Spider-Man: Brand New Day was filled to the brim with beloved characters from the comics, including the Incredible Hulk, the Punisher, Tombstone, and yes, even Jean Grey. With so many appearances and big names, you might have actually missed another pull from the comics, though this one is far less beloved. In fact, Marvel just confirmed that one of its most hated characters is now officially in the MCU, and fans of characters who haven’t debuted yet are likely not going to be too thrilled that they made it in first.
Those who saw Spider-Man: Brand New Day were right there with a hurting Peter Parker as he saw MJ with a new boyfriend, who was played by actor Eman Esfandi. Esfandi is only in one scene, and in the credits his role is labeled as the boyfriend, but it turns out he does have a name. Courtesy of @cosmic_marvel, subtitled screenings of Brand New Day have revealed the character’s name as Paul, and if that sounds familiar, it should, as it’s Paul Rabin from the comics, who has become a popular punching bag for those who would much rather see Peter and MJ together rather than MJ and Paul.
Why Marvel Fans Don’t Like Paul
To understand why people dislike Paul Rabin, you have to go all the way back to the forever controversial One More Day. That story was part of an editorial decision that continues to reverberate to this day, which was that Peter and MJ are more interesting apart than together. To get there, Marvel worked in a deal with Mephisto to save Aunt May, and that created a world where not only were Peter and MJ no longer together, but they were never married in the first place.
Since then, it’s been a number of hurdles and plot points to keep them apart, and that’s where we arrive at one of the worst of those hurdles, Paul. Granted, it’s not even Paul himself that’s so bad; it’s the contrivance of the character and the hoops that the story jumps through to place a person in this spot. He could be named Geoffrey or Teddy Bear, and it would be just as bad.
There’s nothing all that special or endearing about Paul to bring you into this relationship with MJ, and the multiverse and time shenanigans that created this scenario just come off as forced. The two did break up eventually, and Mary Jane has been up to all sorts of other things since, including becoming the new Venom. Now, to Paul’s credit, All-New Venom allowed fans to start to see Paul as an actual character instead of just a plot device, though those fans also saw the character killed at the hands of Torment, so it didn’t exactly end on a high note for the character.
As far as the MCU is concerned, Paul seems relegated to a well-hidden easter egg in Brand New Day, so those who are worried that we’ll get a Paul-focused story in future movies should likely rest easy, as that doesn’t seem to be in the cards right now.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is now in theaters.