Is Peter Parker the MCU Oppenheimer?

Hello readers!

PSA: If you haven't seen the movie yet, there will be spoilers in this review! 

I recently saw "Brand New Day" (the newest Spider-Man) in theaters, and boy, do I have some thoughts! I've loved Tom Holland's version of the character since he first debuted in "Captain America: Civil War," and I think it's safe to say that the character has transformed over the past decade. 

When "Spider-Man: Homecoming" came out in 2017, I was 13. Almost a decade later, I'm 22, and it feels like the character has grown up with me, in a way. Like Peter Parker, I went through high school, lost/gained some friends, and have experienced a lot since the last movie, "No Way Home" (2021). Once I saw the trailer for BND, I was so excited. I've always been a huge Marvel fan, so whenever a new movie comes out, I always compare it to the comics, so I had a few predictions for this one. 

My main prediction was that the movie would include the "Man-Spider" arc. In the animated series from 1994, Spider-Man's mutation doesn't end with just his powers. He eventually finds out from Dr. Connors that his mutation is accelerating, and fast. Due to this, Peter goes to Dr. Mariah Crawford in search of a cure, but the results aren't what he had hoped. What was once Peter Parker fully mutates into Man-Spider. The real cure is eventually administered by Kraven the Hunter, and Peter goes back to the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man... as long as he wears his Neogenic Recombinator. 

My prediction was... half correct. We did get Peter mutating, but there was no Dr. Connors, Dr. Crawford, or even Kraven. However, what we got was better than I could've expected. In the film, Peter's mutations start because he has gone through traumatic events: the loss of Aunt May, Tony, and making the whole world forget about him. Since he is moving farther and farther from who he is, his arachnid DNA increases, which in turn brings about Man-Spider. However, instead of going to Dr. Mariah Crawford, Spidey took the MCU route and sought out help from Bruce Banner, aka The Hulk.

After meeting with Dr. Banner, Peter builds the MCU version of the Recombinator: the Genetic Inhibitor. With his inhibitor, he's able to stop his arachnid DNA from going above the normal level, containing the Man-Spider. After making one designed for his own genetics, Peter made a universal inhibitor. However, his new invention slowly starts to have an Oppenheimer effect when it's used to conceal Jean Grey's powers by the DODC (Department of Damage Control). In the comics, mutants are greatly discriminated against, as many of the plot points were based on the Civil Rights movement. 

Using the facts about the inhibitor and about the history of the X-Men, it's clear that this plot point is laying the groundwork for future power-suppression technology that could be used to target the X-Men and other mutants. Bruce Banner does warn Peter that this device could be dangerous in the wrong hands. At the end of the movie, the inhibitor is left in the hands of the DODC. Given all this info, there's a high chance that this one small invention will have a ripple effect on the future of MCU mutants. 

If you made it this far, WOW, thank you for reading my nerdy ramble! Hope you enjoyed and learned something new:)

xoxo 

rinny<3