Why Spider-Man’s New Life Hits Hard In Brand New Day

SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY — FULL SPOILER REVIEW

Spider-Man: Brand New Day gives Peter Parker a fresh start—but that doesn't mean things get any easier.

After No Way Home, Peter is alone, forgotten by the people he loves, and fully committed to being Spider-Man. We go FULL SPOILERS on what that new life means and whether Brand New Day really feels like the beginning of a new era for Tom Holland's Spider-Man.

We break down:

THE PUNISHER
Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle gets plenty of screen time, laughs, and unexpected heart. We dig into his strange friendship with Peter and why Frank becomes such an important part of Peter's story.

JEAN GREY
Sadie Sink's big reveal as Jean Grey changes the conversation completely. We break down her role, her powers, and what her arrival means for the MCU's future.

THE CRAZY STUFF
Hulk, Damage Control, The Hand, Scorpion, Peter's organic webbing, and that wild post-credit scene all get put under the microscope.

PETER PARKER'S NEW LIFE
What's really going on with Peter's life after No Way Home? We talk about his missing day job, the Staten Island connection, his relationship with MJ, and the very practical question: how is Peter paying for all of this Spider-Man tech?

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Transcript

Welcome And Life Updates

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome all you web slingers to episode 172 of Project Geekology and this week we are gonna be covering the new Spider-Man movie Spider-Man Brand New Day. But before we get to that, I am one half year host, Anthony, and I can't do it alone because this week I am being joined with Rich.

SPEAKER_01 0:24

Uh happy to be here with you, Ant this week. Really excited to talk about this movie. Shout out to our the people uh that were taken away by damage control, Dakota, and Imogen. You guys live on in our thoughts and prayers. And uh, you know, shout out to SS.

SPEAKER_00 0:40

Yes, shout out to them. They will be back one day. Hopefully, at least uh Dakota soon. But before we get into the discussion, let's just briefly let everybody know what we have been up to. I'll start off. Honestly, I haven't really had too much going on. Obviously, I saw Spider-Man. I have been doing the same thing, gaming, same games that I've been gaming recently. So nothing too insane. I don't think I have any well, I know I I know you've got some stuff coming up, so I will um honestly to tell you the truth, man, I really don't have much going on. I'm gonna shoot it over to you, Rich.

SPEAKER_01 1:27

Uh let's see. So today's Monday, we're taping a little early, because I'm gonna be heading out to Cleveland and Pittsburgh. You know, uh I'm not sure if you could say that we uh picked the right time to follow the Mets on a road trip. I mean, like, so what we like to do sometimes is uh we're you know, we're trying to do the visit all the ballparks as a family. We have this uh map of the United States, and I have like a spot with like for with like little baseballs, and every time I go I fill it in. And Charlie and I have these matching water bottles that get these it's really cool actually, they give you these stickers, and you would think that they would like come off the bottle, but they're these like special kind of they're these special plastic ones or something, vinyl, so they don't wash off. So like you can like put it under the faucet and nothing happens to it. So uh we're up to like uh I think six stadiums so far, so we're gonna hit up Cleveland and Pittsburgh. Uh we're also gonna take a look take uh probably the go to the rock and roll hall of fame and just kind of take in the sights. So we usually just pick a place, you know, I'll say like hey, maybe we can go here, and then uh we investigate what is going on in that area, and it just so happened that the Mets are gonna be in Cleveland and Pittsburgh is two hours away, so we're gonna actually drive. Uh so it should be uh should be pretty fun. I'm I'm looking forward to it. So that's why we're taping early today. Uh and also, let's see, since we talked, um I've gone to a lot of baseball games. Thankfully the Mets are, like I said, going away for a few days, so I actually have a break before I go back to another baseball game on Wednesday. Uh and then I got to see the Odyssey, and of course I got to see Spider-Man. So uh oh, and Game of Thrones is getting good. I mean, second to last game of uh House of the Dragon, I mean, uh got to see that. So, you know, it's summer, I'm not working right now, so I'll basically go to the movies whenever I'll watch, I'll just like binge stuff for no good reason. I watched the Joker movies that I don't really like with Walking Phoenix. I w I watched both of those. Like my wife walked in, she goes, What are you doing? This for the podcast? I was like, no, I mean it's just I've watched every other HBO um I went to HBO and basically watched every single Batman movie recently, because I just have the time. And then I was like, Well, might as well watch Joker. And then I remembered how much I disliked, especially the second one. I just don't really care for it. But that's really it. Uh just a lot of watching stuff, kind of enjoying my summer before the rude awakening in about two and a half weeks when I have to go back to work.

Summer Break And Teaching With Movies

SPEAKER_00 3:54

You know, honestly, to tell you the truth, bro, you are in one of the per very few professions that get that much time off. Most of us have to work the whole year. Yeah, I don't want to get in trouble for saying like like me. I don't get sabbaticals.

