Spider-Man: Brand New Day Was Not A Great Look For The MCU's New Avengers Team

Published Aug 21, 2026, 9:00 PM EDT

Nicholas Raymond is an author and journalist based out of Alabama, where he proudly roots for the Alabama Crimson Tide football team. A graduate of the University of Montevallo, he has a degree in mass communication with a concentration in journalism.

Warning: Spoilers for Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Spider-Man: Brand New Day was an incredible debut for Sadie Sink's Jean Grey, but perhaps not the best start for the New Avengers team. Formed at the end of Thunderbolts*, the New Avengers are comprised of Yelena Belova's Black Widow, Winter Soldier, Red Guardian, Ghost, U.S. Agent, and Sentry, though the latter's membership status is admittedly uncertain. With the exception of Sentry, the characters fought together throughout the events of Thunderbolts*, but have yet to go into the field as the New Avengers onscreen.

That said, they have been active in the MCU, presumably battling all sorts of threats (and a lawsuit from Sam Wilson's Captain America). They'll be back on the big screen in Avengers: Doomsday, which is confirmed to feature all six characters, who will join up with a multitude of other heroes for the big battle against Doctor Doom. So while the New Avengers won't be seen in action until then, they were represented in some form via Yelena Belova's role Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

The New Avengers didn't participate in the battles that unfolded in the new MCU movie, but despite their lack of involvement, Brand New Day was able to offer some early insight into their modus operandi. And what it revealed is not a very positive sign in terms of how effective they are as successors to Iron Man and Captain America's Avengers team.

Yelena Belova Was Wrong About Jean Grey Being "Small Potatoes"

When Peter Parker first turned to Yelena Belova about the mysterious enemy facing Damage Control in Brand New Day, he was told that the New Avengers would not intervene. Her reasons, which were reiterated throughout the film, pertained to the problem being something that she labeled "small potatoes." In her estimation, this is the nature of the types of threats Spider-Man normally handles, whereas the New Avengers are more invested in "big potatoes."

Yelena isn't wrong in the sense that Spider-Man is more of a street-level hero, while the Avengers are on a higher level, taking on much bigger and more powerful villains. And on the surface, the Damage Control situation did feel initially as if it fit with the parameters of most street-level Spider-Man stories. While she couldn't have known that Jean is one of the strongest mutants on the planet, her own stated theories poked a huge hole in her logic.

It's important to note that it was Yelena herself who correctly identified what was happening in Brand New Day as a case of "possession." Her intuition was proven right, but the real problem here is that "possession" in the MCU should not be perceived as a lesser threat or something beneath the purview of the New Avengers.

What Jean Grey ultimately did with her mind-hopping powers is proof of how destructive such a power can be. She took control of Smart Hulk, thus demonstrating the potential that such an ability holds in the MCU. Earth-616 is loaded with immensely powerful individuals who could be deadly weapons if they fall under the mental control of someone evil. In this sense, the New Avengers greatly underestimated the threat posed by Jean Grey.

The New Avengers' Poor Judgment Could Set Up A Bigger Conflict With Sam Wilson's Avengers

Of course, without Yelena's decision, Brand New Day might not have been Spider-Man's story at all. But even if her choice was necessary for the sake of the plot, that's not to say it won't matter in the grand scheme of things. They could be relevant to any conflict that they may have with Sam Wilson in Avengers: Doomsday. It's already known that the two are engaged in a legal battle over accusations of copyright infringement against Yelena's team.

Sam seeing them as an illegitimate Avengers team may only be one facet of his apparent disapproval of the group. Red Guardian spoke of themselves as "anti-heroes" in Thunderbolts*, which underscores the contrast between their reputations and that of the characters who normally make up an Avengers roster. And if they're exercising poor judgment, that's one more thing Sam Wilson could use against them if the two sides clash in Doomsday.

It's not hard to imagine a scenario where Sam, or perhaps another hero, chastises the New Avengers by addressing the fact that it was Spider-Man and the Punisher who took care of the Jean Grey situation in Spider-Man: Brand New Day's ending. Knowing that the team received an advanced warning about the threat from Spider-Man would likely leave an even worse impression on Sam.

The New Avengers' Problems Make Them Massive Underdogs In Avengers: Doomsday

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The idea that the New Avengers have questionable decision-making isn't surprising after the events of Thunderbolts*, where their comedic bickering and differences dominated much of the story. However, they've since become a proper team, so there was naturally a lot of room for improvement. And it's certainly true that they may have grown into a team, but doubts about them could linger into Avengers: Doomsday.

In terms of the narrative, this could go a long way toward establishing the New Avengers as underdogs in Doomsday. In the first trailer, Thor makes a point of noting that the assembled heroes aren't as powerful as the ones he fought beside in the previous films. Ultimately, Thor is acknowledging that he has to lean on a much weaker group of heroes to defeat a threat supposedly greater than Thanos.

Making the situation all the more challenging would be the notion that not only are they less powerful than their predecessors, but they may also lack their wisdom and courage. That could make the New Avengers an interesting team of heroes to follow in Avengers: Doomsday as they work to save the world, even while others believe they'll never measure up to the original squad.

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  Thor

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  Vanessa Kirby

  Sue Storm / Invisible Woman

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  Johnny Storm / Human Torch

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  Ebon Moss-Bachrach

  Ben Grimm / The Thing