Spider-Man, Spider-Ham, Spider-People. Sony’s brand new animated adventure, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, brings us a whole roster of Spider-Heroes that are getting their big screen debut. In each universe there’s a different version of the Spider-Man we all know, and this movie throws them all together. Expect crazy costumes, unique origin stories and a quest to save every single reality in the Spider-Verse. But who are these new Spider-Heroes and how did they get their powers?
Peter Parker
Let’s get the obvious hero out of the way, Peter Parker. Everyone’s friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. If after three different live action franchises, several animated TV shows and thousands of comics, you don’t know his origin, it’s quite simple. He was bitten by a radioactive Spider and has the ability to climb walls, sense danger and also has super strength. Jake Johnson voices an older Peter in the movie who’s been Spidey for quite some time.
Miles Morales
Voiced by Shameik Moore in the movie, Miles Morales becomes Spider-Man after the death of Peter Parker in the Ultimate Comics Universe. He’s bitten by a spider engineered with Peter’s blood after his death. The spider had crawled out of a bag carried by Miles’ uncle, Aaron Davis, when he visits Miles at his family’s apartment. Aaron Davis is also known as The Prowler, and had actually broken into Oscorp when the Spider crawled into his bag. Is it a coincidence The Prowler has a role in the movie? Definitely not.
In the comics, Miles originally wore a red and blue Spider-Suit like Peter’s, before being told it was in poor taste. Nick Fury gifts the young hero a black and red suit, cementing his role as the new Spider-Man.
Spider-Gwen
What if Peter Parker never became a hero, and the radioactive spider bit someone else in his class? Say hello to Spider-Gwen. That’s right, in an alternate universe Gwen Stacy becomes the wall crawler, and she’s known as Spider-Woman or Ghost Spider.
On Earth-65, Peter Parker wanted revenge against his high school bullies, and experimented on himself to become The Lizard. His fight with Spider-Gwen ultimately led to his death because of the toxic chemicals in his body. Talk about re-spinning the story…
Spider-Man Noir
Peter Parker is a light-hearted hero considering every tragic thing that’s happened to him. In the Marvel Noir universe, Spidey exists during the Great Depression in 1933, except he’s not that fun. When Peter begins working with Ben Urich at the Daily Bugle, he scopes out a shipment of stolen antiques. One of the antiques smashes, releasing a horde of spiders. When Pete’s bitten, he dreams of a Spider-God and later awakens with super powers.
After the deaths of both Uncle Ben and Ben Urich, Peter vows end organized crime in his city, and dons a black costume like every dark brooding vigilante. Lighten up Pete, it’s not all bad – you’re voiced by Nicholas Cage!
Peni Parker + SP//Dr
Are you a fan of huge fighting robots? Peni Parker might just be your new favorite hero. She’s a Japanese-American student adopted by Aunt May and Uncle Ben after her parents died. She’s inducted into a program where she pilots the SP//Dr robot by using a mental link with a radioactive spider. She fights huge monsters and also another robot called VEN#M. It’s like Pacific Rim meets Spider-Man, and we love it.
Spider-Ham
There’s no easy way to say it, the original Peter Porker used to be a spider before he was bitten by a radioactive pig, May Porker. He then became a pig with Spider-Powers, because that’s just how the Marvel Universe works. There’s no way of taking him seriously, and this is probably one of the silliest characters Marvel has ever produced. Even Howard the Duck has credibility!
His universe is full of other animal alternate heroes, like Captain Americat, Goose Rider and Black Panda. Luckily, John Mulaney will be playing Spider-Ham as silly as possible. Talk about saving your bacon.