SPEAKER_01 4:10

I don't want to get I don't want to get in trouble with teacher people for saying this, but uh personally, I've heard there's like school systems or like, you know, in other countries where instead of like taking off for eight straight weeks, it's like every let's say ten weeks, they get a full two weeks off. And I like that idea a lot better, to be honest with you, because I'm not gonna lie to you, like I could go back to work now. I'm good. It's been a whole month, man. Like I've I've been off for a month, like it's too much time. And then by the time you go back, you have this like every teacher has it, where you're like scared that you don't know what you're doing anymore because you haven't worked for so long. You're like, oh god, can I do this anymore? Like, uh I don't know. Uh I would personally like actually a different model, but it is what it is. I I do enjoy it. But the irony also is that it's so hot that I don't even want to do that much.

SPEAKER_00 5:02

I would enjoy the two months just because I run on uh Shikamaru energy, you know. I'd be like, this is a drag. Yeah I I want to say, give me my two months. I know there there are a lot of like school systems though that like they have to like either find work in the summer or they have to like do a setup where they put part of their pay or like they defer part of their pay for the summer. Yeah. So I know it's tough, but I mean y'all y'all don't do it to get paid, right? Y'all do it because you love it.

SPEAKER_01 5:40

Yeah, I mean, look, uh all jokes aside, I I get to talk about books that I like all day long, so I can't I really can't complain.

SPEAKER_00 5:47

You get to uh corrupt the youth with your love of all these nerdy things like Star Wars and by teaching Macbeth with Revenge of the Sith.

SPEAKER_01 5:58

Yeah, they're they're forced to watch like they have no option but to learn about the Jedi.

SPEAKER_00 6:04

That's dude. I had one class in high school that it was a history class, and the teacher taught with movies. And I mean, dude, like we watched stuff like Saving Private Ryan, like throughout, like, you know, for all throughout history, it was American history, and like he covered like and when we watched movies, he would cover like the the stuff that that it got wrong, and it just be like, alright, this is what it got right, and he would expand upon it. Dude, let me tell you, I think that was the only class that I ever got a hundred percent on a final. Nice. Like, I got a hundred percent on a final, just because like dude, I felt so I was like, yo, this is how I learn, man. So uh to be honest with you, like Rich, like if you if you're rolling in the old fatback CRT, you know, it's a class and it's movie day, bro. I'll be like, dude, I'm I'm on board.

SPEAKER_01 6:57

Oh man, I got I got a suite set up in my place. Uh it's cool. I got uh two flat screens on the board. Dang, no, no more uh no no more CRT on a cart. No, we're long past those days, thank goodness. I have every man. I have access to it.

SPEAKER_00 7:13

I can sign into my Disney. It's great. Dang, nice. We've been chopping it up enough. Let us let's jump into Spider-Man unless you have anything else you wanted to add.

SPEAKER_01 7:24

No, I'm excited to talk about the movie, man.

SPEAKER_00 7:27

Yes, yes.

Spoiler Warning And First Reactions

SPEAKER_00 7:28

So just to let you all know, this is gonna be a spoiler heavy discussion. I know it's brand new, but this episode, by the time you guys listen to it, would have been already a couple weeks that the movie had been out. But yes, this is going to be spoiler heavy. We are gonna be talking about all the men that are in it, all the mans, you know, like the Punisher, the you know, the Spider-Man, the X-Man. But yeah, man, I really enjoyed this one. I liked so I liked this one for different reasons. The last one I liked because it was like super fan service heavy. It had a good story, you know. It Tom Holland's Spider-Man got his his Uncle Ben moment, but with his Aunt May. And you know, in the last film. So in this one, you know, it he's living life after everything that happened in you know, No Way Home, his closest friends, they don't remember him, and you know, something that I was actually surprised with in this movie was how much Punisher we got. We got a lot of Punisher in this one.

SPEAKER_01 8:40

It was actually uh I mean I it's so weird because you know I also did just see The Odyssey, and you know, I've seen I you know I I've seen both of them twice. But man, I like I know this isn't the movie we're talking about, but John Burenthal as Menelaus was so weird because I'm like, that's the freaking punisher man. And like, you know, the truth is that John Burenthal is one of those actors who's essentially just John Burenthal in everything he does. He feels very similar, you know, he's that kind of gruff guy with a heart of gold.

SPEAKER_00 9:14

J Jason Statham and like uh every like how he's the same guy in every movie. Yeah, you know Um, but he he he does punish her really well. Oh no, he's great at it. He he's a really, really good punisher. I I love that he's got that, you know, like you know, he he like wise cracks a lot, he's got that loner complex that he's got because of you know his family. And it's crazy that I would say aside from the cop that he that Peter Parker speaks to, yeah, don't the Punisher is like his closest friend.

SPEAKER_01 9:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:48

It's like his closest friend because his actual friends don't know who he is.

SPEAKER_01 9:52

So did you see the series or the one-shot Marvel one shot?

SPEAKER_00 9:57

I did not, and I feel like it I it was something that I should have seen

Staten Island Mystery And Worldbuilding

SPEAKER_00 10:03

before the movie.

SPEAKER_01 10:03

Okay, so I'm interested.

SPEAKER_00 10:05

Like I'm glad I wanted to know your opinion on it because my wife So was it what so when they're referring to something that happened in Staten Island, was it that one shot?

