Over the decades, we have seen a variety of Spider-Man movies and TV shows, but each one seems to have a slightly different origin story, characters, and storylines. This is because each of these Spider-People is from a variety of parallel universes. I thought it would be handy to summarize the Spider-People you have encountered over the past decades to clear up some of the confusion. Here’s the entire Spider-Verse explained, where we’ll go through only the key Spider-People.
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Spider-Man: What do ‘Earth’ or ‘Universe’ mean?
The Spider-Man series comprises of Spider-People from multiple parallel universes. Each of these universes is identified by a number called the Earth Number. Each universe will have its own set of superheroes from the Marvel world and is not limited just to Spider-Man.
The Original Spider-Man Comic
The Original Spider-Man character was first introduced in the comics in 1962. Peter Parker gets bitten by a radioactive spider to gain his powers.
What is Earth 616?
Initially, there was only one Universe that was conceived. Over the years, the comics spanned into parallel universes, so eventually, the Original Universe was labelled Earth-616 sometime in the 1980s.
What Universe is the original Spider-Man cartoon (1967 TV Series)?
Earth-67. Back in the 60s, there was no concept of multiple universes in Marvel; the cartoon got its own Earth Number in the 1980s. Here, Peter Parker is bitten by a radioactive spider to gain his powers – Strength, Agility, Surface Sticking, and an intuitive Spider Sense.
You can’t not know about this cartoon show titled Spider-Man. It’s the one featuring the famous “Spider-Man, Spider-Man, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man” song.
Tobey Maguire Spider-Man Earth: What Universe is Raimiverse?
Tobey’s Spider-Man is from Earth-96283. As in the original comic, Peter Parker is bitten by a genetically-altered spider rather than a radioactive one. Apart from Strength, Agility, Surface Sticking and a Spider Sense, Peter also gains the ability to shoot webs from his hands rather than an engineered web shooter. His love interest is Mary Jane, and Part 3 features Gwen Stacy too.
Tobey Maguire played Spider-Man in the early 2000s movies, Spider-Man 1,2 and 3 (2002, 2004, and 2007 Films), directed by Sam Raimi. There were three parts, and the 4th one was cancelled. Fans call this Universe the Raimiverse.
Andrew Garfield Spider-Man Earth: What Universe is the Amazing Spider-Man from?
Andrew’s Spider-Man is from Earth-120703. Peter Parker gets bitten by a genetically modified spider, not a radioactive spider. Peter Parker’s character is a little less nerdy in this series. His powers are Strength, Agility, Surface Sticking and a Spider Sense. His love interest is Gwen Stacy.
Andrew Garfield played Spider-Man in the 2010s, The Amazing Spider-Man 1 and 2 (2012 and 2014 Films), directed by Marc Webb. There were two parts, and the third one was cancelled.
Tom Holland Spider-Man Earth Number: What is the MCU Universe?
Tom’s Spider-Man is part of Earth-199999, which is the Marvel Cinematic Universe Earth Number. Peter Parker is bitten by a radioactive spider giving him his Spidey powers – Strength, Agility, Surface Sticking and a Spider Sense. Since he’s mentored by Iron Man and has access to Nano Tech. His love interest is Michelle Jones.
Tom has played Spider-Man in multiple MCU movies. Captain America: Civil War (2016), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) where Toby’s Spider-Man from Earth-96283 and Andrew’s Spidey from Earth-120703 visit the MCU universe to aid Peter. The Spider-Verse in the film also came with villains from other Earths.
MCU: Is it Earth-616 or Earth-199999?
MCU is set in Earth-199999 and is not the Original Comic book which is Earth-616. This explains why Peter Parker’s partner is Michelle Jones, not Mary Jane.
Spider-Verse: Is 616 and 199999 the same?
No, they are entirely different. 616 is the Original Comic Book universe, while 199999 is where the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe is set. A vast number of events differ in the MCU as compared to the comic books pointing to Earth-616.
Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse: Which Universes are they all from?
The events of this movie are set in Earth-1610. Here’s a more detailed comparison of the comic book and the film Into The Spider-Verse.
Which Universe is the blonde Peter Parker from?
This is the only Peter Parker in Earth-1610. He’s blonde, has blue eyes, and has a far more perfect life than the other Peter Parkers we know. However, this Spider-Man is nowhere nearly as strong as his Universe’s King Pin, who kills him with his bare hands.Â
Miles Morales – Which Universe?
Miles Morales is from Earth-1610. Miles gets bitten by a radioactive spider from another universe, Earth-42. After blonde Peter Parker dies, Miles takes on the persona of Spider-Man and has additional powers – turning invisible and electricity.
Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacey) / Spider-Gwen – Which Universe?
Spider-Gwen is from Earth-65. In her Universe, she is the one who gets bitten by a radioactive spider and not Peter. Her love interest is Peter Parker, who dies in her arms.Â
Which Universe is Peter B Parker from?
