in the Burton/Schumacher movies. I always assumed the black makeup was meant to be part of Batman's mask, just realized in a semi-abstract way.
Regardless, because Spider-Man's mask needs to be pulled off physically, it feels that much more real. Spider-Man, although a super-powered person suffused with bug DNA, is often presented as a ground-level character, dealing with rent, laundry, crappy jobs, and other relatable human struggles. Making his costume more realistic — and not a zippy, high-tech nanobot network — adds to the fabric (heh) of the movie. It could be details like the mask that allowed "Brand New Day" to make almost a billion dollars worldwide in its opening weekend alone.