The latest trailer for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse finally sheds some real light on the plot of this highly anticipated sequel. And if there’s one takeaway from this teaser, it’s that Spider-Man himself may be the villain this time around. One of them, anyway.
So what’s the deal with Spider-Man 2099, and why is he looking like the bad guy here? How does this Spider-rivalry play into Miles Morales’ ongoing character arc? Let’s take a deep dive into this new Spider-Verse footage.
Who Is Miguel O’Hara, aka Spider-Man 2099?
Like the previous teaser, the new Across the Spider-Verse trailer shows us a whole lot of Spider-People from across the multiverse, including Issa Rae’s Spider-Woman, Daniel Kaluuya’s Spider-Punk and Karan Soni’s Spider-Man India. But one Spidey variant really hogs the spotlight in this trailer. Building on his original debut in the post-credits scene from the first movie, it’s clear Oscar Isaac’s Spider-Man 2099 has a big part to play in this movie.
As his name suggests, Spider-Man 2099 hails from a futuristic version of the Marvel Universe. The world of 2099 is basically a dystopian, cyberpunk version of Miles Morales’ current reality. Miguel O’Hara is the head of the genetics program at the powerful corporation Alchemax, which hopes to create a new generation of superhumans loyal only to the company.
Long story short, Miguel is blackmailed by his boss, Tyler Stone, and winds up rewriting his own DNA to become half man, half spider. He shares most of Peter Parker’s powers, including the proportionate strength, speed and agility of a spider. And while he doesn’t have Spider-Sense, he does have other useful powers like the ability to see in the dark and some nasty, venomous fangs.
Miguel is very different from Peter in that he’s a loner and kind of a jerk at times. His only close friend is an AI called Lyla. But he does have the heart of a hero. He slowly comes to realize just how much the corporations of his world are oppressing the ordinary men and women of Nueva York, and so he becomes a champion of the people against the evils of Alchemax.
Miles Morales’ Rivalry With Spider-Man 2099
Across the Spider-Verse shows the heroes of countless worlds coming together to protect the multiverse. The new trailer makes it clear that Spider-Man 2099 is the one who made all this possible. Miguel is the leader of these Spider-People, but for some reason, he doesn’t seem too keen on Miles Morales. If anything, Miguel looks to be the antagonist of the sequel.
So what gives? The trailer makes a point of showing just how much Miles echoes Peter Parker in his day-to-day struggles. He’s trying to balance school and family life with maintaining a superhero secret identity, and not doing a great job of it. Whenever Spider-Man wins, Miles Morales loses.
Miles is a much more grounded superhero than Miguel as a result, and they seem to have a major philosophical divide over what Spider-Man should represent. The trailer hints that Miles learns someone close to him is doomed to die. Based on one of the shots, it could be his father. Miles will do anything necessary to save his loved ones, but Miguel is only concerned with the greater good.
Based on the way these two characters clash in the trailer, we have to assume that Miles is faced with the choice between saving his loved one or standing back and protecting the multiverse. He clearly chooses the former option, which Miguel is not happy about. And making matters worse, there’s the scene of Miles accusing Peter B. of withholding his own knowledge of the situation. Are these two headed for a falling-out? Do we sense the beginnings of a Spider-Verse Civil War on our hands?
All of this raises the question of whether Across the Spider-Verse has a traditional supervillain character. We do see Jason Schwartzman’s character The Spot, but he’s not exactly the next Kingpin. He even makes Jake Johnson’s Peter B. Parker look put together by comparison. The Spot’s portals may be the MacGuffin the movie needs to move the plot along. His powers may even be causing the crisis that’s forcing Miles to choose between saving a life or saving the multiverse. But as a guy who’s stuck robbing convenience stores, The Spot doesn’t exactly seem like final villain material.
With this clash between Miles and Miguel, maybe the movie doesn’t need a supervillain at all. Spider-Man 2099 is all the villain Across the Spider-Verse needs. This is a version of Miguel who’s seemingly lost perspective. After spending so much time peering down at the multiverse, he’s lost touch with the people he’s meant to protect. Spider-Man is a hero who never accepts the idea that one life should be sacrificed to save many. Miles understands that, but Miguel doesn’t. And that may be at the heart of their fight in Across the Spider-Verse.