SPEAKER_01 10:15

I believe that they're I believe that that's what they're referencing, yeah. So that's what's interesting to me is because like I'm okay with them having mentioned it like once or twice, right? But I feel like it became such a plot point.

SPEAKER_00 10:30

Like it became important. Like I actually want to go back and watch that and see exactly what happened because like they bring it up. I mean, obviously they say it in a jokingly way. Peter's just like, come on, like sta I I helped you in Staten Island, like can you not watch this individual over here, you know, MJ? And it's crazy, man. One of the and and this is just gonna be like the biggest Because like I'm not online.

SPEAKER_01 10:58

Let me correct myself here. It does not come from the special. The reference is completely off-screen.

SPEAKER_00 11:04

So it's interesting because I'm hoping we get that then.

SPEAKER_01 11:07

Yeah, because my my you know what you know what it would actually so I asked you because I wanted to know if you had seen that, because the truth is I don't think I actually like this idea that there's just they're just gonna reference stuff that we don't have to see. Right? Like, these are superheroes, right? They're always like, you know, they're they're very often dealing with stuff. I really like this idea that like, no, uh we don't need to see all of their antics, and that sometimes you know, like it it would be like when Han would be like, Oh yeah, it's like that, you know, that move you poured you know, uh oh wait, when I'm sorry. When Lando Carizian says, Oh, it's like that move you pulled at the battle of or they say guess they heard about that move I pulled at the Battle of Tanab. And like it's just a random battle that's referenced that we don't really know a lot about. And I'm okay with that. It is weird. The only thing that was weird is I think that like and they did it for comic timing, really, or com comedic effect to have Zendaya then also, or Mer sorry, MJ repeat. Well, you know, he did help you in Staten Island, right? Like if I feel like they if they had mentioned it once or twice, you're cool, right? But like I think once they made it like the third time, now you're like, wait, so what happened? So it's an interesting device. I don't know. I'm okay with not knowing, but at the same you know how I don't love flashbacks, right? So I wouldn't have wanted like a full like flashback thing of that. So I kind of do like this this off-screen reference. It makes the world feel bigger, right? It makes it feel like hey, there are also things that happen here that we don't always show you.

SPEAKER_00 12:47

And I I like that when they're in there, so like Peter, he's got you know, in this movie, his hormones are like changing like crazy, like his body's going through a growth, and he's becoming stronger, right? Like his arachnid side is becoming stronger, and you know, he's trying to like he has this like inhibitor that is you know, he's trying to like bring that that uh those hormones down, and I like it when they're in that like boat that the Punisher is living in. That he's like, Oh man, I gotta build this, I gotta do that, and he's like, I he's like, Oh, I got all this stuff here. And uh Peter's like, oh yeah, you you like you have an anti-static mat and you and you got this and you got that. He's like, I have all that ish. And then and he's like, Why would you have he's like why why would you have all that? And then MJ's like bombs, yeah, bingo.

Peter’s Isolation And The Money Question

SPEAKER_01 13:47

The one okay, so I do have a little this you know, might be like a a little minor complaint. But Peter, in every version of Peter Parker, he works. Right? Unless Tony just left him a boatload of money so he never has to pay rent. Why does it like I it's so weird that he doesn't have something? Why isn't he being, you know, uh a photographer for Daily Bugle?

SPEAKER_00 14:17

It's odd, but yeah, like they definitely don't get too much into his like personal life outside of like maybe like his relationships. But yeah, like they don't really yeah, they don't really cover stuff like that. Yeah, it it is interesting. To be honest with you, I feel like he could do he could make a lot more money building stuff like for people, like that not even like crazy tech. He could build, you know, say that somebody needs like something that's like super practical, but like, you know, kind of technical. But he would be, you know, he could build stuff, like he's smart. And I'm also wondering where is he getting this tech? Also, like he has to be paying for it somehow. I know he wouldn't be stealing it. That's the thing.

SPEAKER_01 15:02

So like he's gotta like I don't know. Look, again, I'm like picking something tiny, but it's just like that he's been so prominently like uh an employee, right? Like part of his story is also that like he's this big hero, but he gets treated like crap by his boss. So I I I feel like it would I feel like it wouldn't have taken that much of the movie out to even just like the I mean they showed in the older movies where he would like set up the cameras so he wasn't even out there. And that was like back in the Toby Maguire days when he was just like setting it up with like webs, you know. You could just show him like having an automatic drone system that like goes around and takes pictures. Something.

SPEAKER_00 15:49

Yeah, yeah. I mean, especially in the the Spider-Man video games, he has he like he has those like drones and stuff and it and then he has those like web grenades and stuff that he has. Like I like that that we we definitely 'cause like with Toby McGuire, we didn't he didn't have any like gadgets like that. No. I don't even remember if Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man had that, but like he was able he his gadgetry at least was like he made his web shooters.

SPEAKER_01 16:19

So like he was more sciencey than Peter. I mean I'd say you know he's definitely something like a scientist himself.

SPEAKER_00 16:26

Right. And then um Spider-Man he he's like he's friends with a with a cop. I think it's Gene DeWolf or something like that.

SPEAKER_01 16:35

Yeah, I know the characters in the video games as well.

