Warning: This article contains spoilers for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse features more Spider-Men than any other movie to date. In 2018, Sony’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse introduced a multiverse of Spider-Man variants. The film was particularly impressive for the care and attention given to creating these different spiders, with each using a different animated style. The stunning animation was complemented by a tremendous, heart-warming story in which new Spider-Man Miles Morales discovered his place in this Spider-Verse – and Across The Spider-Verse follows suit and then some.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse complicates the dynamic between Miles and many other multiversal Spider-Man variants, as they attempt to thwart the young hero’s desire to return to Earth-1610 and save his father from his impending doom, fearing that disrupting this “canon event” will lead to catastrophe and the destruction of far more than one life. While this leads to a traumatic escape sequence for Miles Morales, it provides audiences with the majority of Across The Spider-Verse‘s countless Easter eggs and cameos, as the group dubbed the Spider-Society come in force to try and detain him. Here are all the Spider-Man variants seen in the Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
36 Miles Morales Returns As The Star Of Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse
The story of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse follows from the first film, with Shameik Moore once again voicing Miles Morales, the film’s primary Spider-Man.The movie covers Miles discovering both the Spider-Society and the nature of his own powers and their origins, which are unusual even by Spider-Man standards. Miles’ place in the Spider-Verse is contested (principally by Spider-Man 2099), which ultimately divides the variants between the two factions.
35 Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse Brings Back Gwen
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse also brings back Hailee Steinfeld as Spider-Gwen (also known as Spider-Woman or Ghost Spider). Spider-Gwen originates from a timeline in which Gwen Stacy was bitten by that radioactive spider rather than Peter Parker, and she became a superhero after failing to save her friend Peter. This backstory is explored in the movie, as well as Gwen’s complicated relationship with her father, which also mirrors her comic counterpart.
34 Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse Introduces Jessica Drew’s Spider-Woman
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse also introduces a new version of Jessica Drew’s Spider-Woman, voiced by Issa Rae, from Earth-404. Jessica is one of the core members of the Spider-Society, and remains steadfast to their beliefs, although she displays more compassion for her allies than their ostensible leader Miguel O’Hara. Jessica is revealed to be pregnant in the movie, which also mirrors the distinctive pregnant hero story she has in the comics – perhaps suggesting the follow-up movie will introduce her son, though given the plot set up for the film, this may be in some less-than-ideal circumstances.
33 Spider-Man 2099 Is An Antagonist In Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse
Across The Spider-Verse‘s Spider-Man 2099 is set up as an antagonist throughout the course of the movie, even though it goes to pains to explain why Miguel O’Hara is so adamant about letting Miles suffer the loss of his father. O’Hara blames Miles for gaining powers through another universe’s mutated spider – preventing that universe from having its own Spider-Man – and also sees the movie protagonist ignore his warnings about what happened when O’Hara himself tried to change a canon event. While Spider-Man 2099 isn’t a strictly endearing figure, his leadership over the Spider-Society does mean Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse cameos more spiders than anyone expected.
32 The Return Of Peter B. Parker In Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse
Across the Spider-Verse features a familiar face in the form of Peter Benjamin Parker from Earth 616, Jake Johnson’s Spider-Man variant who served as Miles Morales’ mentor in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The multiversal designation was a subtle detail, establishing this older Peter Parker as the Spider-Man from the comics. Peter is back with Mary Jane at this point in time, and the pair also have a daughter, Mayday, who is the focus of his time and adoration throughout the plot.
31 Spider-Girl Appears In Spider-Man Across The Spider-Verse
In the comics, Mayday becomes the superhero Spider-Girl – and it seems she’s well on her way to this role in the movie universe, as she’s already gained powers and her own cute mask in the form of a knitted hat. She’s also vital in connecting Peter and Miles, as Peter tells his protege that he had a child in the hopes he could raise someone as good as his mentee.
30 Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse Introduces Spider-Punk
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse features a prominent appearance by Spider-Punk, a character from the comics with a very distinctive look. Daniel Kaluuya voices Hobart “Hobie” Brown, and provides many of the best comedic moments of the movie, given just how punk the hero is. Spider-Punk’s anti-establishment outlook means he’s a vital ally for both Spider-Gwen and Miles Morales in the movie, setting up for him to appear again in Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse.
29 Pavitr Prabhakar Finally Appears As Spider-Man India
Spider-Man India received his first solo comic series in 2005’s Spider-Man: India, and appears in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse as a member of Spider-Man 2099’s Spider-Society. Pavitr Prabhakar is voiced by Deadpool’s Karan Soni, who harnesses his history in superhero movies to make an equally endearing and light-hearted version of Spider-Man. The inclusion of Spider-Man India as well as a plethora of other Spider-People from a variety of different backgrounds, including a poster in Spider-Gwen’s room supporting trans rights, helps to make Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse one of the most diverse and inclusive comic book movies ever.
