The trailers for Spider-Man: Brand New Day - and Brand New Day's movie synopsis - have added fuel to this fire over the months, since we now know someone is playing with the minds and memories of New York's citizens, which would certainly make a lot of sense if the telepath Jean Grey were to theoretically be within the story itself.
Though it seems likely we won't know whether Jean Grey is part of the film until it releases in cinemas, one theory about how the character could fit in the upcoming MCU movie would explain why and how Jean is both in Brand New Day and in a seemingly antagonistic role within its story, by revealing that the character is actually trying to help Spider-Man with his other major problem in the film.
Jean Grey Being Spider-Man: Brand New Day's "Villain" Because Of Spider-Man's Mutation & Its Dangers Would Make Perfect Sense
As it stands, Spider-Man: Brand New Day's story revolves both around Peter becoming a more seemingly isolated hero, and him mutating further, as evidenced by his eyes going all-black and the various references to his spider-powers and DNA changing further that are sprinkled throughout both of the Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailers.
With this in mind, it would make sense for Jean Grey to stand against Spider-Man not because she has evil intent, but rather because she is trying to get Peter to reveal his secret identity to her and to help him and prevent his mutation from either making him a danger to others, or to himself - as it may now have developed to the point where he'd be more traceable by those who are able to use their powers to look for mutants.
A misunderstanding like this would make a lot of sense on a few different fronts, since a young Jean Grey would be very capable of escalating a situation into conflict where it perhaps didn't need to be, and an isolated Spider-Man who's become careful about trusting others would be inclined to misunderstand a situation of this kind as someone trying to learn who he is to repeat the situation he just sacrificed everything to escape in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Given one of the key questions around whether Jean Grey can fit into the story of Spider-Man: Brand New Day is why on earth the usually kind hero would be causing chaos around New York and getting into scrapes with Spider-Man himself, this theory would present solid explanations for both. This would also further justify the movie's teased premise being about Peter learning to let others in again, if it's indeed revealed his antagonist in the film didn't have as malicious an intent as he initially believed.
Pitting Jean Grey Against Another MCU Hero Would Be A Perfect Way To Set Up The Franchise's Later Conflicts
With the universe-destroying incursions set up as a key part of the Multiverse Saga, it wouldn't be surprising if we saw at least a little hero vs hero conflict in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, even if this is ultimately only to provide a small dose of fan service before any battling groups realize their goals are aligned. As such, pitting Jean Grey and Spider-Man against one another could help set the stage for future inter-hero conflicts not that far down the line.
In terms of the MCU's big picture, having Jean Grey and Spider-Man face off against each other would also help establish that the X-Men's powers and at least currently concealed nature can place them in unexpected conflict with their fellow heroes, as MCU-only audiences will be less familiar with this concept and the comic history of matters like the many X-Men vs Avengers fights.
Perhaps more importantly, having Jean Grey ultimately be revealed to be a hero in her own right would not only be a solid plot twist for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but would also tee up how misunderstood the character can be, and how her immense powers have to be handled with the utmost care to avoid having negative consequences or being misinterpreted as a hostile act when used, which itself would effectively set up Grey's story, arc, and likely future battles all in one exciting fell swoop.
1 hour ago
1
English (US) ·