Fans recently accused the Spider-Man: Brand New Day art book of using generative AI after spotting distorted New York City imagery. The publisher, StingRe, denied these claims, attributing the errors to manual Photoshop techniques.
The 'wonky taxi' that sparked AI accusations
The controversy began following the release of the Spider-Man : Brand New Day art book, where readers noticed concept art of New York City that appeared physically impossible. According to the report, fans pointed to images where taxis and buildings seemed to collide into one another, a visual hallmark often associated with the "hallucinations" of generative AI tools.
These anomalies led to immediate online speculation that Marvel Studios had outsourced its visual development to algorithms. The backlash was particularly sharp because the subject matter—the streets of New York—is a well-documented location, leading many to question why a production of this scale would rely on AI for basic city sketching.
StingRe's defense of photobashing and the cloning tool
In response to the outcry, the publisher of the concept art book, StingRe, clarified the specific technical process used to create the disputed images. As io9 reported, StingRe stated that the art was created using "photobashing" and the cloning tool within Adobe Photoshop, rather than generative AI.. The publisher admitted the result was a product of "laziness" rather than a corporate mandate to use AI.
The specific culprit for the distorted imagery was identified as Adobe Photoshop's fill-in tool, a feature that has existed for over 15 years. StingRe explained that the "wonky taxi" likely occurred when a watermark was removed from between two vehicles; the fill-in tool then pulled the closest available pixels to close the gap, resulting in the merged, distorted appearance that fans mistook for AI generation.
Disney's legal stance on 'wholly original work'
The incident underscores a broader tension in the entertainment industry regarding the legal ownership of AI-generated content.. StingRe noted that Disney and Marvel are not seeking to publish materials made with generative AI because such works cannot be legally owned.. Current contracts for Spider-Man: Brand New Day stipulate that all submissions must be "wholly original work," making the use of AI a liability for the aritsts involved.
This rigid stance reflects a wider trend among major studios who fear that integrating AI into their pipelines could jeopardize their intelllectual property rights. By insisting on original human creation, Disney ensures that its copyright claims remain airtight, shifting the risk entirely onto individual freelancers who might choose to take shortcuts.
The silence from Meinerding and Disney
Despite the detailed explanation from StingRe, several key figures have remained silent. As io9 reported, neither Disney nor Meinerding have spoken on the matter, despite the publication reaching out for comment. This leaves a gap in the narrative regarding whether the studio's internal quality control failed or if they were unaware of the "lazy" editing until the book's release.
Furthermore,a point of contention remains regarding the role of freelancers. While StingRe claimed that any art flagged for AI use was removed from the final layout, they acknowledged that some freelancers had used AI to populate backgrounds in their individual assets. It remains unclear exactly how many of these AI-assisted assets were filtered out and who determined the threshold for what constituted "acceptable" assistance.
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