Spider-Man: Brand New Day introduces several new characters, most of whom are identified during spoken dialogue. One important figure is never named aloud, but closed captions may reveal that he is a controversial character from Spider-Man’s wider comic-book history.
Who is MJ’s unnamed boyfriend?
Following the events of No Way Home, Peter Parker has been erased from everyone’s memory. MJ has moved forward with her life, including a new relationship with a boyfriend played by Ahsoka actor Eman Esfandi.
MJ says her new partner believes she is “withholding” in the relationship, although the film gives him very little screen time beyond one scene. His most significant moment comes when Peter sees him kissing MJ at a house party, sending Peter into an emotional downward spiral.
The end credits identify him only as “The Boyfriend”, and nobody addresses him by name during the film. Viewers who watched with closed captions, however, are reporting that the movie’s subtitles do give him a name: Paul.
Is the film introducing Paul Rabin?
That name has particular significance for readers familiar with the Spider-Man comics. Paul Rabin became Mary Jane Watson’s long-term boyfriend after her relationship with Peter ended, making him a character pretty universally hated in the Marvel fandom.
MJ and Paul eventually separated in the comics, but Marvel later also killed him off. Many fans welcomed the end of the relationship, viewing Paul as an unwanted barrier between Peter and MJ. The film’s apparent use of the name suggests that a version of the character could now occupy a similar role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
What happens to Peter and MJ?
By the conclusion of Brand New Day, Peter and MJ are at least friends. MJ accepts that they may have shared a relationship before Doctor Strange’s magical mind wipe, but she no longer has those memories or the feelings connected to them.
Fans are also debating whether Jean Grey may have unknowingly disturbed the minds of MJ and Peter’s best friend, Ned, allowing fragments of those buried memories to resurface. MJ is shown holding a necklace Peter gave her while sitting on the roof where the pair once spent time before their lives changed.
The unresolved relationship could create consequences in the next Spider-Man film. Paul may return and eventually receive an explicit on-screen introduction, although MCU fans may be no more welcoming towards him as MJ’s romantic rival than comic readers have been.
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