Betty Brant

: "Rise and shine, Midtown Science and Technology, I'm Betty Brant."
: ―Betty Brant[src]
Elizabeth "Betty" Brant is a former student of Midtown School of Science and Technology who had also worked as the co-host of Midtown News with Jason Ionello. During her time hosting, Brant had reported on the heroic actions of Spider-Man, as well as the fallout of the Snap and Blip, which she and Ionello were victims of.
Brant later joined her classmates on a school trip to Europe, where she had formed a relationship with Ned Leeds. During their trip, the students came under attack from all the Elementals, only to be saved by Spider-Man, who later discovered that these attacks were actually illusions that had been created by Mysterio. Once they were saved, Brant and the rest of their students returned home, while she and Leeds then decided to end their relationship and remain as friends. Afterwards, she learned Spider-Man's true identity and became an unpaid intern for The Daily Bugle.
== Biography ==
=== Midtown News ===
==== Hosting with Jason Ionello ====
: "Students, don't forget about your Homecoming tickets. Do you have a date for Homecoming?""Thanks, Jason, but I already have a date.""Okay.""Yeah."
: ―Jason Ionello and Betty Brant[src]
Betty Brant attended Midtown School of Science and Technology, where she was also the anchor of Midtown News along with her co-host, Jason Ionello. One day in 2016, while on air, Ionello tried to ask her to the upcoming homecoming dance, but Brant revealed she already had a date, leading to an awkward moment.
On her lunch break, Brant continued harboring on with her best friend, Liz Allan, assisting her in putting up a banner for homecoming in the cafeteria as part of the planning committee.
==== Gym Class ====
: "Now see, for me it would be... F Thor, marry Iron Man, and kill Hulk."
: ―Betty Brant[src]
The next day in gym class, Brant and her friends, Liz Allan, Seymour O'Reilly, and Jason Ionello, played a variant of Kiss, Marry, Kill regarding the Avengers. Brant was slightly dismissive of Spider-Man, but Allan hinted that she has somewhat of a crush on him. Amused, Brant pointed out that Spider-Man's identity was unknown so he could be an unflattering adult, but Allan argued he was a good person. Ned Leeds then interrupted by blurting out that Peter Parker knew Spider-Man.
==== Rescue in Washington ====
: "Thankfully, no one was seriously injured thanks to the Spider-Man. Thank you, Spider-Man.""Thank you, Spider-Man."
: ―Jason Ionello and Betty Brant[src]
In the aftermath of the Washington incident, Brant and Jason Ionello reported on Midtown News that Midtown's Academic Decathlon team defeated the country's best to win the national championship and also how they survived the bombing thanks to Spider-Man. Brant and Ionello both praised Spider-Man before reporting Midtown's newfound fascination with the hero in light of his actions.
==== Homecoming ====
: "I'm gonna miss you.""Bye."
: ―Betty Brant and Liz Allan[src]
A few days later, Brant attended Homecoming and danced with Liz Allan, Jason Ionello, and Seymour O'Reilly.
Following the incidents at Homecoming evening, Brant returned to school. As Allan prepared to move away from New York with her mother after her father's arrest, Brant hugged her goodbye, tearfully stating she would miss Allan. The two friends then parted ways.
==== Arrest of Shocker ====
: "Questions remain this morning as authorities pieced together the alarming events at this weekend's homecoming dance.""An unidentified male individual assailant was taken into custody after police found him attached to the side of a bus with Spider-Man webs."
: ―Betty Brant and Jason Ionello[src]
Brant and Jason Ionello reported that Shocker had been found webbed to a school bus by students after the homecoming dance had ended, with various students taking selfies and images with the assailant. Morita, the principal, made a special announcement where he warned the students to delete the images from all of their social media accounts, lest they were wary of the consequences. Brant also revealed that Shocker's Gauntlet was retrieved by Tiny McKeever, who was seen wearing it during the news footage.
==== Discussing Spider-Man ====
Along with other school topics, Brant and Jason Ionello did a segment on who Spider-Man might be under his mask, and interviewed Roger Harrington, Ned Leeds, and Michelle Jones. Harrington was unaware, Jones stated that she isn't sure but has her suspicions, and Leeds proclaimed that the identity of Spider-Man is a mystery no one would ever know.
==== Snap and Blip ====
: "And even though we had blipped away halfway through the school year, and had already taken our midterms, the school made us start the whole year over from the beginning."
: ―Betty Brant[src]
In May 2018, Brant and Jason Ionello were mid-broadcast on Midtown News, when suddenly they both disintegrated into dust.
Five years later, she reappeared back in the studio along with Ionello and found another student recording Midtown News which confused them. After learning what happened to them, Ionello proceeded to throw up, and Brant calmly asked for her chair back to continue presenting.
