Spider-Man swung back into theaters, and he’s brought web-slingers old and new along with him. Sony Pictures Animation’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is one of the most ambitious animated films to ever hit screens, involving a multiversal adventure that mines nearly every aspect of the character’s 60-year history in the form of a Spider Society. A lot of Spider-people appear in the society (though others are simply encountered in various parts of the multiverse or in montage), from major players to the blink-and-you’ll-miss-them cameos. I only have two eyes and not Man-Spider’s six, but as far as they could see, these are all the Spider-Men, Women, Punks, Monkeys, Cats, LEGOs, Manga, and Ham you need to know (and the comic backstories that matter).
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Spider-Man (Miles Morales)
Miles Morales, the star of the film (voiced by Shameik Moore), has become a household name in the 12 years since he made his debut in Ultimate Fallout No. 4 (2011). Created by Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli, Miles Morales was originally part of the Ultimate Universe, an alternate reality in Marvel Comics, but was transported to the mainline Marvel Comics Universe following Secret Wars in 2015. Morales has appeared in television shows, video games, and movies. He’s yet to make his live-action debut — heavy emphasis on yet. But the new animated film finds him a year and a half into his role as Spider-Man, struggling to balance the life of a superhero (and, apparently, preserver of canon events) with that of a lonely high-schooler.
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Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy)
Gwen Stacy has been a key part of Spidey’s mythos since her debut in The Amazing Spider-Man No. 31 (1965) and has appeared live-action in Spider-Man 3 (2007), where she was portrayed by Bryce Dallas Howard, and The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), where she was portrayed by Emma Stone. But this particular version of Gwen, voiced by Hailee Steinfeld, once known in the comics as Spider-Gwen and later as Ghost-Spider and created by Jason Latour and Robbi Rodriguez, debuted in Edge of Spider-Verse No. 2 (2014). Like Miles, her origin story remains largely unchanged in the film adaptation, and she also appeared in television shows and video games.
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Spider-Man (Peter B. Parker) and Mayday Parker
Miles’s mentor, the older and more world-weary Peter B. Parker, voiced by Jake Johnson, returns in Across the Spider-Verse, and this time he has his and Mary Jane’s baby in tow. This iteration of Parker is an original character for the films, previously plagued by self-doubt and a number of losses including the death of Aunt May and a divorce from Mary Jane, before rising to the challenging of becoming Miles’s mentor and repairing his marriage. He shares many similarities with the comic-book version of Peter Parker, who of course was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and made his debut in Amazing Fantasy No. 15 (1962). Mayday, on the other hand, made her debut as the teenage Spider-Girl in What If? No. 105 (1998) and was created by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz. A fan favorite, Mayday has had her own comic-book series under Marvel’s MC2 imprint and also appeared in numerous Marvel video games.
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Spider-Woman (Jess Drew)
Jessica Drew, created by Archie Goodwin and Marie Severin, first appeared in Marvel Spotlight No. 32 (1977). Funny enough, she was conceived as a one-off character with no connection to Spider-Man. Initially, she was a spider who evolved into a woman (ew!), but after a retcon, her powers were the result of an experimental serum. Across the Spider-Verse’s Spider-Woman, voiced by Issa Rae, doesn’t seem to have that extra baggage in terms of her origin story. Instead, she’s presented here like she is in the 2016 comics run featuring the character: as a motorcycle-riding badass who also just so happens to be fighting crime while pregnant and serves as second-in-command to the leader of the Spider Society, Miguel O’Hara. Drew, who benefitted from a comics resurgence courtesy of Brian Michael Bendis as a member of the New Avengers in 2005, is set to play a role in an upcoming, still untitled Spider-Verse spinoff film focusing on a number of Spider-Women.
