Spider-Man: Brand New Day Confirms Tony Stark's Biggest Mistake That's Still Hurting the MCU

This article contains spoilers for Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Iron Man's shadow looms large over the MCU, as evidenced by Robert Downey Jr. returning to the fold as Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday. Likewise, within the franchise's canon, Tony Stark's self-sacrifice to defeat Thanos has left him venerated worldwide, as depicted in various post-Endgame Marvel projects. On the other hand, Tony's legacy isn't entirely good, a fact fans are subtly reminded of in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Peter Parker moved past his initial grief over Tony's death and the impostor syndrome he felt from carrying on as a superhero without his mentor's guidance, way back in Spider-Man: Far From Home. As such, there are no direct references to Iron Man in the latest cinematic outing for Tom Holland's webslinger. That said, a major element of the movie pulls on a thread that's been building throughout the entire Multiverse Saga, cementing the unfortunate truth that a big mistake Tony made in his past is still making things difficult for the lives of his superhero friends and successors. And it's unlikely to go away anytime soon.

Marvel Fans Forget That Tony Stark Created the Department of Damage Control

Damage Control First Appeared In Spider-Man: Homecoming

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is the second consecutive Spidey film to feature a prominent role for the Department of Damage Control, the branch of the U.S. government established to clean up the aftermath of superhero incidents. It is also the fifth Multiverse Saga project to include the DoDC following Spider-Man: No Way Home, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and Wonder Man. Damage Control has become such a fixture of the franchise at this point, then, that it's easy to forget the department owes its existence to Tony Stark himself.

In the opening flashback scenes of Spider-Man: Homecoming, a news report playing on the TV reveals that Stark worked with the government in the wake of the Battle of New York to create the Department of Damage Control. Its original remit, which memorably cost Adrian Toomes his job, was to literally control the structural, urban damage caused by superhero-vs-supervillain battles. In that sense, it's understandable why Tony felt compelled to aid in the department's creation, as Avengers: Age of Ultron shows fans how guilty he feels about the destruction the Avengers cause. However, in more recent projects, as the amount of superhero activity has increased exponentially, and without Tony around to keep it in check, it's become clear that the DoDC's parameters have widened, and not for the better.

At this point, Damage Control has been depicted as an antagonistic force opposing the superhero community numerous times. Its officers arrested Peter Parker after Mysterio framed him in No Way Home, Kamala Khan only narrowly avoided becoming their next target in Ms. Marvel, and most notably, Agent Cleary returned in Wonder Man with an elaborate scheme to entrap Simon Williams into revealing his secret super-powers. As Cleary is the face of the DoDC in all three of these projects, he might have been just a rogue agent, and the wider department did not condone his extreme methods. However, Brand New Day makes plain that Cleary is a saint compared to the corruption displayed by the department's director, Bill Metzger.

Damage Control's Corruption Is Damaging Tony Stark's Legacy in the MCU

In Brand New Day, Peter Parker makes the acquaintance of Director Metzger. Initially, the man appears to be a trustworthy ally. But Peter probably should've remembered the rough treatment he received at Damage Control's hands in No Way Home, as Metzger's cruel nature later comes to light. Although Sadie Sink's Jean Grey seems to be the film's main villain, Peter ultimately discovers that she is only getting her revenge on the DoDC after Metzger kidnapped, experimented on, and finally killed her sister, Sara, in an attempt to extrapolate her telepathic abilities.

Metzger is arrested at the end of Brand New Day, and we can infer that a new, more moderate director will be appointed in his place. At this point, though, it's hard to imagine Damage Control shrinking back its influence and becoming a simple clean-up crew again. The government's distrust of superheroes has only grown since the Sokovia Accords were created, and then broken, in Captain America: Civil War, and so the hostility towards enhanced individuals within the DoDC is likely to be institutional, meaning individuals like Metzger and Cleary are very probably in the majority.

In the comics, William Metzger is not associated with Damage Control, but is instead a minor X-Men villain who leads an anti-mutant militia that is covertly supported by the FBI.

So far, Damage Control has persecuted two young mutants in the forms of Kamala Khan and Jean Grey. With the MCU's mutant population due to explode as we approach Marvel's X-Men reboot, it's all too easy to imagine the DoDC becoming a major thorn in the side of Professor X and his kids. Perhaps, in the MCU's continuity, Damage Control will be the ones to create the Sentinels. Spider-Man might have saved Jean from its clutches this time, but the Department of Damage Control will surely only become more and more obsessed with containing mutantkind.

Iron Man defeating Thanos at the cost of his own life is an act of monumental heroism that will never be forgotten, but with Doomsday wearing his own face behind a metal mask and about to threaten the multiverse, the impact of his sacrifice is inevitably somewhat diminished. If Damage Control continues to prove itself a threat to not just his former protégé, Peter Parker, but every new superhero he's at least partially inspired, Tony Stark's legacy is going to be tarnished beyond repair. "Even Dead, I'm The Hero" is what he memorably called the AI interface EDITH in Far From Home. But if things carry on as they are, Tony might become the villain even in death.