You never know what you’re going to find when you’re out looking for easter eggs in a comic book adaptation. Whether it’s cameos of characters who never return in those promised sequels, or references to previous projects that some of the creative team may have worked on, you can find a lot of fun goodies when you look in the right place. So naturally, there’s a Donald Glover easter egg hidden in Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse that makes a lot of sense, and you may have missed it. Take a look below to see what we’re talking about:
Thanks to the sharp eye of Twitter user @nadirbarnes, a snapshot of Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) visiting his Uncle Aaron (Mahershala Ali) reveals the fact that yes, Donald Glover did make it into a Miles adventure after all! Though unfortunately, the legions of fans hoping Glover would be cast as Mr. Morales are still going to have to go on wanting, as this cameo comes from a scene in Community that was thrown onto Aaron Davis’ TV in the Academy Award-winning animated film. But wait… there’s more! As it turns out, the fact that Donald Glover appeared in this particular scene has another layer of nerdistry layered onto its inclusion.
Marvel fans know exactly where this story is going next, as if you remember your MCU history, Donald Glover was also in 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, as a criminal who young Peter Parker (Tom Holland) foiled with some web-slinging action. As it turns out, this comedic interrogation partner has a nephew he’s rather fond of looking out for… and that nephew’s name is Miles Morales. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe cameo shown below, Donald Glover plays the live-action incarnation of Aaron Davis, the very character whose TV he appears on in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse:
Multiverses are absolutely crazy when you think about it! So not only is Donald Glover’s cameo in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse insane because he was an early favorite to play Miles Morales in a live-action film, it’s also absolutely nuts because he’s doubly linked to the role of Aaron Davis in two different Marvel universes. Maybe this means we might see Glover return to the MCU as the live-action Prowler, should the occasion call for such an endeavor. Sam Raimi, if you’re reading this, you might want to think about the cameos you’re planning for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
While it’s going to still be a little while before fans are able to see the Marvel Cinematic Universe return to theaters, as Black Widow is still sitting in its November 1 release date for the fall, it’s a good time to revisit what’s come before in the MCU. If you’re a Netflix subscriber, you can very easily return to the world of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, as that film is still available in that particular streaming library.