SPEAKER_00 16:39

Right, right, yeah, yeah. So he has like a cop friend, but the way that she the casting made me feel like they were trying to go a certain direction, if that makes sense. Like she she looks like an Afro-Latina, like she's Afro-Latina. So I thought that they were trying to allude to a potential Miles, you know, but then it Oh she has the two children, so there was no Miles there, but I was like, I was like, oh, they they trying to like because she's in because like Miles' mu mother isn't like a cop, but the dad is. So I was like, oh maybe where they they're trying to like you know change it up where like in the MCU, you know, or at least in this earth, the mom is a cop, you know. So I I was like, I thought that's where they were going. You know, I I was like, oh man, are they doing a Miles? Like I was like looking for like every little little thing that it that I could see.

SPEAKER_01 17:34

So I think Miles is at the end though, possibly. The so the post credit scene, if you uh if you I've watched it three times now.

SPEAKER_00 17:43

Oh, I I talking about the post-credit scene where it's the uh Spidey app like looking for Spider-Man and it shows them elsewhere. Oh, so you think that oh, you know what? It did like a it did that purpley Okay, so I don't know if you remember in like in the works when they were like it's alluding to to Spider-Verse, like an actual like we're gonna get a real life um into the Spider-Verse. Yeah. Okay. Because I I I mean I could see that, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:11

I think that um what you see on the screen is it gets it has two moments where it kind of goes and it has like that same outline kind of coloring as when they were like zipping in and out of uh dip different universes.

SPEAKER_00 18:29

Oh, okay. See, I didn't even catch that.

SPEAKER_01 18:30

Like that glitch, that glitch, you know, like that they did before they went like if they didn't have the watch on, like it was kind of like that. So I wonder if it's maybe he's in this universe now.

SPEAKER_00 18:43

That that's a good question. I d like because I I didn't catch that, but I was like in my mind I was thinking like, oh, maybe they're setting him up to be in Doomsday.

SPEAKER_01 18:54

But that could also be I still think he's gonna I mean like they haven't somehow or like he hasn't been formally announced or some nonsense. But like let's be real, like there's no reason.

SPEAKER_00 19:06

Well, you know what? He c I feel like a huge a huge part of this movie kind of points to him potentially being in Doomsday.

Jean Grey Arrives And Mutants Teased

SPEAKER_00 19:18

And the fact that like the major antagonist turned a protagonist Dude, Gene Gray? Yeah, dude, we got Gene Gray in a Spider-Man movie. I was like, yo, what? I said, bro, we got an X-Men in this, a future X-Men in a Spider-Man movie. Like that what an introduction to like to bringing like their own version of a because like this is like the the first X-Men, right? Like, quote unquote, I mean I know it's Sony, but like MCU X-Men because everything everybody else was Fox.

SPEAKER_01 19:54

Yeah, except for you know, technically uh Miss Marvel was revealed at the end of her show that she's not actually an inhuman, but that she's a I didn't you know honestly, I didn't finish that. Yeah, and I'm I'm when I say to you that it's like at the end of it, you know, it's basically like Kamala, I found something out, you know, like actually your you know your DNA shows a mutation.

SPEAKER_00 20:23

And it's like oh okay and then it just like Yeah, I was thinking that she was like an inhuman, but no inhumans are like it's they're like a hybrid.

SPEAKER_01 20:32

Well, she's an inhuman in the comics, like this is a this is a new thing they're doing. So I mean I'm definitely interested to see what they do with that, but yeah, no, you're right. I mean, like in terms of X-Men, X-Men, if you're in terms of mutants, Gene Gray is the first in the MC. I can't unless you want to count you know, multiverse of madness and uh that but like in terms of like setting it proper, this is the first time.

SPEAKER_00 20:58

So I like I never I didn't have this movie spoiled for me when come going into the theater, so I didn't know about Gene Gray. So honestly, Jean Gray was like a pleasant surprise. I knew that Sadie Sink, who plays Gene Gray, was gonna be in the movie, but they alluded that she might have been like maybe like a Mary, like a different Mary Jane or like a diff like a spider woman.

SPEAKER_01 21:25

It's kinda alright, look, I just gotta say this. It's silly to me that like it wasn't part of the marketing, but that that's that's just me. But I think that it was real look, I know some people are like, well, you know, just because she has red hair doesn't mean she had to be Gene Grey, but it's like, yeah, but it definitely helps. Yeah, I mean it it does.

SPEAKER_00 21:47

Say what you want to do. Well, I mean, like you see Gene Gray, was it like in the comics, like red hair, old cartoon, red hair.

SPEAKER_01 21:54

Yeah, I mean Sophie Turner, you know, like she was red hair, she has red hair, you know. So it or you know, at least she became famous for having red hair and like Game of Thrones and stuff. So I don't know. It's um to me that was like the most ridiculous secret that they tried to keep. It's like it's not as ridiculous as like, you know, who's Tom Holland gonna play, but like come on. Like it's just it was such an easy guess, uh, for me. Uh so I was happy to see it, but there was no I know that there was some theories that it could have been Rachel, the kid of Cyclops and Gene Grey, so that you know that could be interesting, but she's averse, you know, so that's the other thing that might change all of this.

SPEAKER_00 22:34

So my thing is that I wouldn't have gathered her there to be a Gene Gray because one Spider-Man is Sony and two X-Men is Fox slash Disney now. And I know that they work hand kind of hand in hand now, but Sony still kind of keeps Spider-Man close to the chest a little bit, and they're like, hey, you can have this little piece, yeah, you can have this piece here, you know. Yeah, they they'll do like collaborations. Yeah. But um, you know, but it it was really cool. I did I do like that they went this route to bring in the you know the first like kind of like X-Men, like non-Fox X-Men into, you know, the MCU. And I think she did a really good job. Sadie did a really good job.

SPEAKER_01 23:22

I mean I thought the casting was really good all around. I mean everyone played their rules super, super well. Uh, you know, but yeah, she was excellent. I'm you know, from the the videos that I've seen or like the clips of um Cyclops, i it seems like I wonder if it'll be the same universe because that Cyclops almost feels older than this CD sync.

SPEAKER_00 23:48

Yeah, yeah. No, no, there they would there would definitely be another Cyclops. This is the Gene Grey that like you would get like early years, you know, early years where she like first joins the she joins the X-Men, you know, the was it Charles Xavier's school for gifted youngsters.

SPEAKER_01 24:07

Yeah, I mean it seems like she's you know uh my wife and I were debating this. I was uh you know, like I was joking around about which highway I thought that she was on and what, you know, like well Dude, right? Like I know what she's going to do. It felt like she was going somewhere. Oh, I know where she's going, everybody. I know where she's going. She's going to a place known as Salem Center, New York, 1407 Grey Malcolm Lane, which is purportedly only 15 minutes from where I live. Uh the X-Men the X-Mansion has always famously been in Westchester, New York, specifically uh a town called Salem Center. So um I was looking at the road she was on and I was like that I was like if that's the Hutch, they better not be telling me that you can have a commercial bus on the on on the hutch 'cause it's a it's a it's a parkway. But um no, I think I don't think there's a doubt. I think she's heading to she's heard something. She's heading to Xavier's school for gifted students.

SPEAKER_00 25:07

Yeah, it could have it could have been um Charles reaching out via Cerebro.

Hulk Fight And Organic Web Surprise

SPEAKER_00 25:12

I I think that it was like really interesting and like I feel like we get a good bit in in this like small and large, right? We get uh Bruce Banner, I mean we get the Hulk. He's back finally, the real Hulk. Dude, I like it when they go to the like the damage control and Gene Gray has taken over the mind of the Hulk, and the Punisher like comes to like help out Peter, and like Peter's like, You're out of your pay grade. This is the Hulk, yeah. You wanna fight the Hulk, and then like when they go to like separate the fight, the Punisher is like gonna go for Gene Gray, and then like Spider-Man's like, you just want to get out of fighting the Hulk. I'm gonna be like, I'm like, dude, like come on. Like this guy was shooting him with like full on uh like a a full on light machine gun and like we was using these like special grenades, was not taking out the Hulk. That man and like it was like we got uh smart Hulk and then we got like legit Hulk. Like we got the legit the giant Hulk, which was it was so nice to see that Hulk, dude. I feel like we haven't seen him in ages. That that Hulk.

SPEAKER_01 26:25

Yeah, I mean um I thought that that was awesome. Uh you know, I I also love like it seemed that Hulk at some point recognized Peter or like had a sliver of recognition, right, as he like let go and let himself drop from the building. And it it kind of establishes that I think there is a way for people to remember him. Even at the end, MJ is holding on to the necklace that he gave her in London, right? So she should have no memory of the importance of that necklace.

SPEAKER_00 27:00

And it it showed potentially that Ned remembered too, right? Like towards the end, where you know, like in this movie he had been staying a distance for like quite some time, right? Like in the beginning.

SPEAKER_01 27:17

It's at least four years.

SPEAKER_00 27:18

Right, like Ned and MJ are going to MIT and like Peter is following Ned like throughout the years, and like yeah, he's like, Oh yeah, we're it's uh it's senior year, we're about to uh graduate, and seemingly like I think he meets him like probably not long after they graduate. But I mean, dude, like I know that four years in in the span of a lifetime doesn't seem long, but four years in like what he was dealing with felt like a lifetime.

SPEAKER_01 27:53

Yeah, so that's he was isolated. But see, that's what's crazy about him, and that's why like I think look, man, i it's way more believable for him to have like some sort of even just like and you only reference it a little bit, but a shitty part-time job. Right? And then But he's really dedicated to himself as Peter, I mean as a Spider-Man, but we do get to see him at least interact with some people at a job. You know, it it it is a little kind of odd that it's been four years completely of him just like following Ned on social You know, like I'd like to see we did get a little glimmer of it with his neighbor, the girl, where she's like, Hey, I think you we live on the same floor, and then like he immediately asks to like be moved somewhere else so he doesn't have to see her ever again. You know, but like you could have had somewhere at work, like I think you could have had something funny where you had a guy at work who was like, Come on, Pete, watch, come out with us. And he's like, Ah, next time, you know.

