A constant factor across the multiverse is that being the heroic Spider-Man persona requires endless sacrifices, often at the expense of everyman Peter Parker’s well-being. Tom Holland’s Spider-Man has certainly experienced his fair share of personal struggles since arriving in the Marvel Cinematic Universe a decade ago, but Spider-Man: Brand New Day is the closest we’ve had to a Spider-Man comic adventure that didn’t require backup from the Avengers. It is one that, despite juggling a few too many characters and Marvel callbacks, is ultimately—if not spectacularly—still an exhilarating web-slinging adventure.

Not that Holland’s Spider-Man hasn’t remained a consistent MCU highlight; in terms of critical reception, he’s had a better track record than Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield. But to a vocal online contingent, there have always been concerns that integrating him so heavily with Iron Man and the Avengers took Spider-Man away from his Friendly Neighborhood roots. Yet Spider-Man: No Way Home ended on a back-to-basics note that Brand New Day takes full advantage of in terms of tone and relationships. The movie is strongest when making Peter face up to the relationships he’s discarded for the greater good, as well as the path he must choose after years of self-imposed solitude.

No Way Home’s story culminated with Peter making the ultimate sacrifice: allowing Doctor Strange to cast a spell that saved Earth at the cost of everyone forgetting Peter Parker. This, sadly, includes his girlfriend, MJ (Zendaya), and best friend, Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon), both of whom went on to attend MIT without Peter. In those four years, Peter has devoted himself wholly to Spider-Man. Working out of a rooftop apartment, he makes costumes and web-shooters from scratch using a 3D printer, works alongside New York City Police Detective Jean DeWolff (The Bear’s Liza Colón-Zayas) and the Department of Damage Control, and has successfully taken down most of the city’s criminal element. The only problem is that putting so much effort into being a superhero has led to Peter Parker shirking any social life. He’s stuck in his own past, regularly visiting Aunt May’s grave and watching Ned’s social media feed, but unwilling to live as anything beyond Spider-Man 24/7.

A chance encounter with Ned and MJ—as well as discovering that the latter has found herself a new boyfriend—forces Peter to confront some dramatic changes. First is a metamorphosis within himself, enhancing his DNA and creating new powers. The other is a mysterious threat played by Sadie Sink, who can telepathically possess random people to carry out her campaign against Damage Control’s operations. Whether due to his powers or internal angst, Spider-Man is the one individual she can’t take over, but those like MJ are fair game. Thus, Peter’s loved ones are thrown back into his superhero duties, forcing our hero to confront whether he’s destined for a solo life forever.

In true Marvel fashion, there are conversations and team-ups with established superheroes and vigilantes sprinkled throughout. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) helps give Peter advice on controlling his mutation, and Frank Castle/the Punisher (Jon Bernthal) is a vigilante frenemy whose trigger-happy methods contrast deeply with how Spider-Man operates. Yet director Destin Daniel Cretton, whose Marvel credits include Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Wonder Man, does a largely solid job of keeping the focus on Peter. His story is ultimately about working up the courage to confront the past rather than keeping his distance, as well as accepting that, try as he may, some things cannot be undone completely.

It’s not quite a perfect journey. Because Brand New Day has to reacquaint us with Peter and his friends, it regularly layers old dynamics atop new ones, which can feel like bloat until the final act brings all its pieces together. The nature of Spidey’s relationship with Damage Control—whose morally debatable ethics were big parts of Wonder Man and Ms. Marvel—isn’t fully explored either. Nor do a returning Michael Mando as Scorpion or Marvin Jones III reprising his Spider-Verse role as Tombstone go anywhere beyond extended cameos. Though the plot is self-contained by MCU standards, you’re always semi-conscious that key revelations exist to set up events down the road, many of which rely on Holland continuing this still-youthful role into his 30s.

As exciting as it is to watch Spider-Man punch, kick, and web up foes straight out of recent video games, Brand New Day is at its best when confronting the internal dilemma between fights. It’s a clever reversal of Spider-Man 2’s arc, having Peter risk becoming consumed by his powers the more he commits to heroism—a sentiment best exemplified when the Punisher, of all characters, chews Spider-Man out for voluntarily choosing not to have a life. It’s a quiet but impactful moment, and Brand New Day, despite its narrative weaknesses, has plenty of those. They keep Spider-Man quintessentially a New Yorker, but more importantly, they remind him to stay human.