The new Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse trailer is here, and Miles Morales’ multiverse is about to get so much bigger and more dangerous. But what secrets can we find alongside many, many, many Spider-People in this trailer? Let’s take a closer look.
Mopey Miles
The trailer opens with a glum Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) looking out over the New York cityscape, only for his mother Rio (Lauren Vélez) to join him. After apologizing for “icing his game,” much to Miles’ embarrassment, Rio reflects on how she’s watching her young son grow into a young man.
Into the Spider-Verse Was Great, Right?
Although the dialogue and rooftop Miles/Rio scene is new, a lot of this section of the trailer cuts back to crucial moments from Into the Spider-Verse, as we’re reminded of his journey to becoming his own Spider-Man. Always nice to be reminded of the greatest superhero movie of all time.
The One and Only Spider-Man
“He wants to go out into the world and do great big things,” Rio continues, as we cut back to some actual new footage from Across, of Miles doing his Spider-thing: thwipping webs to save a flying taxi, swinging through the city…
At Least He Paid For It
… And grabbing a bite to eat. Love the “Take!” onomatopoeia here.
Great Power, Great Responsibility
After a few more recap moments from Into, we see what is presumably the inciting incident for Miles’ moping in the beginning of the trailer — some kind of argument with his parents at a rooftop party. “What I worry about most,” Rio concludes, “is they won’t look out for you like us.”
Hangout Time
Later on after the party, Miles is relaxing in his room when one of the multiversal portals Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld) conjured to see her new friend at the end of the last movie opens above him. While it’s cut short here, to zoom Miles and Gwen away into the multiverse, the first footage we saw from the film showcased a longer version of this scene where Gwen reads from Miles’ journal, and Miles reveals that he’s been grounded by his parents before she cheekily invites Spider-Man out instead.
Welcome to the Spider-Multiverse!
“Wherever you go from here, you have to promise to take care of that little boy for me,” Rio asks of Miles, as… hoo boy. Things get wild.
Gwen and Miles find themselves in some kind of Escher-ian nexus that is just filled with Spiders. Some of them are very recognisable, as we’re about to see, some are created entirely for Across the Spider-Verse, with many (many) background suits designed by comics artist Kris Anka. We’re not going to let you go away from this breakdown without pointing out at least a few notable heroes though, right? Let’s start with a Spidey standing upside-down above Miles and Gwen that looks an awful lot like he’s meant to be Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man, in his Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man: No Way Home suit.
Hello, Peters
Pull out a bit more and we get a treat from the gaming side of the Spider-Verse: not only is Yuri Lowenthal’s Advanced Suit seen here on the right, from the Insomniac PS4/5 game Marvel’s Spider-Man — seemingly chatting to what looks less like Miles’ suit from the Insomniac series, and more like the Superior Spider-Man suit at a glance. But on the left, chatting to a white-and-bronze-accented hulking Spidey, is the black-and-neon-yellow Spider-Armour MKII. This first appeared in 2011’s Amazing Spider-Man #656, designed by Marcos Martin, but this version looks more inspired by the iteration of the MKII unlockable as a costume in Marvel’s Spider-Man.
Spinneret, AMP, and Lady-Spider!
“Make sure he never forgets where he’s from,” Rio continues, as we keep on pulling out from Gwen and Miles and seeing more and more Spiders. Notable ones here? Mary-Jane Watson as Spinneret and Anna-May “Annie” Parker in her AMP outfit from the Renew Your Vows comic series, set in a continuity where Peter Parker’s marriage to MJ is never eaten by Mysterio, and the Parker family becomes a trio of Spider-heroes…
… And then there’s Lady-Spider, aka Maybelle Reilly, a steam-punk-ish heroine with mechanical Spider-limbs from Victorian England created for the Spider-Verse event in the comics.
A Different Kind of Bag-Man
And of course, we’d be remiss not to note the Bombastic Bag-Man! Although there’s a bit of a riff here: this version of Bag-Man is a bit different to his comics version, with a Spider-Man themed suit to go with the bag over his head. In the comics, Bag-Man of course wears one of the Fantastic Four’s costumes — the mystery hero is “born” in Amazing Spider-Man #158, and it’s because he’s currently wearing his black Symbiote Suit. When Reed Richards removes the suit to examine the symbiote, Peter is left with returning home in a borrowed suit from Johnny Storm, complete with the bag-mask and a “kick me” sign on his back for good measure. Given the Fantastic Four is back in the hands of the House of Mouse, that probably explains the change here.
Welcome Back, Peter B.
Amazed by all the Amazing Spiders-Man (and Women, and Werewolves, and presumably non-binary Spider-Folks that exist in the multiverse) before them, Miles and Gwen turn around to find a familiar face walking in behind, and above them: Peter B. Parker (Jake Johson), their weary mentor from the first movie. Looks like Pete really did get back with his Mary-Jane between movies, because he’s brought along a baby carrier as well as a comfy-looking bathrobe.
In a special afterparty stream on YouTube Premium, it was confirmed that Peter B. and MJ’s child in Across the Spider-Verse is none other than Mayday Parker, lifting the name from the Spider-Girl of Earth-982, who first appeared in 1997’s What If…? #105.
Hanging, Literally
We briefly cut to a shot of Gwen and Miles hanging out, quite literally given the effect of Gravity on Gwen’s ponytail. This doesn’t look like the pastel haze of her own Earth, Earth-65, so it’s presumably Miles’ reality, and this is from their grounding-breaking little escapade we saw in the last trailer.