In June 2024, on their last day of school for that year, Brant reported on the Blip and how her school made them start their junior year again despite them already taking their midterms before they disappeared. She and Ionello then went on to discuss how the Avengers had saved everyone who had fallen victim to the Snap.
=== Europe Vacation ===
==== Relationship with Ned Leeds ====
: "Babe?"
: ―Betty Brant to Ned Leeds[src]
Brant attended the trip organized by Midtown to Europe specifically for the students who perished in the Snap. On the airplane to Europe, Brant sat next to Michelle Jones, but was persuaded by Ned Leeds to trade seats with Peter Parker and was then assigned to sit by Leeds by Roger Harrington. When they sat next to each other, however, Brant and Leeds quickly established a rapport. By the time the plane landed in Venice, Italy, Brant and Leeds had decided to form a relationship.
==== Battle in the Grand Canal ====
: "Who is that guy?"
: ―Betty Brant to Ned Leeds[src]
Brant and Ned Leeds were entangled as they explored Venice and took pictures together to make memories. Later in the day, as Brant and Leeds were in a boat, a water monster burst through the Grand Canal and attacked the city. Brant and the students then ran away from the scene.
Later on that evening at the Hotel DeMatteis, Brant and her classmates tried to make sense on what they had just seen. While watching the local news, they discovered that a strange new superhuman had defeated the monster, much to their shock. Mishearing the Italian news coverage that called the man "I'uomo di misterio", "man of mystery", Brant and Leeds coined the moniker "Mysterio".
==== Traveling to Prague ====
: "I know you think none of us have noticed, Peter.""What?""But your new look, I love it."
: ―Betty Brant and Peter Parker[src]
The following morning, Brant and her classmates found out that their trip to Paris had been canceled, and they would be traveling to Prague in the Czech Republic instead, not knowing why it had been canceled. On the way to Prague, Brant and Leeds texted each other as they were bused through Austria, Brant took note of a pair of glasses Peter Parker had recently acquired and said they looked good on him.
That night, Brant and her classmates were excited to know that they were attending a festival while in Prague, only for it to be changed to a four-hour opera. After entering the opera house, Brant and Leeds checked on the opera glasses when noticing Parker and Michelle Jones sneaking out of the opera. Brant and Leeds soon joined them at the Carnival of Lights, with Leeds being skeptical about the idea.
==== Attack on the Prague Carnival ====
: "Wait, do you think that's Spider-Man?"
: ―Betty Brant to Ned Leeds[src]
While there, Brant and Ned Leeds rode a Ferris wheel, when suddenly the Fire Elemental appeared. Mysterio and a black suited superhero appeared to counter it and Brant made a connection between the new hero to Spider-Man. Leeds invented the alias "Night Monkey" and claimed the new hero to be a "European knock-off" of Spider-Man. When the Elemental approached the Ferris wheel, it became clear they were in danger, so Brant called for "Night Monkey", to rescue her and Leeds. After the Elemental was gone, Brant stated that she would've kissed Leeds if she hadn't puked in her mouth.
==== Battle of London ====
: "If you saved us then why are we about to die?""MJ!"
: ―Michelle Jones and Betty Brant[src]
Upon arriving in London, Brad Davis tried to expose Peter Parker because of his unusual behavior. However, nobody listened to him and the class continued into the scheduled tour bus. However, they were left stranded on the Tower Bridge, and then witnessed the Elemental Fusion appear above them. The sight of the new Elemental frightened the group with Brant following Leeds and Jones as they ran away from the attack before they were joined by Flash Thompson.
Brant and the others then ran into Happy Hogan, who stated he was an ally of Spider-Man, and was there to get them to safety. When Hogan's jet was destroyed by the drones, Hogan led them into the Tower of London Museum. They hid from the drones inside a vault after realizing they couldn't overpower the drones. Believing that she was at her last moments, Brant confessed she has a fake ID that she never got to use. However, all of the drones were stopped when Mysterio was defeated.
==== Return to New York City ====
: "Men and women grow apart, but the journey they share together will always be a part of them.""You are so wise."
: ―Ned Leeds and Betty Brant[src]
Brant and her classmates boarded the plane back home to the United States of America. Sitting next to Leeds, they both decided to end their relationship and remain as friends. When the plane landed at Newark airport, Leeds and Brant complimented Peter Parker for his relationship and revealed to him they ended theirs. One week later, Brant, along with the rest of the world, became aware that Parker was Spider-Man.
=== Joining The Daily Bugle ===
==== TikTok ====
: "Hi, TikTok. I'm Betty Brant! Some of you may know me for my award worthy work on Midtown High's student paper but I'm super excited to announce I am the newest intern for the The Daily Bugle and I'm going to be running our official TikTok account."
