Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Sometimes, you have to start from the end. That’s where I want to start with Spider-Man: Brand New Day. As the film nears its dramatic conclusion and the credits begin to roll, an almost sold-out theater broke out in cheers and applause. Mind you, there were no live actors there. The applause was for the film itself.
I believe Spider-Man: Brand New Day is THAT good.
In Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the story continues from the previous Spider-Man film, Spider-Man: No Way Home. In it, Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland) asks Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to cast a worldwide spell to erase the memory of Peter Parker from every person. The spell worked and Peter Parker’s legacy was erased from the world. He now lives as Spider-Man full-time.
And he’s struggling with his new reality. He misses his friends, MJ (Zendaya and Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon). He has had to solely focus on his role as Spider-Man for the past 4 years.
It’s taken its toll. He’s at a breaking point.
But a new deadly threat has appeared. He’s also going through another physical change.
What does that mean for you, the viewer? There are plenty of leadership lessons in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Let’s get to them.
1. Peter Parker:
You don’t remember me…
The film opens with Peter Parker doing a monologue. He is trying to piece together what to say to his former girlfriend, MJ.
One of the phrases out of his mouth was “You don’t remember me…”
Here’s the thing: people don’t need to remember you for you to have had a major impact on them. You can be a part of their life for a season, leave, and they’ll forget you.
What they won’t forget is the impact you had on their lives. How you cared. How you molded them into the person they’ve become.
It’s okay to be forgotten. Still, make an impact.
2. Peter Parker:
Sometimes, Spider-Man has to do the hard things, even when it breaks Peter Parker’s heart.
Peter chose to do the hardest thing in his life. He chose to have everyone, including his loved ones, forget him. He did this to protect them.
His choice wasn’t easy. It was the hardest decision he ever made. But he made it because it was what he believed to be right.
You’re going to have to make hard choices as a leader. They’re not going to reflect who you are as a person. They’re a part of the leadership gig.
Be ready to make hard choices that may break your heart. It’s not easy, but leadership isn’t easy.
3. Remind yourself of what’s important:
We see Peter’s room. It’s a mess. But there’s something important on a noteboard.
There’s a note. The note states:
Great Power
Great Responsibility
It’s a take on the ages-old saying of Uncle Ben in the comics. However, it was Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) who said it in this Spider-Verse.
Peter needed to be reminded that while he has great power, he also has great responsibility.
I think we could all stick a note on our wall that says the same thing. We need to be reminded that we’ve been given great power in our position. With that great power also comes great responsibility.
Use your power responsibly.
4. Ask the important question:
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is packed with villains we haven’t seen on the big screen. There’s Tombstone (Marvin Jones III), Ramrod (Billy Clements), Boomerang, and Tarantula. Then there are the major villains: Mac Gargon/Scorpion (Michael Mando) and the Uncanny X-Man Jean Grey (Sadie Sink). Though this Jean Grey isn’t part of the X-Men. She still has the powers of Jean Grey.
She can mind-control people. In Spider-Man: Brand New Day, we see her power used to jump from one person to another. It was impressive.
At one point, Jean Grey controlled Mac Gargon to try to access Damage Control facilities. Then, she used an old grandmother to drive a tank into another one of their facilities.
As Spider-Man is pursuing her jumps, he doesn’t ask what was in the tank. Jean Grey tells him that he failed to ask the important question: What’s inside the tank?
There was a bomb. He was now too far away to deal with it.
We think we know the questions to ask. Yet, we also miss important questions.
Some important questions to ask your team members are:
- How can I help you with that?
- Are we avoiding an important conversation?
- What do you need more of from me?
- Where do you feel we’re failing?
When you begin to ask the important questions, you can find answers that will truly change things.
5. The impact you’ve made lasts a long time:
Even though the world forgot Peter Parker, they didn’t forget Spider-Man. We see this when Peter follows Ned into a party at his apartment.
Ned has a board tracking Spider-Man.
Ned doesn’t know exactly why he’s trying to track Spider-Man. Still, there’s something there… It’s the impact Peter and Spider-Man had on him and MJ.
So, despite forgetting who Peter was, he had a connection to Spider-Man.
You’re only going to lead your people for a limited amount of time. Then, they’re going to move on.
The impact you make on them will last a long time. A lot longer than you had with them.
Make sure you’re making a positive impact on those you lead. They’ll remember it.
