Marvel Completely Rewrites A Major MCU Villain Team

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Spider-Man: Brand New Day!

There is no shortage of villains in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and one of them has been completely rewritten from how they’ve been portrayed before. Tom Holland’s fourth solo film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe pits him against all types of Marvel characters, ranging from traditional Spider-Man villains to Avengers and mutants.

Jean Grey occupies the “villain” role for most of the film, mind-controlling everyone but Spider-Man throughout, while Damage Control is ultimately the one revealed to be in the wrong. Peter’s greatest obstacle is ultimately his own loneliness, but that doesn’t stop Brand New Day from having him fight Scorpion, The Hand, and Hulk throughout the course of the story.

All of these characters/teams were known to be villains in Brand New Day ahead of the movie’s release, but The Hand’s presence takes on a different form than expected. Previously seen in Daredevil and The Defenders, The Hand is an ancient international criminal organization operating in New York illegally that has incredibly skilled (and mystical) ninjas as members. Their role in Brand New Day was assumed to be similar to how they’ve always been portrayed.

So it is quite the surprise when Brand New Day reveals that The Hand now work for the Department of Damage Control. Director Bill Metzger recruited the young, aimless members without a leader to become part of Damage Control’s security team after Spider-Man previously took them down. This revelation puts The Hand in a completely different position than they are used to.

The Hand Working For Damage Control Changes Their Purpose

For the majority of The Hand’s time in the comics and fully in the MCU, the ninja clan has been a self-serving villain organization. The exact nature of what they want varies across the different media, but they are almost always operating in a criminal capacity. In the MCU, that has meant distributing drugs, working in tandem with other street-level villains like Kingpin, and putting the people of New York in danger repeatedly.

Now, Brand New Day reverses their purpose in the public eye. The few members of The Hand that we see (which is presumably all that’s left of the organization) are now responsible for keeping Damage Control’s assets safe. This includes stopping criminals in their detention centers from breaking out. Presumably, they may even take to the streets to aid Damage Control when necessary. They even try to fight Hulk during Jean’s break-in.

It’s a radical shift for The Hand, which fits within Metzger’s ideals of repurposing something bad and making it good, which he says is the real purpose of Damage Control. The Hand has seemingly fully embraced this new identity, too. There are no signs that its remaining members are involved in any illegal operations behind Metzger’s back, and as a result, they no longer need to operate in the shadows.

By all accounts, The Hand is rebranded as a heroic organization. Granted, their affiliation with Damage Control is either quite new or being kept a secret, as not even Spider-Man is aware that the two entities are working together when he first visits a DODC facility in Brand New Day.

Does The Hand Still Work For Damage Control After Brand New Day?

The question that The Hand is left with by the time Spider-Man: Brand New Day‘s ending comes is whether their new status still stands. They are last seen fighting Spider-Man while under Jean’s mind control, and Metzger goes missing after his true actions are uncovered.

Since he was the one who brought The Hand to work for Damage Control, him no longer being associated with the organization could leave the ninjas looking for a new leader, allowing them to return to their more criminal ways. This is arguably better for the MCU long-term, as it puts The Hand back in a place where they can fight different heroes and be a recurring threat not only in New York but around the world.

Whether they wind up staying more on the side of good or reverting to their criminal ways, Spider-Man: Brand New Day should not be the last time The Hand is in the MCU. The organization could be featured alongside Elektra’s return in Daredevil: Born Again season 3. They could even pop up again in Spider-Man 5 or Shang-Chi 2. If a relationship with Metzger remains, a role in a future X-Men project could even come to be.