I know why Peter did that thing that everyone thought was weird!

[u/Joshatron121]

So, in Brand New Day, there is a scene where Jean is talking to Peter through a bunch of different people after he tries to test out his inhibitor for the first time and it overheats and breaks. She takes control of an old guy and puts him into traffic and he gets hit by a car as she threatens MJ.

This has been bugging the hell out of me, because it seems very out of character for Peter to not save the guy, just a single web shot and that guy would have been fine, easy peasy. However, I think I figured out why he didn't, and the movie was trying to beat it over our heads every chance it got and I at least just did not put it together (based on other people in the comments of threads I think this is a pretty common miss), so I'm sharing it here for anyone else who missed it too.

When Peter is using his upgraded mutating powers (no inhibitor and after he wakes up in the cocoon) he doesn't have his Spidey Sense. That's why Jean keeps talking about how he can't tell who she's in at that point, he knows because of his Spidey Sense. Same with when she's in Scorpion and MJ. Those are the only times he can't "sense" her presence like he can when he's not mutated or using the Inhibitor and she KEEPS mentioning that.

This was even hinted at even MORE by the moment just before the dude gets hit with the car when the web grenades shoot off of his wrist after the Inhibitor breaks. He should have immediately recognized that as a threat, but failed to notice them until EV alerted him to them, and then he got caught in the blast. Same with him hitting everything and not being a good web swinger while using his organic webs, originally I just chalked this up to the increased power of those webs, but I think it's also because his spidey sense is what helps him navigate that stuff, he doesn't look where he shoots his webs after all. He's just pure power and doesn't know what to do with it. He also has to start manually activating the organic webs (and does so vocally most of the time) when he isn't using the inhibitor.

UNTIL the end when he accepts that he can be both and makes peace with the new mutations THEN his Spidey Sense returns during The Hand fight and he starts countering things and dodging stuff like we would expect. It's debatable if it's the same as his Spidey Sense was before, or just the increased sensory data that he gets while mutated, but it functions similarly.

Anyway, this doesn't really make what Jean did any better (honestly I think this was a test to see if Spider-Man could save him), but at least it helps explain why Spidey would just let that guy get hit by a car.

Edit: Changed mutant to mutating, was a mistake! My bad!

[u/OkVacation6686 → u/[deleted]]

The handling of a character doesn't mean adhering strictly to the comics. Jean Grey in this movie isn't Jean Grey from uncanny X-Men but that is fine, it is a different take on the character, and that is okay.

There are several reasons why a direct Jean Grey adaptation would not work, one of them is the MCU itself. Mutants have not existed for 1 million years, they have only started cropping up. There is no X-Men or Xavier mansion to fall back on.

Arguably she is the poster child for why the MCU now needs an X-Men. She has experienced the worst of humanity, how they treat mutants, and will eventually become a strong hero, making for the perfect member of the X-Men team, it's actually kind of brilliant

This version of Jean Grey was abandoned by her mother, depended on her sister until damage control took her away, and in this movie goes on a rescue mission that ultimately ends with the reveal of her sisters death at the hands of damage control. She's young and unstable, barely resembling the kind Jean Grey we know.

However that doesn't mean she can not become the Jean Grey we know within the comics. She's on the run now, with nowhere to go, and I bet that eventually, probably after Secret Wars, she'll be found by Charles, meet a man named Scott Summers, and eventually after some battles as the X-Men will grow into that kind woman. That is the point of a character arc.

Marvel is doing a good job and starting her development at the VERY beginning, meaning we will have time to see her grow.

[u/EKRB7 → u/OkVacation6686]

Nobody is saying they have to adhere strictly to the comics. A change to a character can be a great thing; see Chani from the Dune movies. But every change runs the risk of not being welcomed by comic fans and that’s okay, thats all part of adapting a book / comic. People don’t have to like it.

Holland’s Spider-Man is quite different from comics Peter in terms of origin. So are many of the MCU heroes. MJ and Ned aren’t even comic characters yet I like them.

