At the last movie of Spider-Man, absolute success this summer, we are presented with a downcast superhero, Peter Parker (thealter ego of Spiderman), with unbearable physical pain and unexpected changes in the body. As often happens in stories of dystopian worlds and superpowered heroes, we can ask ourselves if the plot has sparks of reality, that is to say, if it is based on scientific evidence even if exaggerated, or if it is totally implausible. As a researcher, I often regret that screenwriters do not consult scientists to make their plots more plausible and prefer to invent them. Precisely the difference between fantasy and science fiction is this: whether there is any scientific evidence that supports the plot. In the case of Spider-Man: brand new day, in the script there is a little bit of everything.

Rumors about the death of superhero cinema have turned out to be exaggerated. Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the new installment of the arachnid hero's saga, has debuted at the international box office with a staggering €804.3 million gross, the second-largest figure in history (unadjusted for inflation), surpassed only by the €1.041 billion of the premiere of The Avengers: Endgame (2019). The film starring Tom Holland has also premiered with record box office figures in North America, with an estimated 308 million euros in its opening weekend, nearing the 309.7 million from the US premiere ofThe Avengers: Endgame.

In the still innocent Marvel of the early 70s, a phenomenon unprecedented in superhero comics occurred in the Spiderman series: the protagonist grew up. Scriptwriter Gerry Conway, who had joined the series at just 19 years old, confronted Peter Parker with the complexity of adult relationships and the tragedy of the death of his first great love, Gwen Stacy. Over time, the publisher decided that growing characters wasn't good for business and could alienate readers: it was better to keep superheroes frozen in an eternal present and exploit their iconicity without deep changes that altered their essence. Well, in the new cinematic installment of the superhero, which arrived in theaters on Wednesday, something similar has happened: Spiderman has ceased to be that inexperienced and excitable teenager that Tony Stark recruited as a substitute for the Avengers and has become a sad and lonely young adult, tormented by the sacrifice he made at the end of "Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), when everyone, including his girlfriend, magically forgot about Peter Parker's existence.