SPEAKER_00 28:54

I I think he kind of just like encapsulated like all like really almost all human contact except for the except for like the Punisher, because he knows that the Punisher is like kind of crazy and will like do whatever anyway. So like you know, with the existence of whatever happened in Staten Island, right? That that was the start of that quote unquote friendship because it's there's an asterisk next to that, like friendship, like they're friends, but kind of because they exist in this world of craziness, and they're both kind, you know, Frank Castle, isolated person, Peter Parker in this isolated person. His only friends, like I said, cop punisher sometimes. And the cop more than any anything, because like he would speak to the cop and like they like they would have like conversations, you know, like you know, like kind of like hey all the kids are here, that kind of thing. So like he did, you know, there was a little bit of closeness, but it was at a distance.

SPEAKER_01 30:01

Yeah, I mean uh look whatever. Look, the movie is to be fair already pretty long. If they made it longer and added what I'm talking about, I probably would have complained that it was too long. You know, I I don't really like my superhero movies to go more than like two and a half hours. I think we're good. So I whatever, like I said, like my complaints are rather small. I mean I really loved the movie. I loved I did get even a little um a tear, you know, a little misty-eyed. Uh there's someone who was chopping onions, even the second time, when Peter leaves the hospital and uh Frank has put on his mask so that he can wave from the window so that Peter can kind of get out easily, and he's going through the crowd, and they start to see, you know, see that he's alive, you know, doing well, and the outpouring of love is just you know, it was it was Peter's moment of I've been alone this whole time, and it's almost like I was doing this for the love of the city, and now the city loves me back, you know, and they really do appreciate him.

SPEAKER_00 31:11

Right, like he it shows like he was able to see the impact that he had on the city and like you know all the positive impact, and there was even when he was like down, kind of down and out, or it was like earlier in the movie, it was sometime in the movie where they were talking about Spider-Man and how like kids want to be him and then like adults love him, and so he really got to see like a visual of that, and that part was really funny though. Like he he he walked out and he like looked up and like you just see the Punisher with the like the Spider-Man mask on, and then like then it like the camera goes inside and he's like what like what is it? What are you doing? But I really it was interesting, like the characters that we had in this, you know. Like obviously we had Gene Gray, the Hulk, the Punisher, we had Scorpion that was in this, which was uh interesting. I don't remember the guy that uses the boomerangs. I only remember Captain Boomerang from DC. That's what he kind of reminded me of. I don't remember if that was Bullseye. I don't know if that if that was supposed to be Bullseye, the guy with the boomerang and like uh No, it's Boomerang. Oh boomer yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:31

That's from exit that the hold on. There's a couple so like when you see him grab one of the like bad guys off of the I think it's the rooftop, and he swings. That's like the cover of like amazing fantasy something something. Yeah, you know, the the boomerang one. So the boomerang one was also a a cover of a comic. So there were a couple that were that were covered.

SPEAKER_00 32:57

Yeah, yeah. He had yeah, yeah, there there were some covers of the comics. Something that that I I found interesting. I mean, obviously the Punisher was in it. They had the hand, right? And we haven't seen them since Iron Fist and the uh like the Netflix shows. And I think were they in the defenders? I don't remember if they were in the defenders, but it felt like with you know, with us having the Punisher and then with you know Daredevil kind of bringing back on some of these like people from the Defenders. I'm wondering if like they're coming back into the fold with like these little nods to them.

SPEAKER_01 33:37

Yeah, I mean the hand is I mean that that was by the way, that scene was like super cool. Not only they're jumping when he actually says, Oh, that was cool before he goes to like Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:47

Yeah, that that was funny. They were doing some uh some crouching tiger hidden dragon stuff.

SPEAKER_01 33:53

But that's super uh when he kind of goes down and uh webs them all in like uh layers in that kind of cylinder type thing. That I thought that was just And you notice his webs were different, right?

SPEAKER_00 34:07

Like when he So when his uh So the webs that he he makes with the web slingers look a lot different than that organic web. And I thought it was interesting. I was like, oh my gosh, they're going the the way of of Toby Maguire with the organic web.

SPEAKER_01 34:25

Yeah, he said something like I remember when he first got to shoot them, he was like, Well, if it's cool and good enough for Vat Peter or some so he m I I can't remember the exact game. He references them, yeah, yeah. I I would you know obviously damage control could have been you know, they could they created a weapon specifically with the you know, they he leaves webs all over the city, especially when he like got so it's not hard for the damage control to have gotten that analysis of that webbing and create something that neutralizes it, but then now this is his own natural webbing and they don't have this formula so it doesn't have the same impact.

SPEAKER_00 35:07

I like when he his body was going through that change and he like tries to use the web slingers and like his organic web just like reject like just shoot him out. Yeah. And then and then like in one of those moments he accidentally shoots off a web grenade.

SPEAKER_01 35:24

And I'm glad they didn't do like a rehash of I mean he was there, right? Was there any like Spider-Man's a menace?

SPEAKER_00 35:33

No, no, I don't remember any Jay Jonah Jaminson.

