Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verseand its predecessor,Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, have familiarized audiences with the concept known as theSpider-Verse. While multiverse stories have been a long-established part of comics, it has recently blown up into the mainstream with films like the previously mentioned Spider-Verse movies and the CW Arrowverse series, various MCU entries likeDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and the Academy Award-winning Best PictureEverything Everywhere All At Once. Now the multiverse is a concept audiences know pretty well.
But what exactly is the Spider-Verse? What are its comics roots, and how does it connect, if at all, to the MCU’s Multiverse Saga? Is the Spider-Verse connected to the same rules as the multiverse? And what makes Spider-Man so special to be at the center of so many multiversal stories? Here is everything to know about the Spider-Verse.
Spider-Verse Origins
The concept of uniting various Spider-Man typically can be traced back toSpider-Man: The Animated Seriesin an arc that saw Peter Parker unite with various alternate Spider-Man. The modern-day concept has its roots in the 2010 video gameSpider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, which had a story that connected The Amazing Spider-Man,Spider-Man Noir, Spider-Man 2099, and Ultimate Spider-Man. The writer for that game was Dan Slott, who eventually became the head writer ofThe Amazing Spider-Mancomic and bring this storyline into the comics. It would be here where Slott would truly flesh out the idea of Spider-Verse.
Spider-Versewas an event comic that ran from November 2014 to February 2015 that united various Spider-Man from across the multiverse into an epic story against a threat known as Morlun. The comic event was meant to unite and revive many one-off alternate universe Spider-Man introduced in other titles like Spider-Man 2099, Spider-Ham, Spider-Man Noir, May Day Parker’s Spider-Girl, various animated Spider-Man and the Ultimate Comics Miles Morales with the classic main Marvel comics Spider-Man. It also introduced new Spider heroes, including the now-popular Spider-Gwen,Spider-Punk, and Penni Parker, to name a few.
The event was a big hit and led to two major sequels. The first was 2018’sSpider-Geddonwhich was a direct sequel to theSpider-Versestory. The second one was 2022’sEdge of Spider-Verse. This comic would be an anthology that would focus on new multiversal variants of Spider-Man. Meanwhile,Spider-Gwen would be given multiple comicsas the lead character.
What Exactly Is the Spider-Verse?
The Spider-Verse is connected by the Web of Life and Destiny. This is a subsection of the Marvel multiverse that connects all versions of Spider-Man from across the multiverse in a series of shared events and attributes. The idea is that every universe that has a Spider hero they are part of this great web.
Related:Across the Spider-Verse: Every Confirmed Spider-Man in the Sequel
It is currently unknown if every universe is meant to have a Spider-Man-type hero and what happens to universes without one. In the comics, the Web of Life and Destiny is used as a way to justify and explain not just the various Spider-Man heroes from across the multiverse but even why there are so many spider-themed heroes in one universe at a given time.
Spider-Verse in the Films
The Spider-Verse in the films is a more streamlined and meta-commentary on theSpider-Manfranchise. The Spider-Verse is represented as a web, but the points in which they converge in the web are events that must happen to every version of a Spider-Man. These events are dubbed “the canon” and range from the death of a mentor figure early in their origin to bonding with theVenom symbiote.
Canon events must happen, and if they are disrupted can result in the destruction of a given universe. This explains why across various Spider-Man media, certain recurring elements always play out the same. This also means that even if an audience member did not see it happen to a Spider-Man, it still must have. So while the Venom symbiote was created after the animated 1966Spider-Man, at some point in his story, he bonded, and it has just been an untold tale audience never saw.
To traverse the multiverse,Spider-Man 2099has developed a special device that allows users to not only traverse the multiverse but prevent them from glitching. Characters also maintain the look and appearance of their universe, even if they travel to another one. So live-action characters remain so in animated environments, and animated characters do not change for live-action.
Is the Spider-Verse Part of The Multiverse Saga?
InSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, before Spider-Man 2099 shows Miles Morales the Web of Life and Destiny representation, he first shows was appears to be a multiverse strand that is similar to the one seen inLokiandAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. This suggests that the Spider-Verse is a part of the larger Multiverse and thatSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verseis taking place in the Marvel Multiverse adjacent to theMultiverse Saga in the MCU.
This is supported by the appearance of various live-action Marvel actions. Archive footage of both 2002’sSpider-Manand 2012’sThe Amazing Spider-Manare shown. Since both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield reprised their Spider-Man roles inSpider-Man: No Way Home, that further connects the MCU and the Spider-Verse multiverse together. One of the villains that was captured by the Spider Society wasThe Prowler, played by a live-action Donald Glover. Glover previously played Aaron Davis in the MCUSpider-Man: Homecoming. While it is unclear if this particular Prowler is the MCU version of a variant that is also played by Donald Glover, it further connects these two multiverse stories are connected.
Related:Why the Spider-Man On-Screen Franchise Has Lasted So Long
Notably, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man is not shown in any way during the movie. This might be because of the contract with Marvel Studios. Yet it could also indicate whereSpider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Versemight go. While Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield are shown, they do not appear to be part of the Spider Society. They also seemed to be in shock by multi-dimensional transportation inSpider-Man: No Way Home. This could imply that none of thelive-action versions of Spider-Man have been recruitedand that the trio may reappear inSpider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Versein another team-up.
Sony Might Have Big Plans for the Spider-Verse
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Versealso seems to leave some big implications for Sony’s larger Spider-Man plans. One scene early on has The Spot travel to a live-action world where he meets Mrs. Chen played by Peggy Lu. Fans will recognize Mrs. Chen from bothVenomandVenom: Let There Be Carnage. This universe is labeled Earth-688. This is the universe of not just the Venom movies but also Morbius and the upcomingKraven the HunterandMadame Webfilms.
This franchise is also tangentially connected to the MCU as Venom was transported to that universe in the mid-credit scene ofVenom: Let There Be Carnageand then returned to his own home inSpider-Man: No Way Home’s mid-credit scene. Earth-688, or Sony’s Spider-Man Universe as they call it, is both part of the MCU multiverse and Spider-Verse. This also might explain the plot hole in the mid-credit scene ofMorbiusthat hadVulture transported into the Sony Universe from the MCU. That film used the visuals of Doctor Strange’s spell inNo Way Home, but it broke the pre-established rules of the spells. Now Sony can explain it was because of Kingpin’s collider that Vulture is just one of many displaced villains in the multiverse.
Notably, Sony’s Spider-Man Universe does not feature Spider-Man. It is aSpider-Manfranchise with plenty of villains but no heroes. This might indicate that this universe is another one that has “broken the canon.” This may be setting the groundwork forMadame Web, which is set for release in 2024. The character of Madame Web is described as the Doctor Strange of Sony’sSpider-Manfranchise, and that film might focus on various Spider-Women characters across the multiverse coming together. In the comics, Madame Web derives her precognition from the Web of Life and Destiny.Madame Web might be the key filmconnecting the live-action SonySpider-Manfilms, the animatedSpider-Versefilms, and the MCU movies into one whole.
