Spider-Man: Brand New Day opened late last month to strong reviews. Up until this most recent film, a fair critique of the Tom Holland Spider-Man series has been a lack of depth in both plot and character development. The third installment, No Way Home, finally required Peter to make sacrifices.
This fourth entry shows what happens when Spider-Man misunderstands his responsibility. In doing so, it reveals an important truth about the human person and our relationship with others.
Brand New Day picks up after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Everyone has forgotten Peter Parker. Devastated by the loss of Aunt May, Peter has decided that the problem has been allowing people to care for him, and his only responsibility is to be Spider-Man.
To Peter, his only value is what he can, as a superhero, offer New York City. But as Pope John Paul II wrote, “A person’s rightful due is to be treated as an object of love, not an object of use.” This is true even for Spider-Man. The…