Why Is Spider-Man's DNA Mutating? What The MCU Is Setting Up For Peter Parker

Peter Parker (Tom Holland) owes his very existence as a superhero to a DNA mutation. Bitten by a radioactive spider, he ends up being able to climb walls, gains extra-sensory psychological perceptiveness, and sports other beneficial features from the encounter. Fortunately for Peter's dating life, he usually doesn't develop multiple eyes, a hairy nose, and other physical characteristics stemming from his arachnid compatriot. But the first look trailer for "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" suggests that Peter's luck in that respect is about to change.

In the trailer, Peter is shown suffering from an unknown physical ailment. He wakes up in an unsettlingly spider-like nest filled with webbing and he realizes he can organically shoot webs from his wrists. He turns to Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) for help. Banner speculates that Parker's DNA is mutating, which could be incredibly dangerous for him. Indeed, the trailer shows him suffering mishap after mishap. While "Brand New Day" could be setting fans up for Peter Parker's death, it's just as likely that they're going to take him down a different route — one that's very familiar to comic book fans.

In the 100th issue of "The Amazing Spider-Man," Peter Parker is in emotional turmoil. He decides to do the only thing he can to stabilize his life and get rid of his superpowers. He creates a serum in the hope of finally being an ordinary teenager, but instead of making him normal, the concoction causes him to grow four extra arms. Peter is frustrated, to put it mildly, by this development. 

Pete has no idea how to fix the situation, so he turns to an old frenemy — Dr. Curt Connors, a scientist better known as The Lizard, and one of Spider-Man's grandest foes. Connors thinks he might have a solution to Peter's problem, but just as they're getting to the nitty gritty of reverting him back to normal, Morbius the Living Vampire shows up. The three men do battle (and the results are more fun than the "Morbius" film), but in the aftermath, Connors and Morbius team up to come up with a solution the Spider-Man's travails — they engineer a cure with Morbius' blood, which finally turns a now-grateful Peter back into his old self. 

"The Amazing Spider-Man #100" was eventually adapted into a story arc on "Spider-Man: The Animated Series" called "The Neogenic Nightmare," but with a few minor changes. In the show, Curt Connors tells Peter Parker that his DNA is mutating slowly, and the serum is a preventative measure created to make sure his condition doesn't degenerate further. Peter takes the potion but the result is an even uglier and more dramatic change.

Not only does he sprout extra arms, but he turns into a more-spider-than-gentleman creature called Man-Spider, complete with a multi-eyed face and pincers near his mandibles. With a furry head and an unruly manner, Peter seems doomed until Kraven the Hunter and the Punisher team up to help him. They corral Spider-Man and bring him to Dr. Mariah Crawford, who finally engineers a successful cure for him and turns him back into his mostly-human self.

Marvel Comics revisited the notion of Peter Parker facing down a terminal mutation thanks to his spider powers going wrong in 2005. In the "Other: Evolve or Die" storyline, Parker receives a fatal diagnosis after he's been shot. His friends try to help him, but there's no scientific or magical cure for his ailment. He must tie up loose ends with what time he has left — a process made difficult by the constant interference of Morlun.

Filling in his relatives and friends about the reality of his condition, Peter also continues to fight crime until he can't anymore. Since he's been coping with some odd symptoms and dreams before he's informed of his illness, Peter thinks he knows what's about to happen to him — but his fate ends up being quite the shocker.

After one last violent battle with Morlun, Parker seems to die. Tony Stark takes his body to Avengers Tower to cope with the fallout surrounding his death. But when the occupants of the tower hear a sudden noise and then check on the corpse, all they find is his shed skin. Peter is in fact in a cocoon hanging underneath the Brooklyn Bridge. He has a vision of the Great Weaver, who informs him that he's been neglecting the arachnid side of his existence and must embrace it to return to his life. Peter decides to accept his spider side and emerges refreshed, healed, and with brand-new powers. 

Scant details have been made available regarding the full plotline of "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" so far, thus it's hard to predict the film's plot. But the movie will probably have a far-reaching impact on Peter's life and ought to finally reunite him with the friends and family he shed in "No Way Home" for the good of humanity. While it's intent upon resolving that storyline, it's definitely using another idea to get him to that point.

It seems likely the MCU will use The Six Arms Saga to give Peter a rebirth — literal or spiritual — which will allow him to return to his old life. He'll naturally be plunged right back into chaos when the next big cross-Marvel event film, "Avengers: Doomsday," occurs later in 2026. 

But it's interesting to note that the plot doesn't appear to be a scene-for-scene copy of any of the previously mentioned Spider-Man storylines. The trailer hints that Peter will be going up against The Hand, an order of ancient ninjas, among a host of other villains who were mentioned in a recent leak, — most of whom don't show up in either the comic book or animated version of the Six Arms Saga.

While other characters from various iterations of the storyline, including The Punisher (Jon Bernthal), are definitely in the trailer, it looks like Bruce Banner will be stepping in for Curt Connors. And you shouldn't count on seeing either Morbius or Kraven the Hunter, either, after their big screen flops. But it should hit some of the story beats that the Six Arms Saga plays with, along with a few from The Other storyline.

Marvel fans are definitely all saying the same thing about the "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" trailer; they're thrilled about the possibility of more comic-book centered storytelling entering the MCU canon. "This film seems to be taking inspiration from The Other arc and the Neogenic Nightmare. I mean, we got Punisher, Banner probably serving Dr. Connors' role, and a telepathic X-Man (not confirmed but likely) all at play," observed u/FriendlyDecoy_ on the "Spider-Man" subreddit. "Man-Spider incoming," agreed u/spaceninj.

Fans are also debating whether the latest "Spider-Man" movie will use The Others or the Six Arms Saga for the basic storyline. But plenty of viewers are just plain happy that they're going to get a multi-limbed Spider-creature in the main continuity, even if they're not big fans of other aspects of the trailer. "I'm not a fan of organic webbing, but if it means we get to see Man-Spider, then Im [sic] down," said u/Bolognahole_Vers2. How closely will "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" reflect these storylines? Spidey devotees will have to head to theaters on July 31st to find out.