2026 is a huge year for Spider-Man fans. Not only is Spider-Man: Brand New Day hitting theaters next month, but a brand-new series has launched on streaming platforms and is already a hit. This new Spider-Man show steers away from the traditional story, following a different kind of friendly neighborhood superhero. One that has more in common with detectives like Bosch than it does other Marvel superheroes.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has produced no shortage of memorable quotes over the years, yet nearly a decade after Spider-Man: Homecoming arrived in theaters, one line still stands above almost everything else the franchise has produced because of how perfectly it captures the essence of heroism. The quote comes during one of the movie's most important scenes. After Peter Parker (Tom Holland) recklessly endangers countless lives while trying to stop Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton), Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) finally loses patience and takes back the high-tech Spider-Man suit he provided.

Everyone loves superheroes, and that is seen through the popularity of the movies and TV shows. Even if their numbers are declining, fans grew up with them and continue to support those stories, with upcoming sensations such as Avengers: Doomsday and The Batman Part II. However, the genre could be heading in a new direction with video games now becoming the most popular medium.

Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is going through changes in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Set four years after the events of 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home, in which Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) cast a multiverse-saving spell to make everyone forget Peter Parker, including girlfriend MJ (Zendaya) and best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon), the new movie finds Peter living alone and shouldering his responsibilities as a full-time friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Per the official synopsis, Peter has "devoted himself entirely to protecting his city," facing costumed foes Tarantula and Boomerang before tangling with major threats like Scorpion (Michael Mando), Tombstone (Marvin "Krondon" Jones III), and the red ninjas of the Hand. Add the presence ofJon Bernthal's Punisher and a rampaging Avenger in Mark Ruffalo's Hulk, and the resulting pressure on Spider-Man "sparks a surprising physical evolution that threatens his existence."

Sony Pictures has attempted to mimic the MCU model with its own Spider-Man film universe, but things haven't really been as successful, with several poor spin-off movies featuring members of the Spider-Man rogues' gallery. Yet, none of those characters could ever meet or interact with the web-slinger, since a newly revamped version of Peter Parker, played by Tom Holland, was a definitive part of the MCU. However, Prime Video's new live-action television series, Spider-Noir, sets up the perfect new direction for Sony's Spider-Man universe.

Spoiler Alert: This list contains spoilers for Spider-Noir and Spider-Man Noir (2008).Spider-Noir is the newest Spider-Man-based project—one of three in 2026—and people are actually pretty pleased with it. For quite a bit, people have been saying Sony should be investing more in the alternate versions of Spider-Man for projects, rather than making stories about his villains, which is exactly what Spider-Noir accomplishes.

With a brand-new Spider-Man movie must come brand-new villains. While previous adaptations pit the friendly neighborhood wall-crawler against such classic comic book Spider-foes as the Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Sandman, Electro, the Vulture, and Mysterio, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is taking an even bigger swing by having Tom Holland’s Peter Parker face off with a gauntlet of B-list supervillains. Besides the returning Mac Gargan (Michael Mando) — suiting up as the pincered Scorpion nearly a decade after we last saw him in the post-credits stinger in 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming — the Sony-Marvel franchise’s fourth installment expands Spider-Man’s rogues gallery with the likes of the spike-toed Tarantula, Aussie assassin Boomerang, marble-skinned mobster Tombstone (Marvin "Krondon" Jones III), and … Hand ninjas?