14 New Spider-People We Want To See In Across The Spider-Verse

In December 2021, Sony Pictures debuted the first trailer for "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse," the long-awaited follow-up to 2018's Oscar-winning hit "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse." One of the most exciting quirks of the original movie was the fact that, much like the comic storyline on which it was based, it featured a number of different Spider-People from across the Marvel Multiverse — including more offbeat variants such as Spider-Man Noir, SP//dr:, and Spider-Ham.

In the years since the release of "Into the Spider-Verse," it has become clear that the sequel will debut even more versions of Spider-Man. The trailer, for example, confirms the return of Miguel O'Hara (a.k.a. Spider-Man 2099), who briefly appeared in a post-credits scene after "Into the Spider-Verse." The colorful city Miles swings through also seems to suggest the involvement of Pavitr Prabhakar, the web-slinger of "Spider-Man: India." Meanwhile, Variety reported in June 2021 that "Insecure" star Issa Rae had joined the cast of "Across the Spider-Verse" as Jessica Drew, a.k.a. Spider-Woman; "Spider-Verse" filmmakers Chris Lord and Phil Miller have also taken to Twitter to hint at the involvement of both Cindy Moon (a.ka. Silk) and Takuya Yamashiro, the Spider-Man who appeared in the 1970s Japanese "Spider-Man" series.

There's no telling who else might turn up. Countless versions of Spider-Man have been featured in Marvel comics, movies, and TV shows over the years, any of which might have a role to play in Miles Morales' latest adventure. With that in mind, and the mind running wild, here are 14 Spider-People we want to see in "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse."

Hailing from Earth-730911, this Peter Parker variant appeared in the not-entirely-beloved 1977 film "Spider-Man." This made-for-television project was intended to be a pilot for the certainly-not-beloved "Amazing Spider-Man" TV series, which aired from 1977 to 1979. Actor Nicholas Hammond portrayed the web-slinger in both the show and the film, as well as its two sequels: "Spider-Man Strikes Back" and "Spider-Man: The Dragon's Challenge."

The 1977 Spider-Man is more or less what you'd expect from everyone's favorite wallcrawler. College student Peter Parker is bitten by a radioactive spider and promptly receives a whole bunch of nifty superhero powers, which he turns against the crooks and criminals of New York City. While he can be spotted among his fellow Spider-People in "Spider-Verse" Vol. 1 #2, this version of Spider-Man has had relatively little experience crossing through the multiverse.

If Nicholas Hammond himself had his way, however, we'd be seeing this Spider-Man cropping up much more often. In November 2021, the actor told The Hollywood Reporter that he wishes he could have cameoed in the Spider-tastic MCU flick "Spider-Man: No Way Home." Hammond told the outlet: "I think it would have been huge fun. It would have been a kick in the pants to have the old guy there. I was really hoping I would be approached but unfortunately, that didn't happen."

Ah, well. Here's hoping the crew behind "Across the Spider-Verse" can find a home for this lost spider.

In "Amazing Spider-Man" Vol. 1 #700, a mind-swapping scheme gone wrong leaves Otto Octavius (a.k.a. Doctor Octopus) trapped in the body of Peter Parker. Eventually taking on the mantle of the Superior Spider-Man, Octavius spends the next few years learning to be a hero, before finally returning to his old body in "Superior Spider-Man" Vol. 2 #11.

During this stint as the heroic web-slinger, Octavius plays a leading role in the original "Spider-Verse" arc. In fact, in "Amazing Spider-Man" Vol. 3 #10, the ex-villain steps up to lead the Spider-Army against the Inheritors, although he is quickly ousted by the Peter Parker of his universe. Nevertheless, Octavius' contribution to the story can't be understated, and it's he who, in "Amazing Spider-Man" Vol. 3 #15, attacks the Web of Life and Destiny in an attempt to prevent it from taking him home.

Bringing in an Earth-616 character from the main Marvel timeline would be a pretty big deal for a movie adaptation, and considering Octavius is no longer the Superior Spider-Man, it's hard to see how this particular version of the character could become involved in "Across the Spider-Verse." That said, there's nothing to say that other universes don't have their own Superior Spider-Men. There's certainly no doubt that introducing an ex-villain to the team would inspire all kinds of drama in "Across the Spider-Verse," especially since at least three of the movie's main characters have faced their own versions of Doc Ock in the past.

"Amazing Spider-Man" Vol. 3 #10, part of the wider "Spider-Verse" arc, introduces Hobie Brown, the Spider-Man of Earth-138. According to "Spider-Verse" Vol. 1 #2, Brown's home universe is one in which Earth has been subjugated by a fascist regime headed by Ozzy Osborn (an alternative version of Norman Osborn, not the guy from Black Sabbath), leading to the emergence of a punk-rock rebellion movement known as the Spider Army. Otherwise known as Spider-Punk, Brown is an anarchic free spirit who wields the power of punk just as deftly as he slings webs — so he proves a natural choice for membership of the multiversal Spider-Army assembled during the events of "Spider-Verse."