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Spider-Man 2099 (Miguel O’Hara)
The Spider-Man of the future, Miguel O’Hara debuted in Spider-Man 2099 No. 1 (1992) as the creation of Peter David and Rick Leonardi. O’Hara is geneticist for the corporation Alchemax whose experimental work is sabotaged by a jealous colleague, resulting in O’Hara’s genes being spliced with those of a spider, leaving him with talons, claws, and a vampiric bloodlust. Unlike Parker, O’Hara has a much more serious demeanor and rarely seems to enjoy being Spider-Man. Those traits are carried over into Across the Spider-Verse, where O’Hara, voiced by Oscar Isaac, emerges as an antagonist who sees Miles’s existence as an anomaly and a threat to the multiverse. The character is a cult favorite, but outside of video games and an appearance on the animated series Ultimate Spider-Man, Across the Spider-Verse is his most significant introduction outside of the comics.
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Spider-Man (Pavitr Prabhakar)
The Indian Spider-Man of Earth-50101, voiced by Karan Soni, made his debut in Spider-Man: India No. 1 (2005) and was created by Jeevan J. Kang, Suresh Seetharaman, and Sharad Devarajan. He received his spider powers from an ancient Yogi in order to prevent evil in the world. In the film, he seems to be one of the only Spider-Men whose life isn’t defined by tragedy, and he loves being Spider-Man. He’s notably only been in the role for six months; however, he has a close bond with Gwen and Spider-Punk. His “canon event†is disrupted when Miles saves Pavitr’s ally, Captain Singh. Despite the trouble this lands Miles in with Miguel, Pavitr returns the favor and joins Gwen to search for him at the end of the film. Given the breakout nature of the character, he seems destined for a larger role in the comics in the near future.
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Spider-Punk
The first Hobie Brown was the original costumed villain, the Prowler, who is now most often associated with Miles’s Uncle Aaron, and who first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man No. 78 (1969). The variant version, Spider-Punk, first appeared in 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man No. 10 as an anarchist who brought the lower class together as the Spider Army to defeat President Osborn. In the film, he’s British instead of American and aids Miles and Gwen; he quits the Spider Society after disagreeing with Miguel’s plan to let certain individuals die in “canon eventsâ€Â to preserve the multiverse, and later appears as part of Gwen’s new group at the end of the film. He’s appeared as an unlockable character in several video games, but Across the Spider-Verse is his first film appearance (voiced by Daniel Kaluuya). Fun fact: Each part of Spider-Punk’s body was animated at a different frame rate.
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Scarlet Spider
Ben Reilly is a clone of Peter Parker who was created by his obsessive college professor, Miles Warren, a.k.a. the Jackal. The general character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man No. 149 (1975), created by Gerry Conway, but he took the name Ben Reilly in Spider-Man No. 51 (1994) and debuted as the Scarlet Spider in Web of Spider-Man No. 118 (1994). He’s most often associated with the infamous Clone Saga that ran throughout Spider-Man comics in the ’90s, which saw Reilly struggling with angst over his borrowed identity. In the film, he’s voiced by Andy Samberg, who really plays up that angst. He joins Miguel and Jess in their hunt for Miles on Earth-42, but Gwen finds him first and breaks his multiversal watch, presumably stranding him back at the Spider Society headquarters.
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PlayStation’s Spider-Man
Spider-Man from Insomniac’s hit PlayStation video game, Marvel’s Spider-Man (2018), has a brief cameo, voiced by Yuri Lowenthal, and can be seen alongside villains from some of the original, first-generation Spider-Man video games. Miles’s roommate Ganke can also be seen playing the PlayStation video game in their dorm room.
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Spectacular Spider-Man
The Spider-Man from the beloved 2008–09 cartoon series The Spectacular Spider-Man, voiced by Josh Keaton, tries to appeal to Miles Morales on the tragedies all Spider-Men must all experience, called “canon events.â€
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1960s Animated Spider-Man
The Spider-Man from the 1967 cartoon Spider-Man, the one with the catchy theme song, swings into action during the chase for Miles Morales. He was originally voiced by Paul Soles, though in the film he’s voiced by Jorma Taccone.
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Spider-Byte
Margo Kess, the virtual-reality-equipped superhero who tries to help Miles return home after he escapes from Miguel and the Spider Society, first appeared in Vault of Spiders No. 1 (2018) as a cybercrime-fighting vigilante and was created by Nilah Magruder and Alberto Jiménez Alburquerque. In the film, she is voiced by Amandla Stenberg and joins Gwen Stacy’s group at the end of the film.