28 Black Costume Spider-Man
The Spider-Verse nexus features stunning scenes of various Spider-Men chatting (and later brawling). These scenes provide many blink-and-you’ll-miss-it shots of iconic and beloved versions of Spider-Man and his most famous suits, and one of the most exciting is a glimpse of Spider-Man’s black costume, an outfit he originally gained during the classic 1984 Secret Wars Marvel event. This turned out to be a symbiote, and he ditched it – only for it to bond with Eddie Brock, who becomes Venom.
27 Spider-Man’s “Big Time” Tron Costume
In 2010, Marvel Comics published a range of Tron variants featuring characters in new Tron-inspired costumes. Spider-Man’s was actually integrated into the story, featuring a phenomenal range of high-tech functions (including stealth). The colors change depending on the functions that have been activated. A Spider-Man in the Tron costume can briefly be seen in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’s nexus.
26 Spider-Byte
Spider-Byte originated on Earth-22191, a reality where a virtual reality world had become equal to the real world, and Margo, a.k.a. Spider-Byte, was the Spider-hero of the virtual plane. In the real world, she is just a typical school student but is the savior of the virtual world as Spider-Byte. Spider-Byte takes on the more complicated technological aspects of the multiversal Spider-Society, which makes sense given the nature of her home universe.
25 PlayStation Spider-Men
The Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse also feature glimpses of two very familiar designs; the Peter Parker and Miles Morales from Sony’s PlayStation 4 games. Marvel’s Spider-Man games have been an absolute hit, with the characters’ stories even continuing in the comics. It’s great to see those celebrated iterations of Peter and Miles recognized in the Spider-Verse.
24 Spider-Man’s Armored Costume
Spider-Man has worn many costumes in the movies, but the comics have featured several memorable designs. One of the most striking is Spider-Man’s armored costume, created to help him cope with an uptick in gang violence. It made its way into Spider-Man: The Animated Series back in the ’90s and is fondly remembered by fans. It’s not particularly surprising to see this classic armored costume make its way into Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
23 Superior Spider-Man
The Superior Spider-Man rises in Marvel Comics after Peter Parker is killed off in 2012 and replaced with Otto Octavius, who swapped consciousnesses with his teenage nemesis. Instead of using his new powers for evil, however, Octavius is inspired by Parker’s dying wish, and becomes the Superior Spider-Man, the new protector of New York City. This variant also appears in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and its intense Spider-Society chase scenes.
22 Marvel’s Classic Iron Spider Appears In Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse features a comic-book-accurate rendition of the Iron Spider, an outfit created by Tony Stark that featured phenomenally advanced technology (including a web glide that meant Spider-Man didn’t need to depend on web-slinging). It’s most famous for featuring extendable arms, although oddly enough, the original comic book design had only three, not four – though other Spider-Man variants appear to have changed the designs of other pre-existing variants, so this does make sense.
21 Manga Spider-Man Makes His Spider-Verse Debut
Marvel has a long history of Manga tributes. In the comics, Spider-Man Manga made his debut back in 2002 as part of the so-called “New Mangaverse,” and he had a very different origin from the traditional version. In the New Mangaverse, Spider-Man was trained as a member of the Spider Clan of Ninjas, and he was trained by his uncle and sensei. This incarnation of Spider-Man was tremendously popular, brought back for a number of key miniseries. Hopefully Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse will also feature his version of Mary Jane Watson, who became her universe’s Spider-Woman.
20 Spider-Cop Can Be Seen In Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse’s Trailer
The idea of Spider-Cop is something of a legend in Spider-Man lore, with the character even appearing in the recent Spider-Geddon event (one that also featured a cameo from Tom Holland’s Spider-Man). He’s made his way into the Spider-Verse, where he can be found playing traffic cop. His role is little more amusing Easter egg, but it’s a delightful one all the same.
19 Spinneret & Spiderling Have Entered The Spider-Verse
2015’s Secret Wars comic book event introduced the “Renew Your Vows” timeline, one in which Peter Parker and Mary Jane had stayed together. Their daughter Annie May inherited Peter’s powers, taking up the identity of Spiderling, and it didn’t take long for them to become a superhero family. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse shows Mary Jane’s Spinneret and Annie May’s Spiderling going for a stroll, and it’s likely their limited roles were to prevent confusion between Spiderling and Mayday, given the similar stories around both figures.
18 Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse Introduces Lady Spider
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse features multiple universes, and some viewers had really hoped to see Lady Spider – a variant who originates from a gloriously Steampunk universe. The character hasn’t seen much action – she teamed up with Spider-Man 2099 during 2015’s Spider-Verse event and has only turned up a handful of times since. The design has clearly impressed Sony’s animators because she’s one of the more easy-to-spot characters in the Spider-Society scenes in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
17 Spider-Monkey Makes A Brief Appearance
Designated Earth-8101, 2008’s Marvel Apes storyline featured several prominent heroes in monkey-form, including Spider-Man himself. Spider-Monkey can be glimpsed among several other animal variants in the Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse chase scenes. In the Spider-Verse comic event, Spider-Monkey was killed, so his movie story currently seems far less grim – though this may make him a prime primate target for Spot in the future follow-up movie.