Into the Spider-Verse: Film and Comic Characters Comparison

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is the fantastic animated take on a universe that brings in multiple Spider-People from other realities. While the plot is not too thick, the story moves along real quick and sees an exciting take on comic book characters. So is the film based on a specific comic? Well, no. The comic does have a storyline which has the Spider Army join forces but is an entirely different plot and is far more confusing. We’ll stick to the film for this article. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’s cast includes Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Nicolas Cage, Chris Pine, Liev Schreiber, and Zoë Kravitz to name some of them. Here’s the comparison of the film and the comic book characters of the heroes and villains in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse; spoilers ahead.

The first of the Spider-People we need to talk about is the one and only …

Into the Spider-Verse: The Amazing Spider-Man: Not In The Film

Now, this is the first comic character that was created. The 2002 film featuring Tobey Maguire was based on this Spider-Man. Most viewers have forgotten that this film was pretty neat. Characters like Aunt May and J. Jonah Jameson felt straight out of the comics, and the swinging action was fantastic. Progressively the series just deteriorated, and that is made fun of in Spider-verse too. Anyway, the point of bringing up The Amazing Spider-Man is for the following section.

Into the Spider-Verse: Peter Parker a.k.a (Ultimate) Spider-Man

Let’s get one thing straight off the bat. The film is not happening in the dimension that has the Amazing Spider-Man we know and love. Neither is the film in the universe of the X-Men Movies. Right from the beginning, we are witnessing the story in a universe where we have a Peter Parker who is successful, is well-balanced, is married to Mary Jane, is not a vigilante, is blond, has blue eyes, and perhaps not as powerful as the Amazing Spider-Man. I’ll get to why a little later in the King Pin section.

Ultimate Spider-Man: Comparison with the Comics

A version of this Spider-Man is there in the comics, but that dude is not shown to be blonde or married to Mary. The comic version, called Ultimate Spider-Man, does die too. His death is along with the Green Goblin as in the film, but the circumstances are very different in the comics.

Ultimate Spider-Man: Special Abilities

Well, it’s precisely the same as the Amazing Spider-Man we are aware of. I suspect that this chap is less powerful.

Into the Spider-Verse: Miles Morales a.k.a New Spider-Man

New Spider-Man: Comparison with the Comics

In the same universe as the Spider-Man above is a kid by the name Miles. The comic shows Oscorp recreating a spider, with the same radioactive properties, that bites Peter. The film, however, just shows us this new radioactive spider that bites Miles. Now, it could either be an Oscorp creation from this universe or a spider that came in from another dimension. It doesn’t really matter. Miles soon develops special abilities and is the central character in the film.

Miles Morales: Special Abilities

Super strength and agility like Peter, wall-crawling, the spider sense. His spider sense is known to be weaker than Peter’s, but there is no specific mention of that in the movie. Additionally, Miles can blend with his surroundings making him near visible. He also can discharge an energy strike which can cause temporary paralysis. So Miles’s abilities in the film are pretty close to the comics.

Into the Spider-Verse: Peter B Parker a.k.a Spider-Man

This is yet another Spider-Man who is not the Amazing Spidey. This Peter has had it rough. He got his powers the same way, the bite of a radioactive spider and is 38 years old. In his timeline, Peter was once married to Mary Jane but didn’t want to start a family, and hence they get divorced. He even tries to start a Spider-Man themed restaurant which fails. His aunt May passes away, and Peter lives his life as a loner in his beat down apartment, poor. He’s gotten fat too.

Peter B Parker: Comparison with the Comics

There is no such character in the comics, he appears to be a “film only” existence.

Peter B Parker: Special Abilities

They appear to be the same as the Amazing Spider-Man we are aware of.

Into the Spider-Verse: Gwen Stacy a.k.a Spider-Woman

The dimension from which this Gwen is from saw the radioactive spider bite her and not Peter. So Gwen gains spider powers and dawns the name Spider-Woman. In her universe, Peter Parker dies. She is the only one who gets thrown into another dimension and travels back in time by a week.

Spider-Woman: Comparison with the Comics

Gwen’s character is pretty close to the comic storyline. In the comics, too, she’s a drummer and part of a band. And is unable to save Peter Parker. In the comics Peter Parker is her boyfriend while in the film she friend-zones him.

