It’s basically an open secret that Jon Bernthal’s Punisher and Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk are appearing in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, even if Marvel and Sony have yet to confirm as much. But Marvel seems to have indirectly confirmed this three-way team-up with the announcement of a new comic book series called Spider-Man: Long Way Home.
Long Way Home is a new limited series written by Jonathan Hickman and Adam Kubert and drawn by Kubert. Like the movie, this series focuses on the slightly unusual pairing of Spider-Man, Punisher, and Hulk, as all three characters fight to liberate a Cosmic Cube from the clutches of A.I.M.
Check out the slideshow gallery below for a preview of Spider-Man: Long Way Home #1:
While Spidey has an established history with both Punisher and Hulk in the comics, Marvel has never really spotlighted all three characters at the same time. The fact that they’re suddenly releasing a Spider-Man/Punisher/Hulk crossover series weeks before Brand New Day hits theaters would seem to be all the confirmation fans need that Punisher and Hulk are appearing in the movie.
Long Way Home isn’t tied to MCU continuity, nor is it set in the traditional Marvel Comics universe. This series is set in a standalone continuity and is meant to be easily accessible to newcomers, much like Hickman’s 2024 comic Wolverine: Revenge, which was released alongside Deadpool & Wolverine.
Here’s Marvel’s official description of the new series:
It’s a world before the Punisher. A world where the existence of the Hulk is but a whisper of a rumor. A world where A.I.M. has just developed a Cosmic Cube in the jungles of South America. Frank Castle, Bruce Banner and Peter Parker are all on a mission to keep the Cube out of the wrong hands – including each other’s. In this three-way free-for-all for the power of the cosmos, who will come out on top?
Spider-Man: Long Way Home #1 will be released June 17. Brand New Day will debut in theaters on July 31.
With Brad New Day’s release date fast approaching, fans are still impatiently waiting for the first trailer to drop. The trailer did apparently leak back in December 2025, offering new clues to the identity of Sadie Sink’s mysterious character.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.
