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Why I Hate A Single Frame In The Spider-Man: Brand New Day Trailer With The Fury Of A Thousand Suns

By Jonathan Klotz
| Published

There’s a lot for fans to love about the first trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, more villains, more Spider-Man, Tom Holland’s Peter Parker aging into the lovably downtrodden mess fans love from the comics, and despite the ending of No Way Home, Ned and MJ are back. Zendaya’s MJ is at the center of the one shot from the trailer that I can’t get out of my head. She’s at a party with a guy she’s obviously in a relationship with, played by Ashoka’s Eman Esfandi.

To those who have not read the comics in recent years, it’s a harmless sign that MJ has moved after she forgot about Peter. To me, it was a warning sign that Kevin Feige may be about to pull the ultimate troll move. Eman Esfandi could be playing the greatest villain in Peter Parker’s life: Paul. 

Potential Paul Sighting Sends Fans Into A Panic

MJ And Potentially The Worst Character Ever In Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Paul doesn’t sound like the name of a villain. He’s not as fearsome-sounding as Green Goblin, Venom, Morlun, or Tombstone. He doesn’t even have a cool costume. Spider-Man: Brand New Day is packed with villains fans have waited years to see, including Boomerang and Scorpion, but none are as pure evil as Paul. 

Brand New Day teasing MJ’s new love interest isn’t a rehash of Tobey Maguire and Kristen Dunst from Spider-Man 2. When Sam Raimi’s film aired, Peter and Mary Jane were happily married in the comics, but today, the pair’s marriage has been shattered for 20 years, and they have been on and off again. Like many Spider-Man fans, I prefer the couple together. Paul’s complete lack of importance as a character, except to be “the guy Mary Jane dates instead of Peter,” made it very difficult to read Amazing Spider-Man for years. He’s a complete nothing of a character. 

Marvel’s Worst Character

If it’s revealed that Eman Esfandi’s character from that one, single shot in the Brand New Day trailer is Paul, then Marvel is purposely trolling every comic book reader who spent years complaining loudly about Paul. Zeb Wells, the talented writer behind the excellent Hellions series, was also the man who forced Paul onto readers. Given his past successes, though, it’s clear that Paul, like the original “Brand New Day” storyline, was a mandate by Marvel editorial to keep Peter Parker in the same place for years. Denied the chance to grow and develop as a character, Peter and the readers were stuck in the equivalent of a One Piece filler arc for years. 

Paul can not join the MCU. We just got rid of him in the comics. MJ is too smart and too well-written a character to waste time with the black hole of charisma that is Paul. Mary Jane is too interesting a character to be burdened by an undeveloped sentient manbun (that’s his one identifying feature). He even let slip her secret identity as the new host of Venom. Paul is the worst. 

Brand New Day is bringing the sad sack perennial put upon version of Peter Parker to the MCU after three movies of Tom Holland playing closer to the first Ultimate Spider-Man version of the character. I have no doubt that the movie is going to be spectacular, and it’ll be another billion-dollar box office hit for the Spider-Man franchise, but if the name “Paul” is uttered by MJ at any moment, I am going to throw my popcorn at the screen. No one, not the paying audience, not comic readers, not Peter and MJ, not even Zeb Wells, should be punished by Marvel editorial’s bizarre decree that Peter can never be happy.

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NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for March 25, 2026

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is for people who like sneakers.

As we’ve shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.

Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier — so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO:

Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable

What is Connections: Sports Edition?

The NYT‘s latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication’s sports coverage. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there’s only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake — players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

SEE ALSO:

Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL.

Here’s a hint for today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

Here are today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories

Need a little extra help? Today’s connections fall into the following categories:

Looking for Wordle today? Here’s the answer to today’s Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today’s puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today’s Connections: Sports Edition #548 is…

What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?

  • Games Played on a Table – AIR HOCKEY, FOOSBALL, POOL, SNOOKER

  • Nike Shoes – AIR FORCE 1, BLAZER, PEGASUS, SHOX

  • Giants Greats – BONDS, MAYS, OTT, POSEY

  • NBA___ – ALL-STAR, CUP, DRAFT, FINALS

Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be new sports Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.

If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Connections.


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NYT Pips hints, answers for March 25, 2026

Welcome to your guide to Pips, the latest game in the New York Times catalogue.

Released in August 2025, the Pips puts a unique spin on dominoes, creating a fun single-player experience that could become your next daily gaming habit.

Currently, if you’re stuck, the game only offers to reveal the entire puzzle, forcing you to move onto the next difficulty level and start over. However, we have you covered! Below are piecemeal answers that will serve as hints so that you can find your way through each difficulty level.

How to play Pips

If you’ve ever played dominoes, you’ll have a passing familiarity for how Pips is played. As we’ve shared in our previous hints stories for Pips, the tiles, like dominoes, are placed vertically or horizontally and connect with each other. The main difference between a traditional game of dominoes and Pips is the color-coded conditions you have to address. The touching tiles don’t necessarily have to match.

SEE ALSO:

Wordle today: Answer, hints for March 25, 2026

The conditions you have to meet are specific to the color-coded spaces. For example, if it provides a single number, every side of a tile in that space must add up to the number provided. It is possible – and common – for only half a tile to be within a color-coded space.