SPEAKER_01 35:36

Um I'm kinda happy that we didn't have that because that kind of the whole trope of, you know, is this really a good thing for uh, you know, like is this person a villain or a hero? I'm I'm glad we didn't rehash that. You know, like we did rehash some of like the old Spider-Man themes from movies and things, but I I I'm really glad that we didn't rehash the you know, is he a menace to to our streets? And I really like that we were just at a point where like he's loved and trusted by even the police, you

Big Themes Final Scene Future MCU

SPEAKER_01 36:08

know. Like so much so that like you know, he does that, he rips off scorpions or jeans scorp uh gene scorpions tail off, and then you know, almost kills a cop because so but then get that gets covered up essentially, you know, like uh that cop's gonna have to go on disability, you know, like City of New York's gonna be paying that cop's uh that cop's salary while he's not working all because Spidey injured him, and they gotta keep it under wraps.

SPEAKER_00 36:33

And one of the moments when Peter is going through those changes, you know, he's getting headaches, his body's like feeling different. He passes out and he wakes up in this like web cocoon. That kind of that scene gave me Toby vibes. Like that didn't that I mean that didn't happen with Toby Maguire, but I could see a scene like that happening in one of his movies.

SPEAKER_01 37:00

Oh yeah, no, that's very reamy. He likes a little bit of that horror twinge to his stuff, you know. So that's that definitely seemed like a rainy nod there to that Toby, where it's a little where he is a little, you know, he's he's a spider. Spiders are freaking gross. I'm personally hor you know, incredibly afraid of all spiders, big or small.

SPEAKER_00 37:20

The thing I miss about uh was it Sam Raimi Spider-Man's is his knack for finding a way to squeeze Bruce Campbell in each movie.

SPEAKER_01 37:30

Yeah, yeah, no, I love Bruce Campbell. That guy's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 37:34

But yeah, no, that this movie was really good. Like I'm glad that like what what's worrisome is that like the build-up to endgame was like it just felt like it was going up, up and up, right? Like we might have had some misses here and there, but it wasn't too often, right? And then it's like when Endgame happened, the MCU kind of went into disarray. They were trying to do the whole multiverse thing, you know, stuff inside and outside the studio, and the quality of movies seem to go down, and so I really do I mean I know it's Sony, but you know how Sony is, like they they're for some reason like their movies aren't the greatest. Like the Venom movies are fun, but they're not great. The Spider-Man movies, surprisingly, are pretty good, and like the last two have been like really, really like good, and I'm glad that they did a good a great job with this one because they didn't have like that they didn't they I mean yeah they leaned on maybe a little bit of fan service with bringing in Gene Gray and they'd be like, Oh my god, there's an X-Men, but or future X-Men, but it's not like oh we're the build-up of all those months of you know, is Toby and is Andrew gonna be in, you know, like of the last one. So I'm glad that they did a really good job. I really did like the moral of the story. It's been used a lot, right? That being alone is never good, doing anything alone is never good, but I feel like it's such an important lesson, and I don't care if they show it a thousand different ways, it's still an important an important lesson to learn.

SPEAKER_01 39:21

Yeah, I mean I learned that, you know, I I I learned that when I was, you know, younger the hard way myself, you know. Uh and uh I think we all do, man. You know, even uh hey look look the Legend of Zelda told you right away when I was five, you know, it's it's dangerous to go alone. And but I don't have a sword, so you know, like there's not some old guy in a in a cave telling me to take a sword. But I I really liked this. I thought the message was great, I thought the vibes of the movie were good, I thought all the acting was excellent. It's kind of like I wouldn't say everybody wins, but it you know it is kind of like a happy ending. Uh you get to see a lot more character development from from Frank Castle. I just uh you know, and you could they could have gone easy, man. They could have gone with Wolverine instead of Gene Gray. You know, Wolvie and and Spidey have teamed up a lot in the comics. And you would have even been able to basically leave the Punisher out. You could have done Wolverine and Spidey, you know. But I think that this was like a really smart way to do it. And I think they really sucked the landing with it.

SPEAKER_00 40:23

And then they like snuck the Hulk into there too, man. Like it's I like we knew that that Bruce was in it, like they showed him in like the trailers, but we didn't know at like what capacity, and I I feel like every like major character that was in it had a sufficient amount of like screen time. Yeah. You know, like the Hulk had some good screen time, the Punisher had good screen time. Obviously, like you know, the build-up to Gene Gray. I love the like you know internal conflict that Peter was going through, and that he finally found his way back to his friends, not like how it was before, but that like he still he found his way back and he's like able to kind of establish the or re-establish that relationship, you know, and and who knows, like I mean it seemed like at the end that Ned remembered him, so we'll see.

SPEAKER_01 41:22

Personally, on a side note, if I were approached by a very attractive superhero and she told me that she was in love with me and that we knew each other, but there is a spell, I would have been like, Alright, so let's start hanging out again. Uh that maybe that's just me. But uh the flip if that gets flipped, there's no way a dude like dude, if Black Cat shows up and gives you like a letter, it's like Anthony, uh actually we were together, but you forgot about me. I'd be like, Okay, cool, what's going on?