Will Across the Spider-Verse Have Another Villain?
It’s all but inevitable that stories pitting heroes against heroes eventually culminate in both characters putting aside their differences to battle a common threat. Will Across the Spider-Verse follow that trope?
Again, we know The Spot has a part to play in this conflict, even if he doesn’t seem like the type of villain to frame an entire film around. And it’s not as if Miles and Miguel have a deep history in the comics to clue us into where their rivalry may be headed. Spider-Man 2099 has spent some time in the present-day Marvel Universe, but it’s mainly Peter Parker that he’s teamed up with over the years.
We do wonder if the Spider-Verse films are building toward introducing the villains of the 2014 Spider-Verse comic. That crossover, which basically birthed the Spider-Verse concept as we know it today, revolves around a group of vampire-like beings known as the Inheritors. They devour every Spider-Man they can find, putting the entire multiverse at risk. Miles and Miguel are both drawn into the fight to stop the Inheritors and save the mystical Web of Life and Destiny.
Even if those villains aren’t playing a role in Across the Spider-Verse, perhaps this movie is being used to set up their appearance in 2024’s Beyond the Spider-Verse. Maybe we’ll learn that Miles’ choice to save a life somehow opens the door for the Inheritors to invade the multiverse and start feasting on Spiders. That would give Miles something huge to atone for in the third movie. But for now, we think it’s more interesting to focus on the idea of a Spider-Man being the villain of a Spider-Verse movie.
Will Miles Have His Uncle Ben Moment?
One thing the trailer emphasizes again and again is the idea that most versions of Spider-Man have an Uncle Ben - that all-important mentor figure whose death propels them along their path to becoming a hero. That character isn’t always Uncle Ben himself. For Hailee Steinfeld’s Gwen Stacy, that character was actually Peter Parker, and we see a glimpse of the tragic day her Peter died.
The question is whether Miles will have his Uncle Ben moment in the new movie. Will he lose someone close to him and use that tragedy to become a better, more driven hero? The trailer certainly hints that he’s fighting to save one of his parents, but will he succeed in saving that one life?
Marvel has never been consistent on whether Miles has an Uncle Ben figure in his life. In the comics, Miles starts out his Spider-Man career with both parents alive and well. His mother Rio is eventually killed by Venom, but that death was later undone due to the events of 2015’s Secret Wars.
In Insomniac’s Spider-Man games, however, Miles loses his father before he ever becomes a superhero. Jefferson is killed during an attack by Mister Negative’s Inner Demons. This version of Miles definitely has an Uncle Ben figure.
Coincidentally, we see the Insomniac version of Spidey in the trailer, still wearing his distinctive Advanced Suit from the games.
Will Miles have his Uncle Ben, or was the death of his Uncle Aaron in the first movie all the tragedy his origin story needs? That’s one of the biggest questions leading into Across the Spider-Verse.
How Across the Spider-Verse References the MCU
Marvel fans have been wondering if any of the live-action Spider-Man actors might have cameos in Across the Spider-Verse. It’s anyone’s guess if Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield will stop by to reprise their roles, but the new trailer does feature a fun nod to the MCU version of Peter.
At one point we hear Miguel complaining about his prior run-in with “Doctor Strange and that little nerd back on Earth-199999.” Earth-199999 used to be the designation of the MCU’s Earth, back before Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness rechristened that world Earth-616. Ms. Marvel star Iman Vellani has even feuded with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige over which designation should be used. She must be thrilled right about now.
This scene seems to imply that Spider-Man 2099 met Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange and Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. The fact that Miguel refers to the older Earth-199999 designation may be Sony’s way of getting around Marvel’s reluctance to connect the MCU to this animated franchise. So while we may not see Holland’s Spidey actually appear in this sequel, this is a way of connecting the character to the larger Spider-Verse.
We'll know more when Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse hits theaters on June 2. Find out more about how Across the Spider-verse seeks to 'wow' audiences with six major art styles.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