Here are common examples you’ll run into across the difficulty levels:

  • Number: All the pips in this space must add up to the number.

  • Equal: Every domino half in this space must be the same number of pips.

  • Not Equal: Every domino half in this space must have a completely different number of pips.

  • Less than: Every domino half in this space must add up to less than the number.

  • Greater than: Every domino half in this space must add up to more than the number.

If an area does not have any color coding, it means there are no conditions on the portions of dominoes within those spaces.

SEE ALSO:

NYT Strands hints, answers for March 25, 2026

Easy difficulty hints, answers for March 25 Pips

Equal (2): Everything in this space must be equal to 2. The answer is 2-2, placed horizontally; 2-5, placed horizontally.

Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 2-5, placed horizontally.

Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 6-3, placed vertically.

Number (14): Everything in this space must add up to 14. The answer is 5-5, placed horizontally; 4-4, placed horizontally.

Equal (4): Everything in this space must be equal to 4. The answer is 0-4, placed vertically; 4-4, placed horizontally.

Medium difficulty hints, answers for March 25 Pips

Number (2): Everything in this space must add up to 2. The answer is 2-6, placed horizontally.

Equal (6): Everything in this space must be equal to 6. The answer is 2-6, placed horizontally; 5-6, placed horizontally; 6-1, placed horizontally.

Number (0): Everything in this space must add up to 0. The answer is 5-0, placed vertically.

Equal (5): Everything in this space must be equal to 5. The answer is 5-0, placed vertically; 5-6, placed horizontally; 5-3, placed vertically.

Equal (1): Everything in this orange space must be equal to 1. The answer is 6-1, placed horizontally; 3-1, placed horizontally.

Equal (3): Everything in this space must be equal to 5. The answer is 5-3, placed vertically; 3-3, placed horizontally; 3-1, placed horizontally.

Number (1): Everything in this space must add up to 1. The answer is 1-0, placed horizontally.

Hard difficulty hints, answers for March 25 Pips

Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 4-0, placed vertically; 1-2, placed horizontally.

Number (8): Everything in this space must add up to 8. The answer is 1-2, placed horizontally; 6-6, placed horizontally.

Equal (0): Everything in this space must be equal to 0. The answer is 4-0, placed vertically; 0-6, placed vertically; 0-2, placed horizontally.

Less than (3): Everything in this space must be less than 3. The answer is 0-2, placed horizontally.

Number (7): Everything in this space must add up to 7. The answer is 6-6, placed horizontally; 1-3, placed vertically.

Equal (6): Everything in this space must be equal to 6. The answer is 0-3, placed vertically; 6-5, placed vertically; 6-4, placed horizontally.

Greater than (3): Everything in this space must be greater than 3. The answer is 6-4, placed horizontally.

Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is -3, placed vertically; 3-0, placed vertically.

Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 6-5, placed vertically.

Number (0): Everything in this space must add up to 0. The answer is 0-5, placed horizontally.

Equal (5): Everything in this space must be equal to 5. The answer is 0-5, placed horizontally; 5-5, placed horizontally.

Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 3-0, placed vertically; 4-2, placed vertically.

If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

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We found the best MacBook deals during Amazons Big Spring Sale — including the MacBook Neo

Amazon’s third annual Big Spring Sale runs from March 25 to 31, and the opening day of the sale already features deals on must-have tech — including flagship Apple products. Apple just refreshed and expanded its MacBook lineup earlier this month, and some of the new Apple laptops are already on sale.

The colorful new MacBook Neo with Touch ID is a whopping — wait for it — $9 off. (Don’t forget about the Apple Store’s $100 education discount.) Of course, there are better deals to be had.

Amazon’s biggest discount thus far is going to a 15-inch M4 model with 24GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, which is now $300 off — its lowest price ever. You can also score 13-inch M4 MacBook Airs starting at $899. Remember: Apple has discontinued the M4 MacBooks, so once supplies dry up, they’ll only be available on the refurbished market.

SEE ALSO:

Amazon’s Big Spring Sale is back: The best deals already live on Apple, robot vacuums, headphones, and more

The brand-new M5 MacBook Airs and M5 Pro/Max MacBook Pros are all $50 off for the Big Spring Sale, and that’s probably going to be as cheap as they get for now. (The then-new M4 models got the same discount last year.) Look for better deals in a couple of months come Prime Day.

This is just day one of the Big Spring Sale, and Mashable will be keeping track of all the latest MacBook price drops. Check back to be the first to know about the top Apple deals.

Note: Deals marked with a 🔥 have dropped to a record-low price.

Best MacBook Air deal

$949
at Amazon

$1,199
Save $250

 

Why we like it

The 13-inch M4 MacBook Air may be a last-gen laptop, but it’s still an incredibly capable ultraportable, now $250 off for its lowest-ever price. It’s faster than much pricier Windows laptops, and it has the same 12MP Center Stage webcam, Liquid Retina display, and 18-hour battery life as its new M5 counterpart. This particular model is also well future-proofed amid the ongoing RAM crunch — thanks, AI.

Read Mashable’s full review of the Apple MacBook Air (M4).

MacBook Neo deals

More MacBook Air deals

MacBook Pro deals

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