Back before Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse even hit theaters, Sony had already green-lit a sequel and at least one spin-off. And after seeing the wildly successful release of the Oscar-winning film, it makes sense that they’re doubling down on their animated Spidey universe. Why wouldn’t they? Now that Miles Morales has shown us that anyone can be a hero. It’s time to start thinking about what the rest of the Spider-Verse looks like. We’ve got a few ideas…
Spider-Gwen + Miles
From the footage we’ve seen in trailers and exclusive clips, it looks like Miles and Spider-Gwen are going to get on quite well, and it would be great to see them team-up once again. Hopefully, they can still travel in between universes by the end of the movie, because the pair have an interesting dynamic in the comics that the animated sequel could quite easily adapt.
In a plotline that started in Spider-Man #12 and finished in Spider-Gwen #15, Miles’ Father disappeared and was discovered on Earth-65. Gwen and Miles teamed up to investigate why, and found that Miles’ Dad was actually the Scorpion on Gwen’s Earth. But when the pair also stumbled on a reality where they were married, they decided to see what would happen as a couple. As mentioned, the series only included two issues – so the relationship didn’t last too long. But figuring out that they work better as friends would definitely be a mature way of approaching a relationship. Regardless of how it plays out, who doesn’t want to see an upside down kiss between two dimension-crossed lovers?
New Villains
With new superhero movies always comes new villains. Sure, Wilson Fisk is an interesting main villain to use in a new animated franchise, but hopefully the sequel uses the opportunity to include new adaptations of classic characters. Since we’ve already seen the Ultimate version of the Green Goblin, what about other terrifying versions of the Goblin persona? There’s always the orange hooded Hobgoblin, or if Norman Osborn acquired a symbiote he could become Red Goblin.
Spider-Man has such a rich history of villains that Sony have plenty to pick from. The animated nature of the Spider-Verse franchise gives them so much more scope to go wild and crazy. You want to see Hydro-Man and The Rhino? Sure thing. An adaptation of The Clone Saga with The Jackal? It could work… Hello world, meet Marvel Zombies. Okay, maybe they won’t touch the clone fiasco… It seems like they’re committed to providing a captivating backstory if Kingpin’s story is anything to go by, so hopefully whichever villain they choose gets the same treatment.
Venom
Sony have just kick-started an incredibly popular live-action franchise with Venom, and although it wasn’t a full-horror movie, it wasn’t exactly kid-friendly either. Putting Eddie Brock and the Symbiote into a Spider-Verse movie introduces a younger audience to the character. Even from a profit perspective, Sony still gets more out of those rights. Let’s not forget, this wouldn’t even have to break the timeline of the original Venom film since Sony own both properties. They could quite easily have Eddie voiced by Tom Hardy and acknowledge his previous appearance.
Plus, it could also be a way of branching out into new territory for Venom. If the writers want to stick down the ‘alternate versions of a character’ route, there’s always the recent Venomverse storyline to adapt. That way, we could see a variety of heroes and villains get their own symbiotes! Picture Miles Morales trying to explain to Eddie Brock that his Venom Blast doesn’t have that name because of the Symbiote? Phil Lord and Christopher Miller could easily turn that into a hilarious exchange between the hero and the anti-hero. You know it makes sense, Sony.
Morlun and the Inheritors
For a film with ‘Spider-Verse’ in the title, it seems to remarkably miss a key element of the original storyline of the same name. Back in 2014, the huge event spanned most of the Spider-Man related titles, and brought a multiversal threat to anyone who could spin a web. Morlun and his family, the Inheritors were seeking out anyone with Spider powers, also known as Spider-Totems. They kill any Totem they find to absorb their life force as food. Couldn’t they just eat normal food like the rest of us?
Miles Morales and Peter Parker recruit alternate versions of Ben Reilly, Jessica Drew and even Uncle Ben to fight against the family of energy vampires that threaten the entire Spider-Verse. Considering Into the Spider-Verse has just introduced wider audiences to parallel universes and alternative versions of popular characters, a sequel could take that idea and run wild. The original Spider-Verse storyline would be a great way to do so.
Even Weirder Spider-Heroes
So, you thought Spider-Ham was weird? Well, do we have some stranger heroes for you. If the Spider-Verse sequel is going to double down on the alternative takes on Spider-Man, then it really needs to prove that it can go weirder. Ever heard of Golden Oldie? It’s a version of Aunt May who became the Herald of Galactus on her Earth. No, that’s not a joke. That’s an actual thing that happened in comics. But seriously, there are literally hundreds of different Spider-Men and Women waiting to be brought onto the big screen.
We all know that movies like to use montages to speed a story along. If Miles and Peter need to recruit other Spider-Heroes and go dimension hopping, it would be a great way to showcase some of the weird and wonderful characters populating the multiverse. How about Earth-311, where Peter Parquagh happens to live in the year 1602, in London? Again, not a joke. There’s Spider-Man 2099, Miguel O’Hara – who has one of the most impressive Spider-Man designs ever. Or perhaps Ben Reilly with his hooded costume and his clone backstory!
However Sony decides to move forward with the Spider-Verse franchise, they have an entire multiverse to explore.
