Small Details You Missed In The Second Across The Spider-Verse Trailer
All right, people. Let's do this one last time. As promised, Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is back in the second trailer for the highly anticipated, give-it-to-us-now-thanks sequel to "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse," craftily titled, "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse." We've got Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld). We've got Peter (Jake Johnson). We've also got a very angry webslinger from the future forcing choices on Miles that he may not want to make.
We're referring to Miguel O'Hara, aka Spider-Man 2099 (Oscar Isaac), who looks more at odds with our hero than previously predicted. As it turns out, the future crime fighter has formed a team of Spider-People to unite and keep their respective worlds in check. The only catch is that some of them have to make life-changing decisions and sacrifices, and Miles looks to be fighting hard against making such a call.
How will things end up? We don't know. What's clear, though, is that at some point, he encounters a guitar-rocking wall-crawler, a walking, talking black hole, and one little spider-scamp who is guaranteed to melt our hearts on more than one occasion. All that, and there are still strong hints at a universe full of superheroes we're very familiar with. So what are you waiting for? Load up on web fluid, and let's get going.
New villain spotted
He might be on the road leading to a large amount of dimension-hopping, but before doing so, Miles will still have to deal with his local small-time crooks, albeit ones with exceptionally wild powers. The walking, talking bread dispenser found stealing from a convenience store is Johnathon Ohnn, aka the Spot (Jason Schwartzman), a bad guy covered in inter-dimensional portals that make him a nightmare for any hero, wall-crawler or not, trying to take him down.
The Spot first showed his spots in "Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man" #98 in 1985, as part of Peter's rogues' gallery, not Miles'. It's nothing new for this world to play fast and loose with some of the heroes and villains and the varied iterations they've appeared in, but in this world, you can bet he'll be a treat. In a sequel that's already going to send Miles slipping in and out of portals, seeing him tackle someone who can create them at will is guaranteed to spark some fantastic sequences. We can't wait to see them.
Spider-Men, Women, and Punks
As made abundantly clear in the last epic and Oscar-winning film set in this universe of universes, anyone can wear the mask, and there's a whole bunch of them on show in the second trailer for "Across the Spider-Verse." While there are plenty of favorites to catch your eye (hey, Spider-Horse), we get our first good look at some of Miles' main allies (hopefully) on his new adventure. Besides Jessica Drew, aka Spider-Woman (Issa Rae), riding in on her bike and bearing a baby bump, there's also Daniel Kaluuya's Hobart "Hobie" Brown, aka Spider-Punk ("oi oi"), along with Pravitr Prabhakar, aka Spider-Man India, voiced by Karan Soni of "Deadpool" fame.
While Jessica Drew is from the main Marvel Universe, Spider-Punk and Spider-Man India are from separate dimensions entirely. Kaluuya's guitar-rocking hero debuted in 2014 and sounds like a Londoner, unlike the New York-based rebel. Spider-Man India is based on the four-issue run that retells Spidey's story in an Indian setting.
However, one of the real winning shots is later on in the trailer with the appearance of Ben Reilly, aka the Scarlet Spider. In the comics, Ben is a clone of Peter who eventually goes his own way as an all-new webslinger. Whether this one is from the same universe as Jake Johnson's Peter is unknown, but it's great to see his iconic blue hoodie and red onesie combo on show.
The Scarlet Spider the spider-clone
One of the greatest draws of "Across the Spider-Verse" is its ability to draw from a tremendous range of Spider-Man-related characters, and judging by this newly released trailer, there is truly a staggering number of fresh faces. However, one that sticks out for longtime webheads is the quick appearance of the Scarlet Spider.
Two things set Ben apart from his contemporaries. First, he sports a stylish blue hooded vest. Second, he is actually a clone of Peter Parker created by villain Miles Warren, aka the Jackal. This means that there is a chance that this Scarlet Spider is actually one of two Spider-Men from the same dimension since one of the defining characteristics of the character is that he a clone. Although Ben was created to be a villain and supplant the Spider-Man in his reality, he finds himself compelled to fight for the forces of good and soon becomes one of Peter's allies.