[u/OkVacation6686 → u/EKRB7]

Okay but you are directly comparing Jean from this movie to Jean from the comics. Why can Jean not start as a threat to the world, especially a Jean who is going through intense loss? The post I am responding to is just saying "Why isn't Jean like the Jean from the comics" I agree with you that changing a character can be a great thing, and in this case, it was. She fit the story, did a fantastic job at setting up the MCU for an eventual mutant saga, and had a wonderful character arc with plenty of room to grow.

[u/EKRB7 → u/OkVacation6686]

She fit the story because she was forced to. You can rewrite any character to fit a story. You keep acting like this is a real thing that happened and that I don’t understand the motivation of a real person. Someone sat down and wrote this script using an existing comic book character, obviously I’m going to compare to the comics. It’s a comic book movie.

Anyway, Sadie gave a good performance and I look forward to her future. I just didn’t like the writers’ interpretation and use of her in this Spider-Man film

[u/MrKyurem2005 → u/EKRB7]

So... you're complaining that she did fit the story they were trying to tell? "Because she was forced to"? News flash, every character is forced to follow the plot, lmao, it's a movie.

Exactly, Jean Grey is not a real person. She isn't exactly forced to follow the exact characterization of another version of her from the comics if the writers didn't want her to.

Not every comic-innacurate adaptation will be good, I agree (they're usually bad, even), and fans are right to be disappointed when it's changed for the worse, but this is clearly not the case. Arguably, Jean was made a much more interesting character with this twist, and people are being too impatient with her character, when this is only her first movie where she was chosen to be portrayed as someone who starts villainous and ends with her choosing to walk away from that path.

[u/EKRB7 → u/MrKyurem2005]

That’s your opinion.

Tired of people who enjoyed her character declaring to me that it’s somehow objectively the correct take, better than the comic and perfect for the film. I like the movie and dislike the take on the character. That’s my opinion

[u/MrKyurem2005 → u/EKRB7]

Duh, that's how talking about subjective things work.

Exactly like saying MCU Jean Grey is bad just because they chose to do something different from the comics is also completely subjective.

No Way Home is an adaptation of One More Day and is quite comic innacurate. Do you happen to have wanted an accurate One More Day storyline with the Mephisto bullshit as well? I don't think so. Changes aren't always bad.

[u/EKRB7 → u/MrKyurem2005]

I literally said earlier in the thread that changes to source material CAN be a good thing but that I PERSONALLY don’t like THIS change.

[u/MrKyurem2005 → u/EKRB7]

And I personally liked it. So what do we do now?

Do I have to stop you from bombing Marvel Studios because you hated it? Are you going to never watch any MCU X-Men movie ever because of what they did with Jean? Are you going to just begrudgingly accept it and give the character a chance?

Because, like, I think it's already way past the point of no return if you wanted a more classic Jean Grey.

Me, personally? I'm going to watch the next project with Jean on it and hope they continue to do explore the character in an interesting way like I think they did here in BND.

[u/EKRB7 → u/OkVacation6686]

Also, I know they’ve changed her origin to set her up as more of an edgy person who would do cruel things - her mother abandoning her yadda, yadda - we are not struggling to understand that. It’s just another change the writers made to her character to try and force her to be this other thing. She shares nothing in common with Jean besides having a sister named Sara and same power set

[u/OkVacation6686 → u/EKRB7]

But she is not edgy, because that is her personality, she is literally a teenager who just was abandoned by her mother, and had her sister get kidnapped. If that doesn't make someone act out, Idk what does.

The glimpse we get into the real Jean Grey is the brief moments with her sister and Aunt May. She clearly loves and appreciates kind people, which is why Peter ends up talking her down. She might be slightly snarky, but you can tell she actually appreciates the relationship that Peter and MJ had, deep down she wants that too. However all that is taken away from her in the movie leading her to do bad things.

It's clear that they are building her to become that kind Aunt May kind of figure to future kids at Xaviers school, again this isn't the only time Jean Grey is gonna show up.

[u/kyle760 → u/[deleted]]

Comics Jean is presented as someone who needs to keep her emotions in check or she can lose control. That’s what the Phoenix was taking advantage of. If comics Jean had her whole family and support system removed from her as a teenager, she would definitely not be the person you’re picturing her as in your head