Spider-Man: Brand New Day incorporates callbacks to the original Spider-Man film directed by Sam Raimi, particularly in its depiction of Tom Holland's evolving web-slinging abilities.
The film's narrative sees Holland's Spider-Man undergoing a transformation, described as a "rebirth" fueled by prolonged isolation. This results in enhanced senses and the development of organic webs. As Peter Parker grapples with these new powers, he experiences a period of adjustment that mirrors the early days of Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man.
During his attempts to master his organic webs, Holland's character exhibits clumsiness, crashing into objects and struggling with control, a sequence that directly recalls similar moments from the 2002 film. In that movie, a newly empowered Spider-Man also stumbled through his initial rooftop explorations and web-swinging attempts, even humorously testing vocal commands like "Go web!" to activate his abilities. Spider-Man: Brand New Day echoes this with Peter using voice commands such as "Go web" and "web stop" as he learns to control his organic webbing.
While trailers hinted at a potential Man-Spider transformation, the film instead delivers a more focused power upgrade that ties into the plot, particularly involving Sadie Sink's Jean Grey. Spider-Man develops an inhibitor to manage his powers, which he later uses on Grey. This power boost also proves crucial in an extensive fight sequence against The Hand.
The inclusion of these early-story growing pains for a decade-long iteration of Spider-Man is a notable choice. The film opts to reference the acclaimed depiction of a hero learning his powers from the 2002 film, integrating this adjustment period into the current narrative's progression.