Popping up in his first comic in 1975, the Scarlet Spider is a huge part of "Spider-Man" lore, and he was even considered the main comic Spider-Man for a duration of time when Peter was indisposed. In addition, Peter also shares the Scarlet Spider persona when he is framed for a crime and Ben takes Peter's place in prison. How the Scarlet Spider plays out in "Across the Spider-Verse" will certainly be of great interest to a certain sect of "Spider-Man" fans since this marks his first movie appearance.
Doctor Strange gets mentioned? No way (home)!
With issues like bad guys and bad grades (a B in Spanish?!), it's understandable why Miles would take his first ticket to get away from the world and into another ... or ten. As revealed by Gwen, the Lobby is a creation of Miguel O'Hara, a hero from a futuristic world who has roped in the best bunch of webslingers he can find. Unfortunately, it seems that Miles hasn't made the list for some reason or another. "You can never be part of this," Oscar Isaac's hard-edged hero assures Miles before adding, "and don't even get me started on Doctor Strange and the little nerd back on Earth-199999."
Now, while this will no doubt get Marvel Cinematic Universe lovers and fans of Sony's Spider-Man Universe excited about the streams crossing again, it's worth noting that the numbers don't quite add up in regard to the Earth mentioned — "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" name-drops Earth-616, not Earth-199999. However, more comics-focused fans, including Ms. Marvel herself, Iman Vellani, see the MCU as being set in Earth-199999. Could this be the first step in getting an animated Tom Holland swinging alongside Miles Morales and the Prime Peter? How can we not be excited?
Mayday! Mayday!
Speaking of Peter, the OG wall-crawling menace makes an appearance, and as expected, following the glimpse of a baby carrier in the teaser, he is indeed a proud father to a baby girl named May. Swinging through the air without a care in the world (the cute lil' bracelet web-shooter is swell), May "Mayday" Parker is based on Spider-Girl, who debuted in 1997 as part of a "What If?" story. A member of the MC2 universe, she is the daughter of Peter Parker. She also has close connections with Ben Reilly.
What's interesting here is that given her age and Peter's only brief appearance in the trailer, it begs the question of whether Parker will be taking a back seat this time around, with a greater focus on Miles than before. Even though Peter has seemingly been accepted into O'Hara's select few webslingers, it doesn't mean he'll be as active. He is a father now, after all, and there's a high chance that he'll only appear to his former protégé in a mentor capacity. The only issue is that it doesn't look like Miles will be taking on his teacher's words too warmly when talk of sacrifice and day saving comes into play.
A Death in the Family with a touch of venom?
As much as Miles appears to want to join the new Spider-Club initially, it seems that there's a toll for entry that he understandably might not be willing to pay. As explained by O'Hara, "Being Spider-Man is a sacrifice. You have a choice between saving one person and saving every world," he advises, with cuts to Miles' dad, Jefferson Davis (Bryan Tyree Henry), falling off a ledge. Is this a double bluff? Potentially, since it could be early on in the film when Miles is still in New York, but as any casual fan of the world of webheads will know, a loss is always an inevitability with this job.
In the comics, Miles' mother, Rio, is the parent figure who dies in his universe. In other versions of his story, his father is killed. Either way, it looks like this version will fight to ensure that doesn't happen, judging by the crowd of fallen Spider-People surrounding him in the trailer, potentially brought down by his signature venom blast. Could this see our hero turn into public enemy number one? A meme joke and an angry leader sure suggest that's the case.
Miles vs. Miguel and a whole lot of Spider-People
Closing off this eye-watering preview, there's a chunkier dose of spider versus spider as Miles and Miguel battle on what looks like a futuristic bullet train with other Spider-Folk, including Peter and Gwen, trailing closely behind. Peter tells Miguel that this isn't what the futuristic crime fighter promised, suggesting that this fresh dose of power might've gone to O'Hara's head. Whatever it is he has planned, though, Miles isn't signing up for it.