Gwen Stacy Spider-Woman: Special Abilities

She has the same powers as the Amazing Spider-Man along with the super-strength.

Into the Spider-Verse: Peter Porker a.k.a Spider-Ham

Peter was a spider who was bitten by a radioactive pig and turned into a pig with the proportionate strength and ability of a spider. He comes from a universe where there are no humans, and all animals talk. No, he has nothing to do with Spider-Pig from The Simpsons Movie.

Spider-Ham: Comparison with the Comics

Again, it’s precisely what comic was like. Additionally, the radioactive pig that bites Peter (the spider) is May Porker who is a genius scientist pig. Her intellect was passed on to Peter who dawns the Porker surname as a “thank you” to the pig that bit him.

Peter Porker Spider-Ham: Special Abilities

He too has the same powers as the Amazing Spider-Man but additionally shoots organic webbing. He’s also from a comical universe. Hence he can do cartoony things like pulling a large hammer out of his pocket. Think – “The Mask”.

Into the Spider-Verse: Peni Parker and SP//dr

She’s a Japanese-American student who was adopted by May and Ben. Her father piloted a psychically-powered mech suit by the name SP//dr. There is a radioactive spider in the mix but is more like a partner. The spider psychically controls the suit. The wearer of this suit needs to be bitten by this spider to connect with it and the suit completing the 3-way psychic set up.

Peni Parker: Comparison with the Comics

It’s primarily the same story, but the animation in the film is done in an Anime style while the original book wasn’t that Sailor Moon like. Also, Peni in the comics is not associated with a specific period while in the movie she mentions she’s from the year 3145.

Peni Parker and SP//dr: Special Abilities

Peni’s mind-meld with the suit and spider gives her abilities like heightened intelligence and the spider-sense (which is the only power she shares with The Amazing Spider-Man). The suit gives her enhanced strength.

Into the Spider-Verse: Peter Parker a.k.a Spider-Man Noir

This is a grey-scale Spider-Man from the 1930s from the Noir universe. He’s a detective in his time and is based on characters from private-eye based films.

Spider-Man Noir: Comparison with the Comics

The film doesn’t go into much of a backstory. Peter Parker is bitten by spiders from within an ancient spider statue. Though the spiders are highly venomous, the bite makes Peter gain his abilities. His uncle, Ben, was killed by the crime warlord – Norman Osborn.

Spider-Man Noir: Special Abilities

Along with all of the abilities of The Amazing Spider-Man, he also has organic webbing and is a skilled marksman and is generally good with guns. And guess what, Spider-Man Noir kills criminals at times.

Miguel O’Hara a.k.a Spider-Man 2099: Spider-Verse Post Credit Scene Explained

If you’re wondering who the heck this is, you probably didn’t wait for the after credit sequence. The film shows Miguel preparing to make an autonomous multiverse jump. He goes back in time to Earth-67. You need to know that Earth-67 refers to the first animated Spider-Man series that aired on TV. This is where you heard the famous “Spider-Man, Spider-Man” theme song. I remember the streets emptying at the times it aired. Kids huddled in front of the TV, I was one of them, I digress. Spider-Man 2099’s plan to recruit this Earth-67’s Spider-Man gets foiled when they point at each other and argue about who pointed first.

Spider-Man 2099: Comparison with the Comics

The film gives no details about Miguel, but he belongs to the future time of 2099. It’s a world that has seen a Spider-Man emerge and go in the past. An event leads to Miguel’s DNA being re-written with 50% spider-DNA. He dawns a suit and calls himself Spider-Man.

Spider-Man 2099: Special Abilities

Apart from super strength, agility, and speed he also has enhanced healing, enhanced vision, talons on fingers and toes that enable wall-crawling, organic webbing, and temporary-paralysis venom from fangs.

Now that we’re done with the Spider-People let’s go through the villains.

Into the Spider-Verse: Wilson Fisk a.k.a The Kingpin

I want to start with him because there is something I need to get off my chest. Fisk is a powerful crime overlord, no doubt there. He’s powerful because he’s big and is more muscle and very less fat. While in the first go, one could mistake Fisk for a fat dude who tries to intimidate but would soon find out that his jaw has flown out the window because of a well-timed punch from Fisk. All of that is cool.

