Spider-Man: Brand New Day's new poster puts the spotlight on a returning group of villains introduced in Marvel's Netflix TV shows. Tom Holland's fourth Spider-Man movie will elevate the stakes by introducing a plethora of villains set to spell some trouble against Peter Parker, including Scorpion, Tarantula, Boomerang, the Department of Damage Control (DODC), and The Hand. The latter's comeback in Brand New Day is intriguing as the Defenders already defeated them in Netflix's 2017 Marvel crossover event, and the fact that they appear stronger than ever suggests massive ramifications for the MCU's street-level storylines.
Sony Pictures released a new Spider-Man: Brand New Day poster at this year's CinemaCon, highlighting the climactic clash between Tom Holland's titular web-slinger against ninjas of The Hand. The poster showcases Spider-Man leaping into action as he fights at least six ninjas of The Hand. In the MCU, The Hand is an ancient ninja organization that operates as a criminal syndicate focused on drug trafficking, assassinations, and resurrection rituals.
The fact that The Hand received its own Brand New Day poster has led fans to believe the group could serve as the film's main villain, pulling the strings from behind to take down one of their biggest threats: Spider-Man.
The trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day already spoiled that an unmasked Peter Parker will engage in a high-stakes fight against The Hand inside a prison.
The fact that Peter can be seen fighting them without his mask suggests that The Hand either already knows his secret identity or this is the moment they discover the truth, making things more complicated for the web-slinger.
The Hand's more public presence in Spider-Man: Brand New Day could be seen as a power grab for the organization. Given that Daredevil: Born Again's Sheila River, Mayor Fisk's advisor, is confirmed to appear in Spider-Man 4 and can be seen awarding Spider-Man the key to the city. This suggests that Fisk is out of power during the movie's events, leaving a gaping hole in New York's power vacuum and a criminal underbelly ripe for whoever wants to fill it.
This power vacuum strongly suggests that The Hand returned to the shadows to eliminate threats like Spider-Man and the Punisher, so no one would stop them in their takeover of New York's sinister criminal underbelly.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day will feature the first-ever team-up between Tom Holland's Spider-Man and Jon Berthal's Frank Castle (Punisher) as they go up against street-level threats and, seemingly, Sadie Sink's mystery MCU character. Brand New Day will premiere in theaters on July 31.
What Happened to The Hand Before Spider-Man: Brand New Day?
The Hand was introduced as a recurring antagonist in Netflix's Daredevil Season 1, running a major drug operation in New York led by Nobu Yoshioka. Wilson Fisk (Kingpin) formed an alliance with The Hand for his own operation, but their alliance eventually ended.
The Hand continued to spread its influence in Daredevil Season 2, positioning Elektra Natchios as its prophesied warrior, the Black Sky, and setting her up for a climactic clash with her lover, Matt Murdock. However, Daredevil and Elektra worked together to prevent The Hand's dominance from spreading in New York, but at the cost of Elektra's life.
The Hand, though, is like a cockroach that keeps coming back, and the group continued their schemes by targeting a different hero: Danny Rand. Iron Fist Season 1 showed the extent of The Hand's influence in New York, confirming that the organization infiltrated corporate structures while also revealing that they have plans to uncover more dragon bones in K'un-Lun.
The Defenders crossover event culminated The Hand's arc, revealing that their endgame involves digging up the dragon bones beneath Midland Circle to secure immortality and power, while also using a newly resurrected Elektra to lead their army.
Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist eventually stopped The Hand, destroying the building at Midland Circle and burying the group's leaders and operatives along with it.
This Midland Circle incident derailed the momentum of The Hand in New York, depleting their resources and forcing them into hiding because the Defenders are still around to protect the Big Apple if and when they show up.
The Hand's return in Spider-Man: Brand New Day could mean that they have gathered enough resources and operatives once again to restart their dominance in New York. It is now up to Spider-Man, Punisher, and possibly the Hulk to prevent their rise once again, while the possibly assembled Defenders in Daredevil: Born Again Season 3 may pick up the conflict on the small screen to finish the job.
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