In what feels like a final battle moment that you'd expect would be tucked away until the film's release, Miles looks to be charging up against Miguel and saying he's "going to do his own thing." The question is, what kind of ramifications could that have on all the universes? If the MCU and "Into the Spider-Verse" have taught us anything, it's that throwing things out of inter-dimensional whack — much like the Kingpin does with his hopes for bringing back his wife and son — causes problems.
With that in mind, could the film end with Miles' actions having a negative impact and Miguel being in the right after all? Given that this is the second part of a planned trilogy, who can say? Either way, our Spidey-Senses are well and truly tingling.
BoJack Spider-Man is here to trot out justice
If we were to go over all the Spider-Man suits we spotted in this trailer, it would take all day. Nonetheless, it's worth mentioning that one decidedly more equine version of the character makes a blink-and-you-miss-it appearance just before the preview ends. Right as the amusing Spidey-to-Spidey therapy session gets interrupted by Miles and a giant mass of Spider-People crashing through the wall, viewers can see that one of them is actually a horse wearing a Spider-Man mask. Absolutely brilliant stuff.
Because this is a comic book movie we're talking about, this bizarre Spider-Horse actually has canonical precedent in the source material. His name is Widow, and he gains his superpowers when he is bitten by a radioactive spider along with the Wild West-inspired Patrick O'Hara, aka Web-Slinger, Widow's human partner. Miles also crosses paths with these characters in the comics, even inducting them into his Web-Warriors team at one point to fight a Multiversal threat.
Could a similar partnership form between these characters in the movie? Perhaps, but it looks like this majestic beast of a Spider-Animal might be starting off on the wrong foot with Miles ... or hoof, that is. In any case, it's nice to see that Widow is carrying on the Spider-Animal legacy for "Across the Spider-Verse" — it's currently unknown whether or not John Mulaney's Spider-Ham will be making a return appearance.
What's Up Danger is now clearly Miles' theme song
"Into the Spider-Verse" is full of great tunes, but Blackway and Black Caviar's "What's Up Danger" is arguably the standout song of the movie. The official trailer for "Across the Spider-Verse," released in December, also uses the song, carrying on its legacy. While two times might be a coincidence — or in this case, a handy audio callback to the greatness of the first "Spider-Verse" movie — this second "Across the Spider-Verse" trailer also uses "What's Up Danger" so very, very prominently that the intention is clear.
Every major superhero either has or would greatly benefit from an instantly recognizable theme song, and if there was any lingering confusion about Miles', this new trailer doubles down on the mission to establish it as "What's Up Danger." This, of course, is an excellent move. Not only is the song a certifiable banger, but it also works extremely well with both Miles' personality and the "Spider-Verse" films' vibrant animation style. Expect "What's Up Danger" or a nice remix thereof to climb up the charts once more when the movie drops ... and quite possibly, yet again when "Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse" arrives in 2024.
The trailer takes the Spider-Man pointing meme to its logical conclusion
If you've spent any time on the internet at all, you've almost certainly bumped into that meme where two 1960s cartoon Spider-Man characters are pointing at each other. The good people at Sony and Marvel are well aware of the popular image — to the point that in 2022, the official @SpiderManMovie Twitter page even recreated it with "Spider-Man: No Way Home" stars Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland.
As it turns out, the "Spider-Verse" people are also very familiar with the meme. Being in the unique position to ramp it up further than you might think possible, the trailer introduces viewers to a delightful moment where every Spider-Man starts pointing at each other in bewilderment after they hear that one of them is wanted by the authorities. The trailer devotes but a few short seconds to the gradual escalation of the pointing scenario and the ensuing confusion, but it's already hilarious enough to make the viewer not-so-secretly hope that the full movie will turn it into an extended gag.