Eamonn M. Mccormack/Getty Images
Alert: Spoilers for “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” follow
Despite hints suggesting Sadie Sink tackles the role of Jean Grey in “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” the revelation remains astonishing with its inclusion of a Grey family mutant. A twist that further intrigues fans is the surprise addition of Jean’s sister into the storyline.
The plot thickens as it is unveiled that Sara Grey, portrayed by Olivia Booth-Ford, possesses the same extraordinary powers as Jean. Her capture by the Department of Damage Control sets off a sequence of events that deeply impacts her younger sister, motivating Jean’s rebellious actions. In a daring move to prevent capture, Sara uses her telepathic abilities to urge Jean to flee, setting Jean on a fervent mission against Damage Control to rescue her sister. Jean clings to a singular lead; a telepathic clue Sara communicates about an enigmatic term, “V-Max.”
Ultimately, Jean’s journey ends in somber realization. “V-Max” turns out to be nothing more than an air vent’s brand marked above a static chair within a Damage Control cell—Sara’s last sight before falling victim to a harrowing mind experiment that leads to her demise. Her bittersweet ending mirrors her comic book narrative, where luck similarly eludes her character.
Sara Grey’s Marvel Comics version is different from her MCU counterpart
Marvel comics
In weaving Sara Grey into “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” the creators do not merely conjure fictional relatives for iconic figures. Although differing significantly from her portrayal by Olivia Booth-Ford in the film, Sara exists within the Marvel comic universe, richly expanding the storyline’s dimensions.
In the comics, Sara is an adult with a family of her own. While this implies that her life is at least somewhat more well-adjusted than that of her MCU version — who’s dumped into the foster system with Jean once their mutant powers manifest — her comic book tenure is hardly happy. Her major story arcs include getting kidnapped by the Atlantean villain Attuma, and being abducted and killed by anti-mutant fanatics for her pro-mutant beliefs.
However, the comics version of Sara eventually returns in “Phoenix” #12, courtesy of a psychic message she sends to Jean. This time, she’s a mutant who can unlock people’s full potential, including latent powers. It turns out that this version of Sara is actually an energy copy of the original, and eventually becomes a divine guide known as Beacon. This incarnation of Sara seems to have influenced the MCU one: The telepathic message that Beacon-Sara sends resembles the V-Max one from “Brand New Day,” and Beacon’s ability to help people engage with their powers resembles the MCU Sara’s role in teaching Jean how to unlock hers. This makes for a memorable character whose memory no doubt motivates Jean along her path at the end of “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.”
Remember to watch Looper’s Jean Grey explainer before seeing “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” in a theater near you.