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Spider-Mobile
Peter Parkedcar is a sentient automobile that first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man No. 12 (2015) and was created by Dan Slott and Giuseppe Camuncoli, who were inspired by Pixar’s Cars. He’s seen giving several other Spider-Man variants a ride in the film.
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Spider-Man Unlimited
The Spider-Man from the short-lived animated series that premiered in 1999 was originally supposed to be Spider-Man 2099. But similarities to Batman Beyond led to the show being reimagined as a sequel to Spider-Man: The Animated Series and saw Peter Parker stranded on counter-Earth and dealing with the threats of Venom, Carnage, and the High Evolutionary. He’s seen a couple times during Miles’s tour of the Spider Society.
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Spider-Rex
One of the most recent Spider-beings, Pter Ptarker is a dinosaur who was hit by a meteorite containing alien spiders, giving him the powers of Spider-Man without the agility. Created by Karla Pacheco and Pere Pérez, Spider-Rex first appeared in Edge of Spider-Verse No. 1 (2022). He tries to take a bite out of Miles as he attempts to escape the Spider Society.
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Spider-Cat
A simple cat with the proportionate strength of a spider, nine lives, and the ability to cough up web-balls first appeared in Spider-Island: I Love New York City No. 1 and was created by Skottie Young. He coughs up a web-ball on Miles as he escapes through the levels of the Spider Society.
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Spider-Man Noir
The Spider-Man of the early 20th century who fights Nazis, drinks egg creams, and is voiced by none other than Nicolas Cage returns at the end of Across the Spider-Verse to join Gwen on her search for Miles. The character, who is set to appear in a live-action series for Amazon, debuted in Spider-Man: Noir No. 1 (2009), and was created by David Hine and Marko Djurdjevic. He previously appeared in the animated series Ultimate Spider-Man, where he was voiced by Milo Ventimiglia.
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Spider-Ham
Peter Porker also returns at the end of Across the Spider-Verse to join Gwen. The character, voiced by John Mulaney in the previous film, first appeared in the parody comic Marvel Tails, Starring Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham in 1983. Created by Larry Hama, Tom DeFalco, Stan Lee, and Mark Armstrong, Porker was a spider who was bitten by a radioactive pig who just so happened to be his aunt. It’s best not to think too much on it, as even for cartoon logic, the concept is pretty far out there.
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Spider-Monkey
The simian counterpart to Spider-Man was born into a world of all apes — but not the Planet of the Apes, which Marvel also publishes. Just another ape world. Created by Karl Kesel and Ramon Bachs, Spider-Monkey first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man Family No. 1 (2008).
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Spider-Man (Max Borne)
Max Borne is the Spider-Man of the year 2211 and has mechanized arms likely inspired by Doc Ock. In the comics, he teamed up with Spider-Man 2099 in order to prevent the destruction of the timestream by a future version of the Hobgoblin. He was created by Peter David and Mike Wieringo and first appeared in Spider-Man 2099 Meets Spider-Man No. 1 (1995). Miles Morales hides on his back while trying to escape the Spider Society.
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Captain Spider
Flash Thompson has been part of Peter Parker’s life since the very beginning, first appearing in Amazing Fantasy No. 15 (1962) as Parker’s high-school bully. He’s appeared in every iteration of Spider-Man’s live-action filmography, where he’s been played by Joe Manganiello, Chris Zylka, and Tony Revolori. But what if Flash Thompson became Spider-Man instead of Peter Parker? That’s the concept behind Captain Spider, who first appeared in What If? No. 7 (1977) and was created by Don Glut and Rick Hoberg.
