Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Spider-Man: Brand New Day!Marvel Studios’ X-Men movie has received a great deal of setup thanks to Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Ever since Disney acquired 20th Century in 2019, there has been great anticipation for the Marvel Cinematic Universe to put its spin on the X-Men franchise. Marvel and Kevin Feige did not rush introducing mutants in the MCU, though, rather sprinkling some in here and there, including through the multiverse, to plan an X-Men-heavy saga properly.
The Multiverse Saga has still had a hand in setting up the MCU’s eventual X-Men franchise. Ms. Marvel and Namor became two of the main timeline’s first mutants. And thanks to countless rumors, Spider-Man: Brand New Day was always expected to include at least some significant development for how the X-Men will exist in this world.
After all, the MCU’s X-Men is currently in development, with Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier attached at the helm. The movie is anticipated to release in 2028, and with only two Avengers movies confirmed to be coming ahead of it, Marvel’s opportunity to pave the way for the X-Men’s place in Earth-616 is limited.
For as much as Brand New Day tells a Spider-Man-centric story, it’s also quite busy setting up X-Men’s future. Key characters are introduced, and significant events unfold that will undoubtedly impact the world mutants live in going forward. The groundwork for an X-Men movie franchise is in a totally different spot after everything Brand New Day sets up.
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X-Men Hero Jean Grey Is Introduced
Brand New Day is responsible for introducing the first character who will certainly be part of the MCU’s initial X-Men team with Jean Grey. After much secrecy surrounding her role, Sadie Sink does play Jean Grey in the movie. She’s introduced as a powerful telepath terrorizing Damage Control facilities searching for her sister, Sara Grey. But by the end of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, her abilities have increased to include telekinesis, too.
Jean Grey is a mainstay of the X-Men, so she always figured to be part of Marvel’s plans for the new team. Technically, Sink isn’t confirmed to be returning for the X-Men feature. It would be more shocking for her to be absent now than it would’ve been to suggest Jean debuting in a Spider-Man solo film years ago. A proper confirmation of Jean’s return in X-Men will come and give Brand New Day the honor of debuting the MCU’s first X-Men team member.
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X-Men Villain Bill Metzger Is Introduced
If introducing one X-Men character wasn’t enough, Spider-Man: Brand New Day includes a second with Bill Metzger. He’s the director of the Department of Damage Control in the movie with a history of rounding up enhanced individuals and testing the limits of their abilities. Metzger is initially set up to be an ally for Spider-Man, but that all changes once Peter realizes he lied to him and catches on to his more nefarious ways.
Tramell Tillman’s character is the MCU’s version of William Metzger in the comics. He is a minor X-Men villain in the source material who has no affiliation with Damage Control. Instead, he was the leader of the Anti-Mutant Militia and took every chance he could get to paint mutants in a negative light in the media. Metzger wound up sharing information with Bolivar Trask and was eventually killed by Magneto.
There is no confirmation that Metzger will be in X-Men at this point, but, as we’ll get to later, that is very much in the cards.
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Damage Control’s Tests On Mutants Will Lead To Sentinels
Expanding beyond specific characters, Spider-Man: Brand New Day plants the seeds for Sentinels in the MCU. The giant robots are known in the comics for their abilities to mimic any mutant power as they kill or cure their targets. They are created by Bolivar Trask. While he is nowhere to be found in Brand New Day, some of the work toward creating the Sentinels has already begun.
This can be seen with Metzger and Damage Control running tests on Jean’s powers. He says that they hope to study a telepath’s brain while mental jumps occur so that they can one day replicate that same ability in a person of their choosing. The idea of duplicating a mutant’s powers and giving them to someone (or something) that is under a specific organization’s control could then expand to giving robots these abilities.
It’s unclear if Damage Control would be the ones to create Sentinels in the MCU, such as by making Trask a member of the organization, or if their methods and findings would simply become the basis for the work that Trask does. In either case, Damage Control’s tests show that the MCU is closer to an operational Sentinel.
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Spider-Man’s Universal Inhibitor Will Become A Mutant Inhibitor Collar
Damage Control isn’t alone in advancing science that could bring harm to mutants in the future. A key aspect of Brand New Day revolves around Peter creating an inhibitor to balance his human and arachnid hormones. However, he takes his invention a step further than just an inhibitor that can block aspects of his DNA. Peter winds up creating a universal inhibitor that can turn off anyone’s powers.
Peter ignores the warnings from Bruce Banner about how dangerous such an idea could be and winds up letting this technology fall into Damage Control’s hands. They gain access to the universal inhibitor once Spider-Man puts it on Jean. While Jean eventually destroys that singular universal inhibitor, Damage Control certainly studied Peter’s invention so they can build more and twist the technology in any way they want.
It is hardly a stretch to suggest that this universal inhibitor will become the basis for the creation of inhibitor collars. These devices have a long history in X-Men lore, appearing in everything from X-Men: Days of Future Past to Deadpool 2 to X-Men ’97. Inhibitor collars might not be fully functioning by the time the MCU’s first X-Men movie arrives, but the movie can still grapple with the fear of this technology becoming more prominent.
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Jean Grey Mind Controlling New York Could Create Mutant Fear
An impressive display of Jean’s powers comes in the climax as she freezes everyone within a certain radius of her location. Brand New Day emphasizes how this is a terrifying experience for people, with tears rolling down MJ’s face as it occurs. And while Jean’s anger toward Metzger is understandable after what happened to Sara, her actions could be used as a way for the MCU to explain why portions of humanity fear mutants.
Considering the love for the Avengers, Spider-Man, and other heroes within the MCU, the franchise was never going to be able to have people hate mutants just because they have powers. X-Men could use Jean’s mind control as the catalyst for why people fear mutants, especially after they see the person responsible for this event as a member of the X-Men team.
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Jean Grey Leaves New York To Find Allies
Jean Grey’s future is not set in stone by the time Spider-Man: Brand New Day‘s credits start to roll, but her last scene could be seen as Marvel setting up what comes next. She’s seen on a bus leaving New York City. Her destination is unknown, but after saving Spider-Man’s life and having a heart-to-heart with him, it appears that Jean is looking for a new place to call home and people who will be there for her.
It’s easy to imagine this bus leads her to Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters one way or another. Jean’s telepathic burst would certainly gain Professor X’s attention, enough for him to possibly reach out and recruit her. Her increased abilities might even allow her to locate the school herself. Jean is clearly starting a new journey, so even if she has a quick pit stop in Avengers: Secret Wars, her story is left open to continue in X-Men.
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Bill Metzger Is Missing
Metzger’s return in X-Men is set up by his ending. He is on the run after Spider-Man brought the truth about Damage Control’s activities to light, with Jean DeWolff and Yelena Belova then working to fully declassify his work. Leaving Metzger’s whereabouts unknown gives Marvel every opportunity to bring him back in X-Men.
One of the most fun possibilities is that he winds up landing a job with Trask Industries. This would allow him to continue a lot of the research he started with Damage Control and help Bolivar advance an anti-mutant agenda and scientific breakthroughs to combat them. There’s no guarantee Metzger is going to be back for X-Men, but Spider-Man: Brand New Day sets it up so well that hopefully Marvel won’t overlook him.