Peter Parker Faces a 25-Year-Old Crisis in Spider-Man Brand New Day

JAKARTA - Spider-Man is back to save New York City and fight the Hulk in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. However, Tom Holland's latest film is not just filled with the typical Marvel action. Behind his mask, Peter Parker is facing a life change that feels very human.

USA Today, quoted Friday, July 31, reported that Spider-Man: Brand New Day puts Peter in a difficult phase. He is great as a superhero, but his personal life is at a low point. He stays away from his friends, sees them live their lives through social media, and feels more and more alien to himself.

The crisis of the 25s usually refers to a confused, lonely, or uncertain phase when a person starts to enter young adulthood. In this film, that phase comes to Peter in a more complicated way.

Director Destin Daniel Cretton, who previously worked on Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, called this film Peter Parker's coming-of-age story.

"For me, this has always been Peter Parker's ultimate coming-of-age story," Cretton said of Spider-Man's figure when not wearing a mask.

According to Cretton, Peter is at a time when life begins to feel much more complicated. Things that used to seem simple, like distinguishing right from wrong, suddenly turn gray.

"You feel a real loss for the first time, a real tragedy for the first time, a real loneliness for the first time," Cretton said.

He calls Brand New Day a story about maturity. For Cretton, the way to survive big changes is to learn to lean on the people who keep one's feet on the ground.

The three previous Spider-Man films follow Peter's high school years in Queens. He grew up with MJ played by Zendaya and his best friend, Ned Leeds played by Jacob Batalon. On the other hand, he also fights super villains, both alone and with the Avengers.

However, the ending of Spider-Man: No Way Home in 2021 left Peter in a difficult position. The magic spell to overcome the multiverse crisis made the world forget about him, including MJ and Ned.

Cretton said Peter's condition felt close to the experience of many people who have felt alone after going through college, breaking up, not having a job, or feeling like life has no foothold.

According to Cretton, the fact that no one knows Peter is an easy starting point for the character.

One of the early scenes of Brand New Day shows that irony. Peter gets the keys to the city as Spider-Man for his heroic act. However, he is seen turning the keys around alone while washing clothes.

When MJ and Ned return to New York City as roommates after graduating from MIT, Peter secretly comes to their new house party. He sees Ned is still obsessed with Spider-Man and is making a Spidey tracking app. Meanwhile, MJ has moved on with a new boyfriend.

"There's no worse feeling than feeling invisible," Cretton said.

Peter's problems are increasing. He also faces a mysterious new supervillain. At the same time, his body is starting to change.

The spider DNA inside him began to evolve and take over his human side. The change overloaded his super senses. He also fainted and woke up in a strange web structure. Peter felt no longer in tune with his own powers.

Cretton uses body horror to illustrate Peter's physical changes. Body horror is a storytelling style that highlights disturbing body changes, usually to show fear, alienation, or a loss of control over oneself.

"Teen Wolf was my favorite show when I was young," Cretton said.

According to the director, physical changes that cannot be controlled become a powerful way to describe the process of growing up.

"In many ways, Peter is fighting against change in this film. He's trying to control his life. And part of his journey is learning to accept that change is inevitable," Cretton said.

Brand New Day also gives a large space to mental health issues. USA Today noted that this theme began to be felt in other Marvel films. Last year, Thunderbolts also discussed loneliness, trauma, and depression.

"I like to watch big, spectacular movies when there's something in them that really relates to me and my personal experience," Cretton said.

"I don't know if it will be a fad, but I hope it continues," he said.