Blink, and you might have missed it, but Empire Magazine’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day coverage may have quietly confirmed a big Hulk connection hiding in plain sight.
The new Empire cover shows Tom Holland’s Spider-Man swinging into action against red-clad enemies, but one detail on his wrist stands out: Spidey’s new web-shooters have green energy running through them.
We previously covered a Spider-Man: Brand New Day toy that teases Anti-Gamma webbing, which immediately pointed to Peter Parker needing special tech to deal with Hulk.
Now the Empire cover appears to show green-powered web-shooters, and another toy image shows Spider-Man webbing up a Hulk-sized fist.
Put it all together, and it looks like Peter may be getting gamma-powered, or anti-gamma, web tech in the movie.
For how this fits into the bigger picture, see our Spider-Man: Brand New Day guide on cast, villains, and release date.
Empire Cover Shows Green Web-Shooters
The Empire cover gives fans a new look at Spider-Man’s suit, with Peter battling a new villain and The Hand.
Look closer at the wrist.
Spider-Man’s web-shooters have green lights or green energy tubes attached to them.
Green is also the color most associated with Hulk and gamma energy in the MCU. Since Mark Ruffalo is back as Bruce Banner in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the detail is worth flagging.
It is possible the green web-shooters are just a suit upgrade.
It is also possible Peter has modified his webbing to deal with a gamma-powered threat. There’s also speculation that Peter fixes Banner’s inhibitor.
The anti-gamma angle connects to how Hulk factors into the movie.
Toys Make More Sense Now
A previous Spider-Man: Brand New Day toy already teased Anti-Gamma webbing.
At the time, the toy raised questions about Peter needing new gear to stop or slow down Hulk. The idea made sense because Hulk is expected to play a major role in the movie, and Peter’s normal webbing probably would not do much against him.
Now the Empire cover appears to add another piece to the puzzle.
Another toy shows Spider-Man firing webbing around a giant fist. The fist is Hulk-sized, and the web effect looks like it is meant to wrap around and stop the attack.
Normal Spider-Man webbing might slow down street-level enemies, but against Hulk, it would likely be useless. If the webbing has some kind of gamma-based or anti-gamma effect, it would explain why Peter could hold his own even briefly.
Feral Hulk Leak Points To A Savage Return
The Hulk connection got even bigger after a leaked figure description appeared to reveal the return of the savage version of Hulk, described as the “feral Hulk.”
The description says Bruce Banner uses an inhibitor to keep himself in human form after the events of Avengers: Endgame, but the device has limits. It also claims the movie marks the return of Hulk in his feral form, moving away from the Smart Hulk version seen in recent MCU projects.
Poster merch has also surfaced showing Spider-Man vs Hulk.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day releases July 31st.
