There are a lot of exciting superhero projects on the horizon, but few are generating as much anticipation as Spider-Man: Brand New Day. It feels like every day we get a new set picture from the movie that makes us collectively think: "At long last, Spider-Man is real". As if the promise of watching Peter Parker be the star of a street-level story wasn't enough, many characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe are set to make an appearance as well, such as Punisher, Hulk, and even Yelena Belova (even though she hasn't been officially confirmed yet).
One of Marvel's greatest heroes is finally coming back, which means he'll need a ruthless antagonist to balance things out. While the main villain of Spider-Man: Brand New Day hasn't been revealed yet, two iconic bad guys will officially make an appearance: Tombstone and Mac Gargan's Scorpion. Better yet, a new set photo just gave us our first look at the latter, and there are some interesting tidbits to unpack.
First pictures of Michael Mando's Mac Gargan in Spider-Man: Brand New Day surface online
After being teased in a post-credits scene in an eight-year-old movie, Scorpion is coming at last. New set pictures from the set of Spider-Man: Brand New Day give us our first look at Michael Mando's Mac Gargan. While he is, unfortunately, not wearing the iconic green Scorpion suit, his wardrobe does give us a better idea of what will happen with his character story-wise.
The last time we saw Mac Gargan, he was in the same prison as Vulture, wearing a white uniform and wanting to get revenge on the wall-crawler. Fast-forward a few years, and not only is he wearing the exact same uniform in the set pictures, but he's also holding a pair of handcuffs in one hand while walking away from a helicopter. With that in mind, it isn't far-fetched to assume that we're witnessing Gargan's prison breakout.
When filming for Spider-Man: Brand New Day began in Glasgow, one of the first sequences shot was a frenetic pursuit in which the wall-crawler chased a tank through the streets. Spidey wasn't alone, however, as multiple other parties were involved, too, including the Punisher in his van. Now, one of the most recent looks at this same sequence showcases the same helicopter that Mac Gargan will use to escape, along with a bomb squad vehicle.
When putting all the pieces of the puzzle together, it seems that someone will manage to break Gargan out of prison, likely using the tank. Gargan will then board a helicopter and escape in the middle of the chaos. So why doesn't Spidey follow the supervillain before he gets away? Because the friendly neighborhood hero will attempt to stop the tank from wreaking even more havoc in the city, with Punisher getting involved at some point, too. This diversion will allow Mac Gargan to escape and eventually turn into the Scorpion.
The only question remaining is: Who is pulling the strings behind this whole breakout, and why? There's always a chance that Tombstone is looking for new henchmen to do his every bidding. However, no one truly knows who the main antagonist of Spider-Man: Brand New Day is. Not even the many scoopers reporting on the movie seem to be on the same page about who will take this spot. But whoever is the mastermind, it must be someone with lots of resources and power.
Only time will tell how and why Mac Gargan will escape prison, but one thing's for certain: Every new look we have from Spider-Man: Brand New Day only makes us all the more excited about what's to come, and we can't wait to see how it all plays out.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day will be released on Jul. 31, 2026.