SPEAKER_00 41:58

Hey. Well that well well, I mean, like that that's the difference between guys, guys and women. Like guys are like if you're being uh approached by somebody attractive and you'd be like, Yeah, you know, we used to date, but you forgot me. Be like, well, I'll do my best to remember you though. You know, like I mean, like, I mean that that's like that's just how guys would be. But man, that that scene though with Gene. Oh, that was Jean that like she she took control over MJ and made it seem like she remembered him. Yeah, that was cr bro. That was crushing, man. Let me say, like, I think out of everything that Gene Gray did, that was the most villainous out of that whole movie.

SPEAKER_01 42:44

Yeah, I don't know how he forgives her for that, right? Because like the other stuff makes sense that she's trying to find her sister, but then she just takes a detour to really come at him super hard, you know?

SPEAKER_00 42:55

Like, there's Well, she did that because he kept on getting in the way, essentially. That that's why and I think that he understands because of the length he was about to go when his Aunt May died. Like he was about to go all the way before Toby inter intervened, you know. It's like, I understand, like every Spider-Man has that moment where they almost crossed the line, and so he understood that she is at that moment to cross the line, and it was essentially his job to pay it forward, right? Like him being talked off that ledge, he was there to pay that Ford and talked her off her ledge. Dude, let me tell you though, when she dropped MJ off the roof, I was like, bro, do not don't be doing no Gwen Stacy thing.

SPEAKER_01 43:45

Yeah, I thought the same thing.

SPEAKER_00 43:46

I thought they were trying to do some Gwen Stacy nonsense where like he snaps her neck, bro. Yeah, I think they did that. Bro, don't be doing this to me. I think they did that on purpose. They did do that on purpose. It was a bait and switch, man. They got they tried. To trick us with that. I was just like, but yeah, man, it I I enjoyed it. And I I know it's about to I guess the Odyssey had some exclusive run in IMAX. So now they're gonna now that that run is over, they're gonna start moving Spider-Man into IMAX. So I plan on I I want to go see it again in IMAX. I thought it was a good time, and I'm really excited to see, you know, like there there's that end scene where we were talking about we may get Spider-Verse or it may just be alluding to Doomsday. But I think that uh I I would say I think we've covered pretty much most of the film. I don't know if did you have anything else you wanted to add?

SPEAKER_01 44:43

No, I mean if you haven't seen it by the time you know you hear this, I mean I went so I went Monday at 1 30 p.m. in a small theater in a town outside of New York City, and we usually go there and the most we'll see is like eight people at a time. Especially during the summer at 1 30 on a Monday. Dude, there were like this theater was almost full. It was pretty and it wasn't like the matinee time, so it wasn't like the cheaper time, which I would totally, you know, understand, because it's summer and the kids are off too. There were a lot of people in the theater for 1.30 on a Monday. So uh if you haven't seen it, it's the perfect time now during the summer. Go. I mean, it's just fantastic. It's I think it's got something for anyone, and uh, you know, looking I can give you guys just the last rap on it is that I went to see it, you know, me, my wife, and my son. My son's 11, he's into Marvel. He doesn't watch all of like the Disney shows like I do, so his content is a little bit lower than mine. My wife has watched most of the major tentpole stuff, but she doesn't always pay attention when we're watching all of it anyway, so she has to be reminded of stuff. She loved it, absolutely loved it, my son absolutely loved it, I absolutely loved it. I think there is literally something for everybody in this movie. And I think that even if you've never seen any of the movies, I think that the messaging comes through so clearly here that it's a good standalone piece as well.

SPEAKER_00 46:18

Yeah, no, no, I agree. Uh, it's a good it's a good Spider-Man movie, especially you can tell that the this one is a you know, it's separating him it's separating itself from the previous three movies, right? It's almost like it's not a a reboot, but it they're starting, it's a new story. You know, they're it before it was homecoming, far from home, no way home. Now it's brand new day, so they now they're probably gonna be using, you know, the next day for the next one or whatever. But um it's yeah, no, I agree. It there's definitely something for everybody. It is in in the words of of Rich uh Rip Roaring Good Time. I'm planning on seeing it again when when it drops on IMAX, so what does that tell you? I want to see it a a second time. So I'm excited to see where they take it further and uh how Spider-Man will fit into the upcoming MCU movies, uh especially Doomsday when when that drops. Yeah, looking forward to that man.

SPEAKER_01 47:24

And then uh so uh uh let's see, for us next week. I don't know even if he'll know that that we're talking about this, so we can almost quiz him and see if if he caught if he listened all the way to the end. But uh next week we're we're looking at uh possible Odyssey, right?

SPEAKER_00 47:40

Yes, I'll definitely need to see that one again. I only seen it the first time on IMAX, so I I plan on seeing seeing it again. I I mean I'm coming off this Spider-Man watch just about fresh. I saw it yesterday, uh Sunday, so I'm ready for that. But yes, next week will be Odyssey. Thank you for joining us here for episode 172 of Project Geekology. You know, thank you for swinging on in. And if you want to support us, go to the show notes and follow us on our socials and give us a nice five star juicy review. And if your podcast application allows you to leave a text review, do that also. We we love seeing those. We hope that you all have a great rest of your week and join us back here next week for the Odyssey. No bye y'all.