The movie, however, shows Fisk so physically dominant, that he kills Spider-Man with his bare fists. Agreed that Spider-Man was wounded, yada yada. But in no universe of the comics will he be able to kill even an injured Spider-Man. We’re also shown Kingpin to pick up and hurl cars. So in a nutshell, the main universe in the movie hosts a Kingpin who is somehow superhuman. And if you remember from up above, this is the reason I feel the blonde Peter Parker is not as strong as the Amazing Spiderman (who could leave Fisk in a messy puddle of human goop, and he does too).

Into the Spider-Verse: Olivia “Liv” Octavius a.k.a Doctor Octopus

Okay, you see why I keep calling the Universe the film is set in to be unique from all of the other comic universes? This is another excellent example. In no universe, in the comic series, is Doctor Octopus a woman. Octavius is usually a bad guy and in some a good guy, but always a guy. The film decided to take this awesome twist in character making it impossible to guess Doc Ock is going to appear.

Into the Spider-Verse: Aaron Davis a.k.a The Prowler

The character is the same as the comics, he is the uncle of Miles (we don’t know this until later on in the story) and is a vigilante in a suit. He doesn’t have special powers but is a competent engineer and inside his suit are oodles of goodies like titanium claws, exploding pellets, sleeping gas, and other fun stuff.

There you have it, those are all the villains and heroes in the film. Now, let’s do a quick walkthrough of the film.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse: Plot Synopsis

Wilson Fisk has lost his family and is building a collider gizmo to peek into a parallel universe and steal another version of his family for himself. Spider-Man (blonde Peter) is trying to stop him.

Miles is the son of a police officer, Jefferson Davis, and nurse Rio Morales. He hangs with his favourite uncle, Aaron Davis, who’s the estranged brother of Jefferson. Aaron is secretly the masked vigilante Prowler. Aaron takes Miles to an abandoned railway station, right next to the hidden lab of Fisk. As a result, a nearby radioactive spider (one that probably belongs to Fisk or Norman) ends up biting Miles.

Miles gains his super abilities and goes back to check on that spider. He accidentally discovers Fisk’s lab and sees Spider-Man trying to stop the particle accelerator. Spider-Man saves a falling Miles and hands him a USB drive which will help deactivate the particle-collider. The portal opens and the Green Goblin, who’s fighting Spider-Man, shoves Spidey’s head through the portal causing an explosion. Spider-Man is severely wounded, and the Green Goblin dies.

Fisk kills Spider-Man and Miles makes a run for it. The Prowler chases Miles but loses him. The portal happens to bring in a bunch of Spider-People into the universe. Gwen alone ends up traveling back into time as she enters the reality. Her spider-sense tells her to follow Miles, and she does. We aren’t shown the actual Gwen from the universe, but we know she exists and is the reason why Gwen introduces herself as Gwanda.

All of the Spider-People meet and is aided by Aunt May (the one who has lost her Peter Parker). This blonde Spider-Man has an underground set-up putting most caped crusaders to shame. The rest of the film shows the spider-gang working together to use the portal to get back while stopping Fisk’s plan. Miles and Aaron find out each other’s masked identities and because of that Aaron refuses to kill Miles and is shot dead by the Kingpin. Miles learns to control his new abilities and joins the gang and ensures their safe passage back to their respective universes.

After that, Fisk has a showdown with Miles who realizes that no matter which universe he looks into, his way of existence always leads to his family’s death. Angered, Fisk tries to kill Miles with his bare fists, but that doesn’t work. Miles is as powerful as the Amazing Spider-Man. He gets up and kicks Fisk’s butt and destroys the particle accelerator with the said butt. Miles becomes the New Spider-Man.

• Peter B Parker decides to make it work with his Mary Jane.
• Peni’s SP//dr is destroyed, and she decides to rebuild it with her spider.
• Spider-Man Noir is fascinated by colour and conquers the rubicks cube.
• Spider-Ham is cannibalistically happy eating hotdogs.
• Gwen figures a way to reach out to Miles through a portal.