Spider-Man: Brand New Day hid a major Marvel Comics antagonist in plain sight, and his existence has only just been uncovered in the movie's subtitles. Despite being packed with Marvel Comics juggernauts like Punisher, Hulk, and Jean Grey, Brand New Day mostly opted for deeper cuts from Spider-Man's lore. The movie packed in obscure villains such as Boomerang, Tarantula, and Ramrod, with Tombstone and Scorpion being the only major antagonistic additions.
Fans who have caught subtitled screenings of Spider-Man: Brand New Day have reported that M.J.'s boyfriend, played by Ahsoka star Eman Esfandi, is named Paul in the open/closed captions (via @thinkerjackpot). The naming is a clear reference to Paul Rabin, an almost universally hated character who was just introduced in 2022 as a new love interest for MJ during her separation from Peter Parker.
Brand New Day only gave Paul around a minute of screentime as he attended Ned and MJ's housewarming party and sent Tom Holland's Peter Parker into a spiral when he kissed her. Esfandi was simply credited in Brand New Day as "The Boyfriend," effectively stripping him of any identity or character of his own.
Interestingly, director Destin Daniel Cretton recently confirmed to Collider that Brand New Day's first cut was around 2 hours and 50 minutes. One has to wonder if any of that extra 20 minutes or so of footage featured more Paul, expanding on their relationship troubles that were only hinted at.
At one point, MJ mentioned that he had accused her of being "withholding" in the past, and let out a giggle when Peter said that it "sounds like your boyfriend is kind of a jerk" (no bias there, of course). However, in the brief minute they appear together at Ned and MJ's housewarming party, there is no sign of such problems.
Before Brand New Day, it was widely theorized that MJ's boyfriend would be revealed as one of the movie's secret masked villains, such as Boomerang or Tarantula. Of course, that proved to be completely false, as both were skimmed through even quicker than Paul, appearing in just one shot of a montage each.
MJ & Paul's Comic Relationship Spells Trouble for Her MCU Love Life
Paul is the son of Benjamin Rabin, an obscure villain better known as Emissary, who trapped Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson in an alternate world where time moved faster with the help of the Mayan god Wayeb. After Peter escaped that world, MJ and Paul were trapped together for four years (just a short time on Earth-616) and grew close, forming a relationship that continued after their escape.
Marvel Comics only recently delighted fans by killing off Paul Rabin in Venom #256, a recent run in which MJ has bonded with the iconic symbiote. The issue even doubled down on Paul's insignificance in his final moments, as he told MJ that he didn't matter and never did; a sentiment that Brand New Day undeniably echoed by failing to give him a name, outside of the subtitles.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day left it rather open-ended whether Zendaya's MJ had recovered her memories of Peter Parker, but there were undeniably clues that she had started to remember her ex-boyfriend. As of now, it certainly seems MJ and Paul are still together, although even if they are, it almost certainly won't last long.
Even though MJ broke up with Paul before his death, she has yet to rekindle her relationship with Peter Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man comics, and there is no sign of that changing anytime soon. Fans can only hope that the MCU doesn't keep them apart for quite as long as they have on the page.
