- Two new toys for Spider-Man: Brand New Day have been revealed
- The tie-in merch seems to spoil a key plot point in the Marvel movie
- They've also excited fans over a possible recreation of a very specific comic book page
Two new toys for Spider-Man: Brand New Day have been revealed — and they seem to spoil a major plot point in the forthcoming movie.
The tie-in merch, which was unveiled on the official Hasbro Pulse website last weekend (April 25/26), appears to hint that the titular webslinger will be forced to fight another Marvel hero in his next solo film. Potentially big spoilers immediately follow for Brand New Day's story, so do not proceed if you don't want to know anything else.
One of two figurines, which are available to pre-order ahead of Spider-Man 4's debut, confirms that The Hulk, aka Bruce Banner's superhuman alter-ego, will appear in the Marvel Phase 6 flick.
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We already knew that Banner would show up. Indeed, reports first surfaced that Banner would appear in Spider-Man 4 last May, but it wasn't until Spider-Man: Brand New Day's first trailer was released in mid-March that this was confirmed. To find out who else is in the forthcoming film, read my Spider-Man 4 cast and character guide.
But I digress. There had been speculation that Banner's gamma-irradiated alias would also return but, until now, Sony and Marvel hadn't publicly acknowledged that Hulk would be part of proceedings.
However, this tie-in product, coupled with the recent unveiling of a Brand New Day LEGO set not only confirmed those rumors were true, but also that Spider-Man will battle Hulk's savage form at some point. Indeed, the Hasbro Pulse Hulk collectible comes packaged with a webbing accessory that can be attached to Hulk's hands, which indicates Spidey will need to turn on his fellow Avenger to stop him rampaging across New York City.
Why this will happen is, publicly at least, unclear. However, considering we haven't seen Savage Hulk since Avengers: Infinity War, it'll take something — or someone — of great power to unlock that fury-driven, unstoppable Hulk persona from causing widespread destruction.
Why Marvel fans are excited about a Spider-Man and Hulk encounter
Interestingly, it's not a likely duel between the wallcrawler and The Hulk that's piqued fans' curiosity, but the description accompanying the new Hulk figurine.
"Spider-Man is surprised to see the Hulk again after so much time has passed, and has no idea if Hulk will remember him," it says. "Will Hulk be a friend or foe?"
It's the first part of that description that's fans excited. Why? Because it might be teasing the live-action adaptation of a fan-favorite Marvel comic book panel.
In The Immortal Hulk: Great Power Volume 1 #1, which takes place years after the controversial Spider-Man: One New Day storyline, aka when Peter Parker traded his marriage to make everyone forgot he was Spider-Man, Hulk tells Parker that he never forgot he was Spider-Man. That's because, at the time that the demon lord Mephisto cast the spell that made the world forget Parker was a superhero, Banner was affected by said magic, but Hulk — who, in the comics, is considered to be a separate entity to Banner — wasn't impacted.
With Spider-Man: No Way Home loosely adapting One More Day's storyline, and with Brand New Day drawing inspiration from its comic book namesake that followed, some believe Spidey's next Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) project will recreate this moment. Well, as long as the eponymous hero finds way to calm Hulk down.
"Oh s**t, are we actually getting that one scene?" BrockPurdytheGoat420 wrote on Reddit. "I do think it makes a lot of sense," LTM438 replied. "The Hulk is obviously an alter, but Bruce's brain also literally physically transforms when Bruce Hulks out, which is, I would assume, why Bruce never remembers any of it."
"I would love this," Unique_Unorque agreed, before Wack_photgraphy added: "I f*****g hope so. It would be badass. We haven't seen Hulk 'hulk [out]' in a long time. It would be nice if he had touching moment with Peter, as well as all the carnage that may occur."
There are others, though, unconvinced that this scene will play out.
In the same Reddit that the above comments were pulled from, individuals point out that Brand New Day will technically be the first time that Parker and Banner have met in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Sure, they were both present at Tony Stark's funeral in Avengers: Endgame, but they've never directly interacted as their superhero alter-egos, so, how would The Hulk know Parker is Spider-Man?
It's a valid argument that would certainly prevent the aforementioned comic book scene being recreated in Spider-Man 4. While I'm in the camp of those who'd love to see this translated from page to screen, then, I can't see it happening for the above reason. Here's hoping I'm wrong, though!
For more on the first MCU movie of the year, find out everything we know so far about Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
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