Marvel Studios included arguably the least-popular Spider-Man villain ever as part of the MCU. Spider-Man is known for having one of the greatest rogues' galleries in the history of comics, many of whom have been brought to life in live action over the last 24 years. This continued to manifest in the MCU's most recent live-action Spider-Man movie, which even included a hidden Easter egg that many may not have noticed.
Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures included a reference to the classic Marvel Comics villain, Screwball, in 2026's Spider-Man: Brand New Day (shared by X user @WilliamD1123). As teased in reports about footage from the movie before its release, Jacob Batalon's Ned Leeds is seen with a massive crime board in his apartment when he re-meets Tom Holland's Peter Parker at his party. This board is filled with criminals, police reports, new clippings, and more that Ned uses to try to figure out the web-slinger's identity after Doctor Strange's spell made the world forget about Peter Parker.
In the bottom left corner is a photo of a social media profile for a user named Screwball, who appears to be an aspiring social media star. While nobody follows her account, she describes herself as a streamer who is "on the road to 3 million followers."
In the comics, Screwball made her debut in Amazing Spider-Man #599 in July 2008, created by Dan Slott and artist Marcos Martín. She is described as the first live-streaming supervillain," operating as an influencer who records her crimes and fights to try to gain internet fame in New York City.
Over the last few years, she rose to new levels of fame in Insomniac Games' Marvel's Spider-Man, which was released as a PlayStation exclusive in 2018 and had a remastered version in 2020. She was depicted just the way she is in the comics, luring Spider-Man to crimes to get herself on camera with him and make herself more famous.
Due to her exaggerated and loud personality, many fans see her as one of the most annoying villains in Marvel history. As of writing, she has not been used in a live-action Spider-Man project before, with this Easter egg being her first mention.
Could Screwball Have a Bigger Role in the MCU?
Looking at this Easter egg, the question is whether the nod to Screwball could evolve into a larger role for this despised supervillain wannabe. Now that she is confirmed to exist in the greater MCU and Spider-Man universe, the stage could be set for her to make Peter Parker's life even more annoying as he reestablishes himself as one of New York's heroes.
By the end of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the public is fully supportive of Spider-Man after he saves and redeems Sadie Sink's Jean Grey, the fourth Spider-Man film's main villain. From here, his path is fairly wide open, as there is not a direct tease for what could come to be in a potential fifth solo movie.
The post-credits scene for this movie seemed to tease something tied back to the multiverse, whether it be Battleworld in Avengers: Secret Wars or something referencing the greater Spider-Verse. While Screwball could certainly show up as a supporting villain (or even a bigger bad) in Spider-Man 5, there are no signs pointing to that being the case right now. Even so, with how wide open the story left off, there could still be room for her.
Richard Nebens joined The Direct in March 2020, now serving as the site's Senior Writer. He started his journalism career as a hobby in 2019 and is passionate about sharing news and stories from the entertainment industry, especially comic book movies, comedy, and sci-fi. Richard looks to expand his knowledge about movies and TV every day, and he is eager to stay locked into the latest releases and breaking news at every opportunity.