Spider-Punk subsequently plays an equally important role in "Spider-Geddon," beginning with "Edge of Spider-Geddon" #1. In this storyline, Brown is recruited by Spider-Girl to join the others in battling the newly-resurrected Inheritors, eventually siding with the Superior Spider-Man in his attempt to hunt and kill them all.

It's not hard to see why Spider-Punk would make a great addition to "Across the Spider-Verse." The original movie proved that you need to throw in a little fun and flair to complement the main Spider-People — hence Spider-Man Noir, SP//dr:, and Spider-Ham — and introducing a punk-rock rebel version of the character feels like the perfect way to do just that. Besides, who wouldn't love to see the final battle soundtracked by "15,000 watts of punkrock, from an army of amps set to 11"?

Jessica Drew may be the best-known British Spider-Person, but she's not the only one. William Braddock of Earth-833 (a.k.a. Spider-U.K.) is a character introduced in "Edge of Spider-Verse" Vol. 1 #2. It's Braddock who first realizes that something is wrong after the Inheritor known as Morlun begins murdering Spider-People across the Multiverse; he soon begins recruiting his fellow web-slingers into the growing Spider-Army. In "Amazing Spider-Man" Vol. 3 #15, Spider-UK forms the Web-Warriors, a team of universe-hopping Spider-People, after his own universe is destroyed by a mysterious, reality-shattering event known as an Incursion. Braddock and the Web-Warriors return for "Spider-Geddon," but he doesn't last long — in "Spider-Geddon" #1, Spider-U.K. is killed by Verna, another Inheritor.

Braddock's inclusion in "Across the Spider-Verse" would come with two key benefits. Firstly, it would give the team another kick-ass Spider-Person with a fun twist and a cool suit; that's never something to be sniffed at. More importantly, though, it might pave the way for the introduction of the Web-Warriors, a genuinely compelling team that could easily play a significant role in the sequel, which is due for release in 2023. Heck, they could even spin off into a "Web Warriors" movie or TV series. Who wouldn't want that?

Yes, you read that right. The Norman Osborn version of Spider-Man makes his debut in "Edge of Spider-Geddon" Vol. 1 #4, in which he faces off against his son, Harry, who is hell-bent on avenging the death of Peter Parker. During their fight, Harry destroys the Cosmic Cube, opening up the Web of Life and Destiny and inadvertently giving Osborn exactly what he wants: access to the multiverse. His villainous plans are put on hold, however, when Spider-Punk emerges through the Web and pulls him from Earth-44145 into Earth-616, where the Spider-Army is reforming.

Although he agrees to join the team, Osborn turns out to be exactly as useful an ally as you might expect. He later walks out on the team and, in "Spider-Geddon" Vol. 1 #4, destroys the Web of Life and Destiny, preventing the majority of Spider-People from traversing the multiverse — after taking a piece for himself, naturally.

Norman Osborn is arguably the most recognizable of Spider-Man's many foes; heck, he even briefly appeared in "Into the Spider-Verse." Forcing him into a tenuous alliance with Miles and the other Spider-People would surely provide a fresh new spin on this tried and tested character ... until his sudden but inevitable betrayal, of course.

Introduced in "Spider-Geddon" Vol. 1 #3, the being known as Spiders-Man is pretty much exactly what he sounds like: a Spider-Man variant, from Earth-11580, who is made up entirely of spiders. The young Peter Parker was devoured after falling into a pit of radioactive spiders, but not before his consciousness was absorbed into their hive-mind.

Spiders-Man is brought into the Spider-Army by the Superior Spider-Man and spends most of the time concealing his desire to consume human flesh before eventually joining Norman Osborn in his scheme to destroy the Web of Life and Destiny. After this, Spiders-Man ends up in the Earth-616 universe, teaming up with Osborn in "Superior Spider-Man" Vol. 2 #11 to try to bring down Otto Octavius after he returns to his old body.

Another genuinely off-the-wall choice for the "Across the Spider-Verse" team, Spiders-Man would likely serve a similar purpose to the Norman Osborn version of the character — that is, bringing a little edge (and a lot of body horror) to the team, even possibly acting as an antagonist of sorts. Of course, there's also a lot of comedy to be mined out of a Spider-Person who wants nothing more than to devour everybody else on the team.

In the 1970s, Marvel partnered with the Hostess Cakes brand to produce a number of tie-in advertisements for the company. These mostly involved iconic superheroes battling a variety of criminals and defeating them with the tempting power of Hostess products. Naturally, Spider-Man was the first hero to feature.

In a surprising move, the Spider-Man of the Hostess Cakes universe (that's Earth-51914, to you) made his comeback in "Spider-Verse" Vol. 1 #1. During his great hunt, Morlun encounters this version of Spider-Man and, despite the latter's efforts to defeat him by hurling cakes in his general direction, quickly overpowers and murders the web-slinger. He does, at least, remark that this Spider-Man had a particularly "sweet and succulent soul," which he describes as "the greatest snack of all," but that probably doesn't come as much consolation to Hostess Spidey's withered corpse.

Hey, if there's room for Spider-Ham, there's room for this guy. Plus, the product placement checks practically write themselves. Get him in there, Lord and Miller.