6. Be choosy who you work for:
MJ had a job interview at an organization. Ned asks her how it went.
Ned didn’t get the answer he wanted. MJ was trying to avoid giving him a direct answer.
He eventually gets his answer. MJ tells Ned she got a job offer but that she turned down the role. Ned was confused.
Why did MJ turn down the job? She didn’t want to work for a soulless corporation.
There was a time when people felt as if they had to take a job anywhere. If an organization paid, sign them up!
Times have changed. People are being choosier and choosier about who they work for.
You can be choosy. You can find a place you love to work. You don’t have to work for a soulless corporation.
Find an organization that resonates with you. Find an organization that’s doing good. Make your work about more than the paycheck.
7. New situations can freak people out:
Peter Parker was dealing with something dark. He’d been bitten by a radioactive spider years prior and gained his powers. What he didn’t understand was that he may go through multiple stages, the same as a spider.
Did you know there were 3 stages to a spider’s life?
- Egg: Females lay tens to thousands of eggs protected inside a woven silk sac.
- Spiderling: Tiny hatchlings emerge that look like miniature adults. They shed their hard outer skin (molt) multiple times to grow.
- Adult: The final mature stage where spiders are fully grown, capable of mating, and ready to start the cycle again.
Peter had been in the spiderling stage. He still had more growing to do. And grow he did.
Throughout the film, Peter had been having headaches. One time, he passed out. He woke up encased in a spider-silk cocoon.
It was all new to him. And he completely freaked out.
What new situations are happening in your organization? Is there a corporate takeover? Did someone leave the organization? Did new people come on board?
All of these new situations can freak the people out who are left in your organization. Help walk them through the new changes. The more you help, the less freaked out they will be.
8. Detective Jean DeWolff (Liza Colón-Zayas):
If you act like this again, I cannot protect you.
Spider-Man and Detective DeWolff had been working together unofficially. They would take each other’s phone calls, alert one another to criminal activity, and more. They were unofficial partners.
After Peter woke up in the cocoon, his powers were exaggerated. He gained new powers, like organic webs. But he was unnerved by all of this. And it showed in his next meeting with Scorpion.
Scorpion had attempted to break into another Damage Control facility. Spider-Man stopped him. However, Spider-Man used extreme force and swung Scorpion into a police car.
The police officer in the car was hurt. Badly hurt.
Detective DeWolff warned Spider-Man that he would not be protected if he did something like this again.
There are two things to take from this scene:
- Recognize people make mistakes: Detective DeWolff recognized Spider-Man made a mistake. She warned him. She gave him a second chance. Why? Because everyone makes mistakes. Even ones that can hurt others.
- Offer up a second chance: Detective DeWolff didn’t punish Spider-Man when he messed up. She gave him a second chance. But she warned him it would be the only second chance. If someone messes up, don’t terminate them. Give them a second chance.
9. You can work with people who are polar opposites of you:
Spider-Man was different than his on-screen partner: Frank Castle AKA The Punisher (John Bernthal). Off-screen, Spider-Man had helped save The Punisher’s life.
Now, Spider-Man needed The Punisher’s help. He asked him to protect MJ.
Two different people. Two extremely different styles (One caring and cautious, the other extremely violent and dangerous). They still made a great team.
You may be hesitant to work with someone who is the polar opposite of you. I want to caution you not to dismiss them.
Look for ways the two of you can work together. How do the vastly different styles complement one another?
Find those ways and use them to become a leadership powerhouse.
10. Your past can touch people in ways you never expected:
Jean Grey entered the mind of Spider-Man as she held William ‘Bill’ Metzger (Tramell Tillman), the head of Damage Control, captive. Peter allowed this. He knew just where in his mind to take her.
We see a scene of Peter with Aunt May. She’s telling him about power and responsibility and how scary it can be.
This time, it’s not Peter she’s telling. Aunt May is talking to Jean Grey. The memories of Peter’s past touch her. They change her.
You may think your past is worthless. There’s nothing good in it. I want to challenge you to look at your past as a way to connect with those you lead.
You don’t need to share every dirty detail. However, if you’re able to open up and share about the people who helped shape you… If you’re able to share how you weren’t always a good leader… If you share your failures and flaws… You’re going to win over difficult employees.
Let your past touch those you lead today.
Joseph Lalonde is the owner of JMLalonde.com. He shares leadership insights from movies, extreme sports, and life experiences.
