In the first Spider-Man: Brand New Day teaser trailer, the wall-crawler was shown battling The Hand both in a prison setting and high above the streets of New York City. As of now, the extent of their role in the movie is a mystery to us.
Something that's become clear is that the ninja clan has a female leader. She could be seen in the trailer and is clearly leading the group on the poster released during CinemaCon last night.
In this feature, we're exploring the most likely possibilities for who this character could be. From mutants with ties to Jean Grey and the wider MCU to familiar faces from the Defenders' past, there are some compelling contenders, all of whom are capable of setting the stage for a thrilling mix of future stories.
To find out what could be on the way in Spider-Man: Brand New Day this July, click on the "Next"/"View List" buttons below.
5. Scarlet Samurai
In the comics, Mariko Yashida, created by Chris Claremont and John Byrne in Uncanny X-Men, is the daughter of Japanese crimelord Lord Shingen (head of Clan Yashida), half-sister to the Silver Samurai (Kenuichio Harada), and a cousin to Sunfire. When she meets Wolverine, they quickly fall for each other and remain together until her death.
Years later, the villainous Gorgon resurrected Mariko as The Hand's Scarlet Samurai. There have been rumours about the Silver Samurai appearing in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but what if Mariko is being reimagined as a gender-swapped version of the classic Wolverine/X-Men villain? Those robes sure look scarlet to us, too!
Marvel Studios now has access to the thousands of characters tied to the X-Men, and The Hand needs a leader. Madame Gao, Alexandra Reid, and Elektra are all dead, and throwing the Yashida Corp into the mix could have major ramifications for the wider MCU, especially if they're in cahoots with the Department of Damage Control and its Sentinel program.
4. Kwannon
Long before her confusing body swap with the X-Men's Betsy Braddock, Kwannon was raised from birth by the Hand ninja clan as a ruthless assassin and enforcer. She is a mutant with empathic and psychic abilities, potentially explaining the mind control scenes shown in Spider-Man: Brand New Day's teaser trailer.
At first glance, this might seem an odd choice for the woman who leads The Hand in this movie, but it's also an opportunity for Marvel Studios to lay the groundwork for the future.
After leaving the clan of ninjas, Kwannon was forced to battle her lover, Matsu'o Tsurayaba. During the fight, she fell from a cliff and suffered severe brain damage from oxygen deprivation, leaving her comatose. The Hand, with help from the witch Spiral, transferred her mind into the body of Betsy Braddock, while Betsy's mind was placed into Kwannon. Could something similar be why they're after Jean Grey?
3. The Queen
This would be a bigger swing than the characters above, but Ana Soria does make sense. In the comics, she was secretly selected for a U.S. military super-soldier experiment during World War II to recreate the serum that created Captain America. However, after being exposed to radiation, her latent mutant gene activated.
When she resurfaced in the present, Ana, now going by "The Queen," commanded human "drones" with the insect gene and chose Spider-Man as her mate. After infecting him through a mutagenic kiss that turns the hero into a giant spider, her plan is ultimately foiled, and Peter develops organic webbing in the aftermath of their clash.
Ana would need to undergo some changes for Spider-Man: Brand New Day—her being part of The Hand would be new, for starters—but if Marvel Studios is planning to embrace the supernatural here, then making someone like The Queen (or Spider Queen) part of the ninja clan makes perfect sense.
2. Elektra
We're swinging for the fences here, but bear with us. With current speculation pointing to Matt Murdock ending up in prison after the Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 finale, what if a resurrected Elektra leads The Hand into this prison with the intention of freeing the Man Without Fear? A cameo like this would serve multiple purposes.
For starters, it gives the wall-crawler and Matt, minus his costume, the opportunity to team up and fight The Hand. Elektra's cameo, meanwhile, would set the stage for her rumoured role in Daredevil: Born Again Season 3, especially as Matt would almost certainly refuse her offer to be broken out. When he is inevitably freed, this meeting sets up his potential role in Spider-Man 5.
Back to the Elektra of it all, and this does rather feel like wishful thinking. Still, we wouldn't put it past Marvel Studios to bring The Hand back and paint them in a heroic light, and Elektra has led them on the page. There's also something to be said for Matt's old flame leading the ninjas as she attempts to protect New York in his absence, much to the chagrin of the Defenders.
1. Typhoid Mary
Alice Eve portrayed a version of Mary Walker in Iron Fist Season 2. However, we're pretty sure that not only do most people not remember her, but absolutely no one would care if the villain were recast and reimagined for the MCU in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. A mutant with dissociative identity disorder and low-level psionic powers, she could be a good fit for The Hand's leader.
She's frequently served the ninja clan, most notably when The Kingpin was calling the shots. With Vanessa Fisk now dead, we'd put money on the villain doing whatever he can to bring his wife back, and The Hand is capable of resurrecting her, remember. That's a plot point that Daredevil: Born Again Season 3 can explore.
Given Wilson Fisk's complicated romantic history with Mary, her introduction here would serve the Disney+ series well. Ultimately, Typhoid Mary leading this group of ninjas—not necessarily the entire organisation—would work best if The Hand's role here is akin to a cameo, allowing Daredevil: Born Again to revisit her in greater depth next year.