Spider-Man: Brand New Day's Surprise Avengers Cameo, Explained

Contains spoilers for "Spider-Man: Brand New Day"

When Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland) needs some guidance on the unusual phrase "V-Maxx" in "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," he turns to another New York superhero who is now part of The New Avengers. That person isn't necessarily, though, one of Spider-Man's best partners from the comics nor one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe heroes he's teamed up with in his past three solo MCU films. Instead, he reaches out to Yelena Belova/Black Widow (Florence Pugh), whose office is a steam bath. To talk to her, Spidey disrobes (save for that mask) and proceeds to inquire about that inexplicable phrase.

Thus, Spider-Man and a New Avenger member cross paths, providing connective tissue between "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" and the most recent Phase Five MCU movies, namely "Thunderbolts*," which established Belova now living in New York City alongside her other New Avengers members. It also continued the trend of Belova interacting with New York superheroes after her meetup with Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) in "Hawkeye," while adding to her best and worst moments in the MCU so far.

Given that the last time audiences saw Belova was in the "Thunderbolts*" post-credits scene teeing up "Avengers: Doomsday," it's understandable to wonder what this "Brand New Day" cameo suggests for her future.

In her first conversation with Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Yelena Belova emphasizes that she and her New Avengers companions deal with "big potatoes" in terms of world-threatening villains and not just run-of-the-mill bank robberies. Along with solidifying Spider-Man's street level status, it also suggests the trajectory and purpose of The New Avengers. Belova and her cohorts are trying to mimic how The Avengers contended with massive foes like Ultron (James Spader) and Thanos (Josh Brolin) rather than resting on their laurels.

Meanwhile, one of the movie's easy-to-miss details comes at the end when Detective Jean DeWollf (Liza Colón-Zayas) mentions that Belova is helping track down and piece together incriminating data about Damage Control. Those results aren't likely to come up in "Avengers: Doomsday," but it does solidify that Spidey's exploits have become big enough "potatoes" to warrant the attention of a New Avenger. Otherwise, Belova's "Brand New Day" appearance doesn't provide extensive glimpses into where the character goes next.

That's for the best, since, among the biggest mistakes Marvel made after "Avengers: Endgame" was loading up films and TV shows with too many teases of upcoming projects. In contrast, Belova works fine in a standalone capacity in "Brand New Day." If nothing else, this movie establishes Belova growing comfortable in her New Avengers role and surroundings ... which means the events of "Avengers: Doomsday" will inevitably obliterate that comfort.