: ―Betty Brant[src]
Brant began working at the Daily Bugle for an unpaid internship as the employee in charge of the news media outlet's TikTok account because of her personal connection to Peter Parker. During her first TikTok video, Brant expressed her gratitude of having her first real job at the outlet, but when she asked her superiors to know about her payment, she then realized that she was working as an unpaid intern. In another of her reports, Brant was asked to tell how she hated Spider-Man without exactly mentioning why. However, recalling how Parker saved her life in Prague, Brant stated that she did not hate him and that Parker was a very nice person and her friend, but J. Jonah Jameson interrupted her transmission to reaffirm the outlet's position of Spider-Man being a public menace.
Later, Brant made another report promoting the unpaid internships at The Daily Bugle, requesting any interested to bring their sightings, misguided opinions, vague rumors and craziest conspiracy theories of Spider-Man using the link in the account's bio.
Brant later posted another video, offering people the chance to test their reporter skills with a "Teleprompter Challenge." She instructed viewers to duet the video and read the teleprompter which appeared in the video. Brant occasionally responded to what was being read as the teleprompter read claims about Spider-Man's villainy, encouraging the people participating to continue. Brant praised the people who duetted it. In the comments of the video, a TikTok user said that they were not good enough for the challenge, so Brant replied to the comment, saying that she believed in the user. Another user commented under the same video, asking Brant to say hi. Brant replied to that comment as well, greeting the user.
In another video, she advertised for the Daily Bugle Supplements, in which Jameson joined her to do so.
Later, she reported that Parker had been released from Damage Control and was able to return to school.
==== Spider-Man's Identity ====
: "Go get 'em, tiger! Or, should I say, spider."
: ―Betty Brant[src]
That September, Brant witnessed Peter Parker's return to school after his identity had been exposed. She proudly announced it to the Midtown News, while being surrounded by pro-Spider-Man and pro-Mysterio supporters, NYPD officers, and journalists.
==== Reporting for Midtown News ====
: "You can catch the rest of my exclusive interview with Peter Parker today at lunch only on M&N. Up next, Lady Liberty is getting a makeover."
: ―Betty Brant[src]
Later that month, Brant interviewed a few people she was associated with, asking them questions related to Parker. Beginning with Coach Andre Wilson, she asked if he ever noticed Parker's superhuman abilities, he simply mentioned that it was a science school and he may have seen somethings but never paid close attention. She also interviewed her teacher, Roger Harrington, alongside Wilson, asking him about the conspiracy theories going around about Parker. He told her that his ex-wife had begun to read some and believe in Mysterio.
In the next video, Brant interviewed her history teacher, Julius Dell, who told her what he would be if he was Spider-Man. She then interviewed fellow classmate Flash Thompson, mentioning his recent book and the fact that he created the moniker "Spider-Man". She noted how he had stated he was friend with Parker, but in actuality, wasn't. She then asked if she was mentioned in the book, but learned she wasn't. In the last interview, she was forced to interact with her ex-boyfriend Ned Leeds, but the interview ended with both complimenting each other of how they looked awkwardly, as well as what was an appropriate text to send to your ex. Finally, she interviewed Parker, and asked him what he would say to the spider that gave him his powers.
Brant then stated that the rest of the interview with Parker would be available to watch at lunch in an exclusive interview format. She then reported that the Statue of Liberty was getting remodeled and that students had made their own designs of what the statue should look like. Brant also used The Daily Bugle TikTok account to promote those interviews.
==== Observing Unusual Activity ====
: "We have a major story developing in New York right now. We are experiencing some wildly unseasonable weather in the Big Apple lately and there has to be more to this. Crazy lightning wasn't on this week's weather report... Does this mean supervillains are back?"
: ―Betty Brant[src]
That November, when universe-displaced people from within the Multiverse had arrived, Brant gave a subsequent report for the The Daily Bugle stating that she had experienced unseasonably intense thunderstorms and sandstorms in the city, knowing what was causing them. However, Jameson immediately contacted her and ordered her to say that Spider-Man had been behind those events. Soon after, Brant, along with the rest of the world, had her memories of Parker erased.
==== Graduation ====
: "That's Midtown News for today and for one last time, this has been Betty Brant. Signing off. Happy graduation! Go Tigers!"
: ―Betty Brant[src]
In June 2025, Brant finished her senior year at Midtown School of Science and Technology. She filmed her last segment on Midtown News, in a special section titled "Betty's Corner", showcasing images from the Decathlon team, how she was killed in the Snap and then resurrected, and the subsequent trip to Europe. Brant expressed that despite the chaos of the past several years, they would always treasure their high school memories. She then exclaimed she was signing off for the last time and cheered for their graduation. Brant later graduated from Midtown as part of the Class of 2025.
