Spider-Man: Brand New Day Quietly Introduced A Perfect Villain For Daredevil To Fight

Early on in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the movie shed light on what Peter Parker has been up to since Spider-Man: No Way Home's ending through a sequence that highlighted some of the threats he's been facing. One of the things it helped demonstrate is that Spider-Man has developed a strong rogues' gallery, even if only a fraction of his villains have actually received significant screentime in the MCU.

In addition to showing Mac Gargan's Scorpion suit, the scene officially introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe three characters who fought Spider-Man in Marvel Comics. One was Tombstone, a prominent Spider-Man villain who has been clashing with the wallcrawler for decades. Another was Tarantula, an evil mercenary from a fictional South American country and a recurring adversary to Spider-Man. Also shown was Boomerang, a C-list Hulk villain who was transformed into an enemy of Spider-Man and a founding member of the Sinister Syndicate supervillain team in the 1980s.

Lastly, included in Spider-Man: Brand New Day was a glimpse of Peter battling a man smashing his metal head against a wall. The character could be clearly identified as cyborg supervillain Ramrod. The Spider-Man vs. Ramrod shot was evidently a homage to the cover of The Amazing Spider-Man #221, the comic where the two engaged in their first one-on-one showdown. However, this was not his comic debut. Ramrod's first encounter with Spider-Man actually came in a three-way team-up between Peter, Black Widow and Daredevil.

In fact, his connections with Daredevil brings to light an excellent opportunity the new movie just handed Matt Murdock's Disney+ MCU TV show.

Ramrod In Marvel Comics Explained

Easily the least famous Marvel villain featured in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Ramrod has appeared in less than a handful of Spider-Man's comics. His role as the main antagonist of The Amazing Spider-Man #221 in 1981 marked an extremely short-lived resurgence for a forgotten villain who - at the time - had only four comic appearances to his name, all of which were in Daredevil's comic book series.

Ramrod first burst onto the scene in Daredevil and the Black Widow #103, an issue that featured Spider-Man as a special guest star. Daredevil became the target of Ramrod, who was acting as hired muscle for crime boss Kerwin J. Broderick, a character whom Daredevil had already been at odds with. Spider-Man wound up caught in the middle, as he was interviewing Daredevil as Peter Parker when the battle began.

It was revealed that before becoming a cyborg, Ramrod was a very business-oriented, unsympathetic boss of an oil rig. After getting caught in an accident, Ramrod was one of three human beings to become subjected to experiments with highly advanced technology from Titan, the homeworld of Thanos. Alongside Angar the Screamer and Dark Messiah, Ramrod served as a pawn of Kerwin J. Broderick, who had gotten his hands on Titan's tech and planned to use it to take control of San Francisco.

The multi-issue storyline culminated in Daredevil teaming up with Moondragon (the daughter of Drax the Destroyer) and the original Captain Marvel to defeat Broderick, which naturally called for them to get past Ramrod and the others. That was seemingly the end of Ramrod's story, until Marvel chose to revive him in The Amazing Spider-Man #221 as a criminal plotting to poison the patrons of a bar. Years later, he returned in a few more Spider-Man comics, but never fought Daredevil again.

There's Already A Basis For Ramrod's Story To Happen In The MCU

Ramrod's brief appearance in Spider-Man: Brand New Day may never amount to anything beyond the great Easter egg that it was, but it's important to note that the MCU does have a good reason to use him once more. His role established him as one of the super-powered criminals active in New York City, which places him near the stomping grounds of Daredevil, who fights crime in New York City's Hell's Kitchen.

With Daredevil boasting an ongoing MCU series in the form of Daredevil: Born Again, there's a clear pathway for Ramrod to make a second live-action appearance. Brand New Day understandably limited Ramrod to a cameo, but a season with multiple episodes would theoretically have room for a story where Daredevil has a full fight with Ramrod.

Such an arc wouldn't be difficult to work into the show. As noted above, Ramrod was originally utilized as a mercenary targeting Daredevil on behalf of one of a Hell's Kitchen crime boss. A plotline of a similar nature would fit seamlessly into Daredevil: Born Again, with Ramrod coming after Matt Murdock at the behest of a gangster villain in the series, whether it's Kerwin J. Broderick or someone else entirely.

As for the Titan connection, the sci-fi elements of the storyline he was introduced in would most likely be left out in favor of a more grounded, street-level narrative. However, Titan could at least be referenced as the foundation for the technology that powers him, since it too is rooted in MCU canon thanks to Avengers: Infinity War.

Ramrod's Original Story Is A Reminder Of What The MCU Is Missing Out On

Ramrod's history in Marvel Comics and how it entangled Peter Parker in Daredevil's problems is yet another reminder of what the MCU is sorely missing: a proper Spider-Man and Daredevil team-up. Despite their storied relationship in the source material (not to mention all the cartoons and video games that have paired them together), Spider-Man and Daredevil have yet to fight side-by-side in the MCU. They have met, though, as Matt Murdock was Peter's attorney in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

There was speculation that Spider-Man: Brand New Day might bring back Charlie Cox's character and perhaps explore a new dynamic between the two characters since Daredevil would obviously be among those no longer privy to Spider-Man's secret identity. If he were to come back, he could be shown figuring out the truth for himself, not unlike what happened in the comic books. The sort of team-up the two enjoyed against Ramrod in 1973 is exactly the kind of story of the MCU needs. Hopefully, the two will finally get a chance to join forces when Spider-Man gets his fifth solo MCU movie.