A Sensational New Spider-Woman
No time to ponder, as we cut to a rather dramatic introduction of another Spider-hero, as she rides a bike out of a multiverse portal and right into the face of the Vulture. She might have an updated design, but we know who this is: Jessica Drew, aka Spider-Woman (played in the movie by Issa Rae).
Although quite different looking to the Jess of the comics — and with seemingly slightly different powers, as the Spider-Woman of Earth-616 never had webbing powers like the ones displayed here — she’s wearing a biker suit and jacket heavily reminiscent of Spider-Woman’s 2014 design update by Kris Anka.
Enter Miguel
In a brief shot we see Miguel O’Hara, a.k.a. Spider-Man 2099 (Oscar Isaac, love of our lives) descend on a platform towards Miles and Gwen, presumably in that same nexus we saw earlier — and a more elaborate version of the home base we briefly glimpsed when Miguel appeared in Into the Spider-Verse’s post-credits scene. This quickly cuts to Miguel looking at holographic recording that, while heavily distorted, is named “Gabriella 011,” depicting an unsuited Miguel in presumably his home city of the futuristic Nueva York, playing with what is mostly likely his own daughter. Gabriella doesn’t exist in the comics, but Miguel does have a child there that is similarly named, a young son called Gabi, named after Miguel’s half-brother Gabriel.
Defenders of the Multiverse
A few more shots show Spider-Man 2099 and Jessica Drew together, as well as Miles, Gwen, and Peter B. in Miguel’s base — presumably as the latter educates the group on his role as some kind of defender of the timelines and realities of the multiverse like we briefly glimpsed in Into. Miguel’s costume here features yellow markings rather than the red we’ve seen elsewhere. Other close ups make it look like the red on the 2099 suit is more technological than we’re used to in the comics, so maybe it changes colour in different situations, rather than it being a different suit altogether?
Enemy of the Spider-State
Anyway, it very quickly becomes clear that something goes very wrong for Miles — a newly released synopsis for the film teases that a “new threat” divides the Spider-heroes over how to handle it, with this presumably being the film’s big bad, the Spot (voiced by Jason Schwartzman). And whatever Miles disagrees with, it seemingly makes him an enemy of the Spider-Verse, as we see him get swarmed by Spiders as he tries swinging through the nexus. Quick sidebar: on the left of the screen there is the Superior Spider-Man outfit, from the time Dr. Otto Octavius’ mind was in Peter’s body in the comics (it’s a long, controversial story)!
Even *More* Spider-Sightings
Lots of Spiders on screen once again means the spotting of a few notable designs continues, as Miles continues to be chased — like what looks like a female version of Six-Armed Spider-Man, from the infamous Amazing Spider-Man #100, which saw the debut of Morbius the Living Vampire as well as… well, Spider-Man growing an extra four arms.
Armour Up!
Or the Spider-Armour MK I here, which debuted in 1993’s Web of Spider-Man #100…
Retro Gaming
Or the fact that this chonky polygonal Spidey appears to apparently be the Spider-Man of the 2000 PlayStation 1 game Spider-Man and its sequel, Enter Electro…
Spider-Bananas!
Or a very tiny glimpse of Spider-Monkey, the Peter Parker of the Marvel Apes universe, Earth-8101!
You Wouldn’t Like Him When He’s Angry
A quick break from Spider-chasing leads to, uhh, more Spider-chasing, as Miguel races towards Miles, who appears to be in some kind of testing chamber in Miguel’s base — as strange green light bursts around him. Or rather… is spun around him, by a giant mechanical Spider. Is this some sort of teleportation, or perhaps even a reference to the Web of Life and Destiny from the comics, maintained by the Master Weaver as the source of many Spider-heroes’ powers and the structure of their multiverse?
What Did You Do, Miles?
“Who do you think you are, really!?” Miguel yells as he races towards Miles, “unsheathing” massive bladed versions of the talons on his suit. What on earth did Miles do to piss him and every other Spider off?
An Animated Deep Cut
It’s time to get another cameo-laden chase sequence for a moment, which means, yes, more Spideys! Notable here is the suit from Spider-Man Unlimited, the short-lived spiritual sequel to the iconic Spider-Man: The Animated Series, which saw Peter head to Counter-Earth…
Marvel Manga Mayhem
And the Spider-Clan Peter Parker of the Marvel Mangaverse, who was first created by Kaare Andrews in 2002 and returned in the 2015 event Spider-Verse.
Spider-Gwen Captured
“We’re supposed to be the good guys,” Gwen growls, as she’s seemingly imprisoned in a high-tech shield. Presumably she becomes a quick casualty of whatever the fallout is between Miles, Miguel, and the rest of the Spiders…
Nueva York Chase
“We are!” Miguel growls in response to her, as we cut to him leaping and bounding across a high-tech motorway in Nueva York…
In 2099’s Claws
Before he barrels into Miles, slamming him into the road and ending the trailer. Ouch!
Our latest look at Across the Spider-Verse leans much more on mystery, telling us little about what to expect in the new movie other than that Miles is going to face a lot of ostracization from the multiverse in a very different experience to his prior encounter with other Spideys in the first film. For now, we’ve got plenty of time to ponder just who else could appear — notable absences from the trailer include Pavitr Prabhakar, the Spider-Man of India, and Hobie Brown, aka Spider-Punk, who both are confirmed for the film and were teased in concept art show today, as well as the rumoured Scarlet Spider, who has appeared in merchandise for the film, and the oft-wishlisted Takuya Yamashiro, aka the Japanese TV Show Spider-Man.
But beyond more cameos to come, very noticeably absent here is the Spot himself, even if he’s the source of conflict. What’s his role? We’ll find out when Across the Spider-Verse swings into theatres June 2, 2023.