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Spider-Woman (Julia Carpenter)
The second woman to take up the name Spider-Woman, Julia Carpenter, created by Jim Shooter and Mike Zeck, made her first full appearance in Secret Wars No. 7 (1984) after being teased in the previous issue. She was an unwitting test subject for her friend’s government experiment. Injected with spider venom and mysterious herbs, Julia developed powers similar to Spider-Man. She later took up the mantle of Madame Web. She has appeared in numerous films and video games and will make her live-action debut in next year’s film, Madame Web, where she’ll be portrayed by Sydney Sweeney. She can be seen briefly in the film when the members of the Spider Society confront Miles about allowing “canon events†to happen.
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Spiderling (Annie Parker)
Another version of Peter Parker and Mary Jane’s daughter, who also took up the mantle of her father, first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows No. 1 (2015) and was created by Dan Slott and Adam Kubert. She can be seen briefly in the movie, holding hands with her mother, Spinneret, in the halls of the Spider Society.
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Spinneret
Annie Parker’s mom, Mary Jane became a hero of her own in that same universe. Using a suit that could mimic her husband’s powers when in close proximity to him, MJ joined her husband and daughter as Spinneret, making crime-fighting a family affair. She also first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows No. 1 (2015) and was created by Dan Slott and Adam Kubert.
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SP//dr (Peni Parker)
Peni Parker also returns in Across the Spider-Verse and is voiced by Kimiko Glenn. A young Japanese American girl, Peni pilots a biomechanical robot built by her father that houses a radioactive spider. Following the destruction of the robot in the first film, she returns to pilot a new model in the latest film and express her sympathies to Miles over the fact that the death of his father is a “canon event.†Peni Parker (created by Jake Wyatt and My Chemical Romance’s Gerard Way) first appeared in Edge of Spider-Verse No. 5 (2014). She joins Gwen’s group to search for Miles at the end of the film.
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Spider-Man Manga
This iteration of Peter Parker is a ninja, a member of the Spider-Clan whose uncle was killed by Venom, leading him on a path of vengeance. Created by Ben Dunn and Tommy Ohtsuka, the character first appeared in Marvel Mangaverse: Spider-Man No. 1 (2002).
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Web-Slinger and Widow
Patrick O’Hara was a gunslinger in the Old West who sold a potent elixir alongside his friend Michael Morbius. But when a spider, bathed in the elixir, bit O’Hara and his horse, Widow, they developed spider-powers. When Morbius drank the elixir in hopes it would have the same effect, it instead turned him into a vampire, forcing O’Hara to use his new powers to hunt down his former friend. Created by Dan Slott and Giuseppe Camuncoli, the characters first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man No. 9 (2014) and No. 12 (2015). In the film, Miles questions why the horse needs a mask and beats Web-Slinger in a draw.
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Lady Spider
Maybelle Reilly is an adventurer and inventor who lacks superpowers but makes up for them with mechanical arms and web-shooters that allow her to climb walls and spin webs. Her design is steampunk-inspired. She was created by Robbie Thompson and Denis Medri and first appeared in Spider-Verse No. 1 (2014). She can briefly be seen in the halls of the Spider Society.
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Last Stand Spider-Man
A possible future version of Spider-Man who became an anti-hero who killed his villains after first taking the life of Kraven the Hunter in vengeance. This version of Peter Parker was created by J. Michael Straczynski and John Romita Jr. and first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man No. 58 (2003).
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LEGO Spider-Man
It’s the Spider-Man you know and love, but as a LEGO. The first Spider-Man LEGO appeared in 2002 as a tie-in with the movie. LEGO Spider-Man’s sequence in the film (which sees him dealing with the appearance of the film’s villain, the Spot) was animated by 14-year-old Preston Mutanga, who previously re-created the Across the Spider-Verse trailers with LEGOs.
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Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire)
From Sam Raimi’s trilogy, Maguire’s Spider-Man, who debuted in 2002, appears in archive footage, cradling the body of Uncle Ben during Miguel’s monologue about canon events.
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Spider-Man (Andrew Garfield)
Garfield’s Spider-Man, who debuted in 2012 in Marc Webb’s Amazing Spider-Man duology, appears in archive footage, also cradling a body (that of Captain George Stacy) in Miguel’s monologue about canon events.