YOU MUST REMEMBER THIS

In 2021’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” after his identity is revealed as Peter Parker, Spider-Man recruits Dr. Strange for help. Strange casts a spell that goes wrong and it results in dangerous foes re- appearing, including the Green Goblin.

The story also famously brought back the two previous Spideys, Tobey MaGuire and Andrew Garfield. But in the trio’s battle with the resurrected demons, Peter’s Aunt May is killed and her death continues to resonate in this newest chapter, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.”

Dr. Strange’s corrective spell that ends No Way Home erases the memory of Peter Parker as Spider-Man worldwide, but that means both his love, MJ (Zendaya), and best bud Ned (Jacob Batalon) are also affected. So, Brand New Day begins with Peter still alone, missing his closest friends and mourning the loss of Aunt May.

While Peter is free to resume his anonymous web work as New York City’s most famous crime fighter, the one-sided aspect of that work begins to affect him physically, compromising his half-human, half arachnid DNA.

He suffers massive headaches and loses control of his web-spinning.

So, he seeks out the advice of Dr. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo aka The Hulk). Banner agrees he could regain his equilibrium with an inhibitor.

And I would have been fine if that is the only contribution to this story from Banner, but you can’t have the alter ego of The Hulk without actually seeing the green monster in action. This is, after all, an MCU production and the producers know their fan base.

So, there’s a scene where the Hulkster gets unleashed and he practically pulverizes Spider-Man. Frankly, the battle between the two seemed unnecessary and contributed to Brand New Day being, in my opinion, overlong.

And while we’re talking cameos, Brand New Day also features Jon Bernthal’s The Punisher, who apparently is a kind of brother-in-arms and mentor to Parker. While I don’t count myself as a devoted fan of Marvel, I don’t recall the two characters having met before.

The main story involves an unseen force that can inhabit the minds of perfect strangers through a process called here “the jump.” And due to the crazy sci-fi physics unique to this story, the jump must occur within 33 feet of the intended victim.

I won’t reveal the source of the jumping because that’s best left to the discovery of moviegoers. And I hate spoilers anyway.

But for me, the best aspect of Brand New Day is the desperate longing Peter Parker feels for his besties, once he discovers where they are. Throughout, he faces a heart-breaking dilemma: does he try to get them to discern his true self and face the consequences of a years-long friendship drought, or keep a vast and lonely vigil?

It’s not hard to figure that with more Spider-Man stories allegedly in the pipeline, true love ultimately wins out.

After all, a kiss is still a kiss.