Alright, so it’s been a year since Spider-Man: No Way Home broke us in the best possible ways by bringing together all three big-screen Spideys in one film to defeat a handful of villains. Thankfully, our next fix of the friendly neighborhood web-slinger is nearly upon us, as it's among 2023’s movie releases in the form of Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse, which is heading to theaters in the summer. After the Across The Spider-Verse trailer recently entered our eyeballs, let’s now talk spider-heroes!
Now, there are a ton of spider-heroes that were teased in the first look at the summer release. Everyone from Spider-Monkey, to Spider-Man Bag Man or Spider-Cop was in the details of another gloriously animated movie, but I want to talk about the highlights. Here are all the major spider-heroes you should know before Across the Spider-Verse.
Miles Morales
Miles Morales of Earth-1610, is the young hero of 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The character voiced by Shameik Moore is back for the sequel, but he’s gotten a bit older and looks to be more experienced with his powers and place as a spider-hero. After the multiverse opening up in the first movie, the Brooklyn teen will explore it further with his parents and spider-friends by his side.
Spider-Gwen
Another returning spider-hero is Earth-16191’s Gwen Stacy, or Spider-Gwen, voiced by Hailee Steinfeld. As introduced in the 2018 movie, her backstory is that she gets bitten by a radioactive spider instead of Peter Parker and he dies in her arms. She’s also very punk rock, having a band called The Mary Janes, and now developing a friendship (perhaps blossoming love story?) with Miles Morales across the Spider-Verse.
Peter B. Parker
The Spider-Man hailing from Earth-TRN701 is Jake Johnson’s Peter B. Parker, who we also met during Into the Spider-Verse. This version was created for the 2018 movie. He is a more seasoned Spidey, who has been fighting crimes for years and year, lost Aunt May and married and divorced Mary Jane Watson. He was in a depression when he met Miles in the first movie, but since the events of that film, he gained the confidence to give things a try again with Mary Jane. And, since the trailer teases him wearing a baby bjorn, he may have since become a father.
Spider-Man 2099
We’ve known for some time that Oscar Isaac’s Spider-Man 2099 would be part of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’s cast list, since the character from Earth-928 was teased at the end of the first movie. This Spider-Man’s name is Miguel O’Hara, who is an Irish-Mexican geneticist living in New York City, renamed Nueva York, in the year 2099. Half of his genetic code is rewritten with a spider’s genetic code after being drugged with a hallucinogen by his nefarious boss. It looks like Miguel may have an antagonistic role in Across the Spider-Verse, but the main villain will be The Spot.
Spider-Woman
Another major spider-hero joining the sequel is Issa Rae’s take on Jessica Drew, a.k.a. Spider-Woman. While Across the Spider-Verse is taking some creative liberties with this version, the character of Jessica Drew has been in Marvel Comics since 1976. Her origin story is that she was exposed to large amounts of uranium and became ill. In an effort to cure her, she gets injected with an untested serum made with the blood of spiders.
Spider-Punk
As we learned last month, Black Panther and Get Out star Daniel Kaluuya is set to voice the role of Spider-Punk in Across the Spider-Verse. This Spider-Man from Earth-183 is named Hobart “Hobie” Brown was bitten by a spider irradiated by illegal waste dumping and becomes the leader of a Spider-Army in the comics, fighting against President Norman Osborn’s awful regime and leading an uprising. The hero was originally introduced in the comics in 2015.
Spider-Man India
As the marketing for Across The Spider-Verse rolls out, the above concept art was shared from the movie on Twitter, featuring Spider-Man India. This spider-hero from Earth-50101 is Paviitr Prabhakar, who is a poor Indian boy who moves to Mumbai with his Aunt Maya and Uncle Bhim after his parents die. Amidst having bullies at his new school, he encounters an ancient yogi who gives him the power of the spider to fight the evil threatening the world.
Spider-Girl
Another spider-hero to know, who additionally has perhaps been teased a few ways for Across the Spider-Verse, is May “Mayday” Parker a.k.a. Spider-Girl. Coming from Earth-982, May is the first child of Peter and MJ, who develops her father’s powers genetically when she is fifteen, just as Osborn’s grandson, Normie, seeks to become a villain like Norman. The Spider-Girl costume was in the trailer along with a piece of concept art that looks like May Parker, but could be Peter B. Parker’s daughter. It’d be interesting if Spider-Verse merged Spider-Girl and Peter B. Parker’s storylines.
Scarlet Spider
A spider-hero that was confirmed for Across The Spider-Verse in summer 2022 is Scarlet Spider, through the character is set to be featured in a licensed Trouble board game. The Scarlet Spider has been an alias for multiple Marvel Comics characters, but Ben Reilly and Kaine Parker are most closely associated with the hero. Both Ben and Kaine are genetic replicates of Spider-Man.
Spinneret
The rest of spider-heroes on this list were only seen momentarily in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse trailer, but are worth knowing, considering their histories in the comic books and unique backstories that could very much play into the franchise. Spinneret, for example, is the version of Spider-Woman that Mary Jane Watson from Earth-18119 becomes. This MJ is married to Peter Parker’s Spider-Man and shares a daughter, Annie/Spiderling, and all fight crime together. Seeing MJ as a spider-hero just feels like something that needs to happen in these movies.
Mangaverse Spider-Man
Seen going head-to-head with Mile Morales briefly in the trailer was Mangaverse Spider-Man, a version of the character that was created in 2002 by Kaare Andrews. This Spider-Man is a ninja and the last of the Spider Clan after his Uncle Ben was killed off by Venom.
Julia Carpenter
Featured prominently in the background of the Across the Spider-Verse poster is the Julia Carpenter version of Spider-Woman of Earth-616. Julia became the hero when she was unknowingly a test subject of experiments that gave her powers. She was part of Secret Wars and even worked with the Avengers in the comics. Carpenter also became Madame Web’s successor once she met her and the older woman's powers were transferred to her. I could see Sony perhaps injecting this Madame Web character into the animated Spider-Verse movies before the live-action Madame Web movie hits theaters in 2024.
Superior Spider-Man
Another spider-hero who popped up in the trailer is Superior Spider-Man, which is a spider-villain in disguise as a hero. In a limited series that began in 2013, Peter Parker is killed off and replaced by Otto Octavius, who puts his consciousness into Spider-Man and takes over his mantle. It’d be awesome if the Spider-Verse movies touched on this intriguing Spider-Man storyline.
Insomniac Games' Spider-Man
Another spider-cameo you may have noticed in the trailer is the Spider-Man from Insomniac Games’ PS4 game. The 2018 game was very popular among fans of the character. We do wonder if he’ll just remain in the background or have some part of Across The Spider-Verse.
That's not even all the spider-heroes we'll see in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which hits theaters on June 2. While we wait for the movie, check out CinemaBlend's ranking of all the Spider-Man movies thus far.
