It’s been over 60 years since Spider-Man first swung onto the pages of The Amazing Fantasy, before launching into his own solo series. From there, the hero – created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko – became a global phenomenon and, as Spider-Man: Brand New Day's arrival on the 2026 movie schedule proves, that hype is alive and well. That film is set to thrust Peter Parker into a fresh – and somewhat dour – chapter and, given that, I can’t help but think about Lee’s reasoning as to why fans can “relate” to Parker.
Following the events of 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, Peter Parker has been forgotten by his friends and loved ones, which was a choice he made to save the multiverse from destruction. Brand New Day sees the character diving head first into his responsibilities as the friendly neighborhood hero, and that isolation seems to be taking a toll on him. It goes without saying that historically, Parker’s life has rarely (if ever) been perfect. The late Lee believed audiences connected with those hardships:
