Spoilers for Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
Marvel stories have never used just one system to measure power. The X-Men have their omega-level classification, while the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe offers another way to compare heroes and villains. In Spider-Man: Brand New Day, however, one joke creates a simpler scale for the problems facing the Marvel Cinematic Universe: “baby potatoes” and “big potatoes”.
The line may sound disposable, but it helps explain where Peter Parker sits as the MCU moves towards Avengers: Doomsday. It also shows how a familiar street-level hero can become involved in threats far beyond his usual neighbourhood.
Yelena’s potato scale
Peter Parker, played by Tom Holland, encounters an enemy who can move between people, read their minds and control their actions. The threat is clearly beyond his experience, so he seeks advice from Yelena Belova, played by Florence Pugh.
Yelena has assumed her sister Natasha Romanoff’s Black Widow identity and now works with the New Avengers. In her sauna-office, she explains that Peter’s opponent is not using the psychological conditioning associated with the Red Room Academy, where Yelena and Natasha were trained. Instead, the ability resembles demonic possession.
That is serious trouble for Spider-Man, but Yelena describes it as “baby potatoes” beside the problems facing the New Avengers. Her comparison turns an informal difference between Marvel’s heroes into a useful measure of escalating danger.
From friendly neighbourhood problems to global crises
Marvel has traditionally separated its heroes by the scale of the threats they handle. Luke Cage protects Harlem, Daredevil operates around Hell’s Kitchen and Iron Fist guards Chinatown. Spider-Man’s base in Queens places him in the same general category, reflected in his familiar title: “your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man”.
Peter’s film history has repeatedly pushed him beyond that role. His battle with Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming is comparatively grounded, but Tony Stark’s technology raises the stakes in Spider-Man: Far From Home, which expands the action to Europe and places Peter closer to Iron Man’s level.
Stark first recruits Peter to fight Captain America in Captain America: Civil War. He later supplies the nanotechnology suit that enables Peter to travel into space in Avengers: Infinity War. Even Spider-Man: No Way Home, despite focusing on classic Spider-Man villains and multiple versions of Peter, becomes a crisis of a much higher order once Doctor Strange and the multiverse enter the story.
For more coverage of gaming, entertainment and arcade culture, visit the RETROCADE Arcade Blog.
Brand New Day starts small
At the beginning of Brand New Day, Peter returns to a more grounded kind of superhero work. He has capable technology that he built himself, but not Tony Stark’s vast resources or a trusted “man in the chair”. Instead, he assists police and confronts gangsters and smaller supervillains, including Scorpion, played by Michael Mando, and Tombstone, played by Marvin Jones III.
The scale changes when Yelena learns more about the enemy. Jean Grey, played by Sadie Sink, can control the Hulk, played by Mark Ruffalo. That makes her an exceptionally dangerous opponent and turns Peter’s problem into what Yelena calls “slightly bigger potatoes”.
Frank Castle, played by Jon Bernthal, is another hero associated with street-level conflicts. He attempts to help Spider-Man stop Jean, then deeply regrets discovering that the plan requires him to fight the strongest Avenger. Castle understands immediately that he has entered a battle far beyond his usual weight class.
Peter embraces his next evolution
Peter ultimately does not need a stronger hero to rescue him. During the film, he experiences a form of spider puberty, developing organic webbing and even more acute senses. He initially tries to suppress the changes, but Jean becomes still more powerful while held by Damage Control.
Jean develops telekinesis and can control the minds of everyone within a one-kilometre radius. Faced with that overwhelming advantage, Peter removes his inhibitor chip and accepts his new abilities. He uses them to unleash huge quantities of webbing and fight ninjas and Damage Control soldiers with heightened reflexes.
What this means for the MCU
Spider-Man will not appear in Avengers: Doomsday, but he is expected to return for Secret Wars. With the entire multiverse at risk, that story represents the ultimate version of Yelena’s “big potatoes”.
Peter is now prepared to confront that scale of danger. The film may also be positioning him to pass the friendly-neighbourhood mantle to a new hero, potentially Miles Morales.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is in cinemas now.
Want more screen-filling entertainment at home? Browse RETROCADE’s arcade machines, explore compact bartop arcades, or use the arcade machine buying guide to compare options.
Leave a Reply