Watching Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, there was a scene where I jumped out of my seat. Actually, if we’re being honest, there were several moments where that happened, but one in particular was so random, so unexpected, so subtly connected to the Spider-Man universe, and so in tune with my personal interests, that it stood above the rest. And it’s not a spoiler. At all. In fact, you’re looking at the moment above.
Early in the film, Miles Morales returns to his dorm room at school to find his roommate, Ganke Lee, playing video games (a very specific game actually so keep an eye out) wearing Miles’ Jordans. You can watch the full moment on Instagram at this link.
On the wall, you’ll notice a poster of a soccer player. But not just any soccer player. It’s Heung-min Son, a South Korean legend who plays for Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League. Now, Ganke’s character in the comics is Korean American, so to have a poster of a player like Son on his wall certainly makes sense. And maybe that’s all there is to it. However, if you follow soccer (or football, as it’s called everywhere else but here), you know that Tom Holland is not just a huge Tottenham fan, he’s a huge Son fan, and Son is a fan of Holland in return. In fact, check out these photos and clips. Yes, that’s Son with Holland and Son doing the Spider-man web-slinging gesture after scoring a goal.
Still sceptical? Those could just be photos, right? Well, we can’t embed it here, but watch this video. It’s Holland interviewing Son and he fanboys out like a Spidey fan would talking to him.
Now, did the team behind Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse put that in there for Tom Holland specifically? I know that, as a fellow fan of both Tottenham Hotspur and Heung-min Son, I felt like it was in there for me, so maybe not? Then again though, I’m not actually Spider-Man, so odds are it’s in there partially because it made sense, and partially because Holland would love it.
We’ll have much much more on Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse soon.