Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s Surprise Cameo Confirms The Best Character In The MCU Isn’t Who You Think
Nearly every aspect of Spider-Man: Brand New Day has the world talking after the film made $1 billion at the worldwide box office in just a handful of days. The rave reviews, beloved character moments, and expertly crafted action sequences are popular talking points, but the secrets that the movie brought with it are getting most of the buzz. The biggest surprise was the reveal that Sadie Sink’s character is Jean Grey, marking the arrival of a major mutant from the X-Men into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The marketing for Spider-Man: Brand New Day did everything it could to keep Sink’s role a secret, and it worked out well, but the movie also had another surprise in store for viewers in the form of a fun cameo that connects things to the greater MCU. That cameo comes from a great new character who has become a highlight of the franchise.
The surprise cameo is made by Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova, who pops up when Spider-Man visits her in her “office” to get some information. Since debuting in 2021’s Black Widow, Yelena has become a staple of the MCU, with roles in Hawkeye, Thunderbolts*, What If?, and Marvel Zombies. Each appearance has added depth to the character, who has quietly become the best thing about the franchise. And Spider-Man: Brand New Day only helps to cement that point.
Yelena’s Spider-Man Appearance Shows How Important She Is As An Avenger
While Thunderbolts* is a film about a team, Yelena feels like the protagonist. She opens and closes the movie, gets the most to do, and forms the strongest connections to the team members around her. When that story ends, the group is announced as the New Avengers and Yelena takes center stage. The film’s post-credits scene also seems to suggest that she’s the leader of the team, as even Bucky, who has been around since the early days of the MCU, is reporting to her. Yelena’s cameo in Spider-Man: Brand New Day adds to just how important she is as an Avenger.
When Spider-Man needs the Avengers, it’s Yelena he goes to. That their meeting takes place in a bathhouse is more of a personality quirk of Yelena’s rather than a look at her status with the Avengers. She explains to Peter that her team deals with “big potatoes” rather than the “small potatoes” that Peter handles on the streets of New York. It’s a great use of a cameo to give the fans a fun scene, while also reminding everyone of how crucial Yelena is to the franchise.
Yelena’s Chemistry With Everyone Means She Can Pop Up Anywhere
The beauty of Yelena as something of a lynchpin of the MCU is how well she meshes with everyone. Florence Pugh is a spectacular Academy Award-nominated actor, and she’s had brilliant chemistry with everyone she has shared the screen with. The bond showcased between Yelena and Natasha throughout Black Widow was the film’s emotional core, while her relationship with Alexei/Red Guardian (David Harbour) continues, all these years later.
When Yelena returned for Hawkeye, everyone seemed to agree that she and Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop were fantastic together. The scene where Yelena eats mac and cheese at Kate’s apartment is highly entertaining, while their fight scene that begins in the elevator is one of the most fun sequences of the past few years (they even put the great Yelena and Kate duo back together in Marvel Zombies). The climactic scene in Hawkeye where Yelena fights Clint is also an emotional roller coaster, and the two actors play well off each other.
As noted, Yelena is the glue of Thunderbolts*, showcasing chemistry with everyone from Lewis Pullman’s Bob to Wyatt Russell’s John Walker. The same goes for her cameo in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, as she’s a blast with Tom Holland’s Peter. The conversation feels natural; you believe that they’ve interacted before, and the actors are clearly having fun together. This makes Yelena the perfect character to show up across the MCU.
Yelena Is the New Nick Fury the MCU Needs
Since Avengers: Endgame, some MCU characters have struggled with inconsistency. Sam Wilson is a great example, with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier giving him an interesting story arc regarding being a Black Captain America, only for Captain America: Brand New Day to give him something far less intriguing to work with. Yelena hasn’t had that problem and is the franchise’s best and most consistently well-written character. In Black Widow, her tragic backstory makes her sympathetic, and her quippy jokes make her easy to fall in love with.
In Hawkeye, it’s more complicated because Yelena is actively trying to kill Hawkeye, a member of the Avengers. However, we understand her grief, especially after watching how she disappeared and returned in the Blip. When she finally faces Clint, their shared trauma over the death of Natasha gives us one of the best scenes involving either character. She’s even better in Thunderbolts*, forging a bond with Bob over their shared struggles with depression while also trying to live up to the heroic things that Natasha did. Becoming an Avenger like her sister made for a beautiful moment.
Yelena appearing everywhere, including Spider-Man: Brand Day, and being a clear focal point of Avengers: Doomsday and beyond is a great move because she’s the MCU’s best character right now, and the franchise needs a new lynchpin character (like Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury) who can make this universe and its story arcs feel cohesive again.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is now in theaters.