== Personality ==
Betty Brant is considered to be a very professional, confident and determined person as shown on the Midtown News, she can also be very awkward when she is reporting news, but most of the time she is responsible and stiff, Brant matures a little bit after the Blip, she also seems to be very annoyed when her fellow co-host Jason Ionello does not follow the script.
Brant is very kind to her close ones and the people she likes, Brant and her best friend Liz Allan had a healthy friendship, Brant is smart and popular one of the reasons why she was friends with Allan, but after Allan moved away, Brant was pretty upset, but she moved on fast, Brant tends to get annoyed easily with people she doesn't have much contact with, when Ned Leeds tried to befriend her, she felt uncomfortable and tried to ignore him, but was unable when the two immediately fell in love, Brant was much kinder when dated Leeds, both were so attracted to each other to the point where they texted when they were sitting side by side, they were always together, but they decided to break-up for the better.
Brant seems to lack self awareness to some extent. This is displayed when Peter Parker and his friends returned to High School after his identity as Spider-Man had been exposed. Meanwhile, Brant was announcing his return on Midtown News and took the time to joke around and banter, despite the fact that Parker was being harassed by the media surrounding him.
== Equipment ==
=== Weapons ===
* Halberd: During the Battle of London, Brant used a halberd to protect herself, she later gave it to Happy Hogan, after the battle Hogan left the halberd, leaving its fate unknown.
== Facilities ==
* Midtown School of Science and Technology: Brant attends Midtown High during the course of her high school year and then she has to enroll back again after she was the victim of the Snap.
== Relationships ==
=== Allies ===
* Midtown School of Science and Technology - Former High School
** Morita - Former Principal
** Roger Harrington - Former Teacher and Interviewee
** Julius Dell - Former Teacher
** Andre Wilson - Former Teacher and Interviewee
** Brad Davis - Former Classmate
** Josh Scarino - Former Classmate
** Zach Cooper - Former Classmate
** Yasmin Monette - Former Classmate
** Tyler Corbyn - Former Classmate
** Zoha Souliotis - Former Classmate
** Sebastian Fedas - Former Classmate
* Ned Leeds - Former Classmate, Friend, Ex-Boyfriend and Interviewee
* Mary Jane Watson - Former Classmate and Friend
* Jason Ionello - Former Classmate, Friend, and Former Co-Host
* Flash Thompson - Former Classmate and Interviewee
* Peter Parker/Spider-Man - Former Classmate, Former Friend, Savior and Interviewee
* Liz Allan - Former Classmate and Friend
* Seymour O'Reilly - Former Classmate
* Abe Brown - Former Classmate
* Charles Murphy - Former Classmate
* Cindy Moon - Former Classmate
* Sally Avril - Former Classmate
* Tiny McKeever - Former Classmate
* Doris Toomes
* Bruce Banner/Hulk - Resurrector
* Dimitri Smerdyakov
* Night Monkey - Savior
* Happy Hogan
* New York City Police Department
* The Daily Bugle
** J. Jonah Jameson - Employer	
=== Enemies ===
* Thanos † - Killer
* Elementals
** Hydro-Man
** Molten Man
** Elemental Fusion
* Quentin Beck's Crew
** Quentin Beck/Mysterio † - Attempted Killer
** Gutes Guterman
* Max Dillon/Electro
== Trivia ==
* In the comics, Betty Brant was a colleague of Peter Parker's at The Daily Bugle and his very first friend and girlfriend. A year after they broke up, she got together with and eventually married Ned Leeds. Brant even had a brief affair with Flash Thompson, while Leeds was in a time of crisis due to his role as Hobgoblin.
** The MCU adaptation of Betty Brant shares similarities with Gwen Stacy from the comics in terms of physical appearances.
== Behind the Scenes ==
* Betty Brant in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the second live-action incarnation of the character, following an incarnation portrayed by Elizabeth Banks.
== References ==
The Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki has a collection of images and media related to Betty Brant.
# ↑ Jump up to:1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Spider-Man: Homecoming
# ↑ Jump up to:2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 The Daily Bugle
# ↑ Jump up to:3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Spider-Man: Far From Home
# ↑ Avengers: Infinity War
# ↑ "4/30/2018" on Scott's laptop in Ant-Man and the Wasp
# ↑ Marvel Studios' The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline
# ↑ Jump up to:7.0 7.1 Spider-Man: Homecoming Deleted Scene
# ↑ Jump up to:8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Spider-Man: No Way Home - The More Fun Stuff Version Post-credits Scene
# ↑ Spider-Man: Far From Home Deleted Scene
# ↑ Jump up to:10.0 10.1 Spider-Man: No Way Home
== External Links ==
* Betty Brant on Marvel Database
* Betty Brant on Wikipedia