Maddy Time: Spiderman Brand New Day

Spoiler Warning: This post contains plot details from Spiderman: Brand New Day.

On Friday, Midge and I went to see Spiderman: Brand New Day, and it felt like the perfect way to spend our last bit of time together before she heads to her dad’s. We’re both Marvel fans, and when we do get some Maddy Time, watching movies is our thing. It’s how we connect. So, for me, this film mattered before we even sat down. I get time with my amazing daughter.

Brand New Day is already getting strong reviews online. People are calling it Tom Holland’s most emotional performance since No Way Home, and I agree. Although I think No Way Home was way more emotional. He has this way of carrying sadness that feels real. He did it with Aunt May’s death. That still gets me every time I watch it. That kid is such a good actor. He does it again here. Watching him alone, cut off from his friends, still loving MJ from a distance, desperate to be friends with Ned again, being tricked and broken again, hit me harder than I expected. There’s something about Tom Holland’s Peter Parker that always gets me. He plays vulnerability without making it weak and heartbreak and hope without making it dramatic. He manages to make me feel every part of it.

Sitting next to Midge made it even better. She’s my daughter in so many ways. Her humour, her likes, her wicked cackle, the way we joke around in a way that others would probably question or at least raise an eyebrow at, all of it is us. She’s going to her dad’s for two weeks, which is a strange thing for her, but she and I both have hope that it will go well. I won’t pop that bubble. Their relationship has been difficult for years. He thinks he’s pushing her to be better, but it breaks her down instead. The promises he doesn’t keep. The comments that hurt. The moments that should have been supportive but weren’t. It stacked up and up. She even wrote a list naming it all. Last year was awfully hard for her. She tried talking to him. That didn’t work. She even stopped talking to him for a long time because she couldn’t keep trying. He was just unnecessarily horrible. He said things that he shouldn't have said, especially if he knew hos daughter. 

They eventually made up, but she knows her father, accepts that he is just the way he is and takes what she can, when she can. She has her barriers up with him. She wasn’t going to go originally, but Arty convinced her to stay at their dad’s. At Christmas she went down but stayed with Hannah’s family. You can imagine how much this visit weighs on me. It's always been difficult for me. Nine years of hassle, of her trying and making the effort, and hoping he will be different. Going back now is a big step. She’s 18. An adult, but still my daughter. I have always wanted to jump in and say something. I don’t. It’s not my place. Although Hannah did give him an option to speak to me last year. He refused. He didn’t think he could handle any criticism, even if I meant well. It doesn’t mean I don't worry. I only want him to be is the father she deserves. I shouldn’t have to cover the space he lacks. I'm proud that I do, but I genuinely want it to go as well as possible. For her sake. 

That’s why I wanted us to have some time. Not dad and daughter dates. That doesn’t fit us. We have Maddy Time. Maddy is the name she gave me when she was little. Martyn‑Daddy = Maddy. A name I took on because I didn’t want her dad displaced, even though she wanted to call me Dad after the fourth time I met her. She still calls me Maddy nine years later. It’s ours. I love it. Just as I know she loves to still be called Midge.

Brand New Day gave us exactly what we needed. A story about love, loss, hope, and trying again even when life feels heavy. Watching Peter Parker fight through loneliness while still choosing kindness felt close to home. Watching him carry heartbreak while still protecting others reminded me of her. She’s been through so much, yet she keeps going. She keeps trying. Peter Parker's actions reminded me a lot about her.

We talked theories on the way there. Both struggled on the really hot bus. We laughed at the funny parts. Then chatted about it after. It was good. It was us. 

She’s going away for two weeks. It will fly by. I’ll still miss her. I always do. She’s my daughter. I’ll still text her. Just to keep our normal style of humour running even if she is down there. Watching Spiderman with her before she left felt like the perfect way to hold a moment with her before she went. 

Brand New Day was brilliant. Maddy Time was even better.

[Image 2. Midge sits on the left as she leans into to me on the right wearking a white and grey shirt, a dark tshort, and a black Wrexham hat. The photo is dark as we sit in the screen room waiting for the end credits to play]