Peter B Parker is from Earth-616B. He was bitten by a radioactive spider and got his powers. He’s much older, fatter, and was once married to Mary Jane but split up. Ultimately, he gets back together with MJ and has a baby with spidey powers, May Day Parker. We get to see this baby in Across The Spider-Verse.
Peter Porker / Spider-Ham – Which Earth?
Spider-Ham is from Earth-8311. Peter is a spider bitten by a radioactive pig in his cartoon universe and gained his .. umm, pig powers? Yeah, that’s Spider-Ham for you. I’m not messing with the ham, I’m not getting hammered.
Peni Parker / SP//dr – Which Universe?
Peni Parker is from Earth-14512. She is a Japanese girl from the year 3145. She was bitten by a radioactive spider and developed a psychic link with the spider, and together with her father’s robot, they fight crime under the name SP//dr. She doesn’t have crawling or web shooters; however, Peni is super intelligent and is a robotics expert.
Which Universe is Spider-Man Noir from?
Spider-Man Noir is from Earth-90214. This Peter Parker lives in the 40s and was bitten by an ancient spider which was inside a Spider Idol artefact. He is is not in colour because that’s how the comics were drawn and spends his time fighting Nazis.
Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse: Which Universes are they all from?
Spider-Man 2099 (Miguel O’Hara) – Which Earth?
Spider-Man 2099 is from Earth-928 and from the year 2099. Miguel O’Hara gets tricked by his employer into getting addicted to a drug called Rapture. To rid himself of the addiction, Miguel performs a genetic procedure on himself that ends up splicing his DNA with that of a spider giving him superhuman abilities. He’s one of the strongest Spider-People. In fact, he is mistaken to be a reincarnation of Spider-Man, hence the name.
Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew) – Which Earth?
Honestly, we don’t know. Jessica Drew in the comics was a white person from England in Earth-616. She gains her spider powers after being injected with an experimental serum derived from spider venom, combined with a unique genetic modification. She possesses enhanced strength, agility, and the ability to emit bio-electric venom blasts. The Jessica we see in the film Across The Spider-Verse has similar powers, rides a bike and is carrying a baby.
Spider-Woman: Who is the father of the unborn baby?
Jessica Drew from E-616 gets pregnant via artificial insemination, so there is no mention of the baby’s father. But there is plenty of speculation that it is Peter Parker from one of the other universes, making her baby, Gerald Drew, one of the most powerful Spider-People.
Pavitr Prabhakar / Spider-Man India – Which Earth?
Pavitr Prabhakar, also known as Spider-Man India, hails from Earth-50101. His powers were bestowed upon him by an ancient yogi known as the Spider-Totem, granting him proportionate spider-like abilities.
Spider-Punk (Hobart ‘Hobie’ Brown) – Which Earth?
Spider-Punk, also known as Hobie, is from Earth-138. He obtains his spider powers through a spider bite from an illegal chemical dumping ground. He uses his abilities to fight against the corrupt establishment while embracing a punk rock aesthetic and wielding a guitar as his identity.
Spider-Byte (Margo Kess) – Which Earth?
Spider-Byte, or Margo Kess, originates from Earth-22191. She exists in the virtual world where all her digital spider powers manifest. In her Universe, the real world is almost the same as the virtual world where she fights cybercrime; think Ready Player One.
Which Universe is the Peter Parker that Gwen kills?
Gwen accidentally kills Peter Parker from Earth-65, her Universe. Peter Parker, in her Universe, is in love with Gwen and wants to be special too, so he experiments on himself with chemicals that turn him into the Lizard. Peter loses control and attacks civilians, and Spider-Gwen battles him, not knowing it is Peter and brings a wall down on him. Before dying, the Lizard reverts to Peter and dies in Gwen’s arms.
Lego Spider-Man – Which Earth?
Lego Spider-Man is from Earth-13122. He is a playful and comedic representation of the iconic superhero from the Lego universe. With his trademark red and blue costume, Lego Spider-Man utilizes his web-shooting abilities, acrobatics, and intelligence to protect the Lego world from villains.
What is Earth-42?
Earth-42 is a universe from which a genetically altered spider travels to Earth-1610 because of King Pin’s experiment and bites Miles Morales (events of Into The Spider-Verse). As a result, Earth-42 is left without a Spider-Man, and Miles from Earth-42 becomes the Prowler under his uncle’s mentorship.
Other movies that connect to the Spider-Verse
These following films are connected to the Spider-Verse but don’t have Spider-Man appearing in them.
Tom Hardy Venom Earth: Which Universe is Tom Hardy’s Venom in?
Tom Hardy’s Venom is set in Earth-688B. Eddie Brock binds with an alien Symbiote to become Venom. Tom plays Venom in Venom (2018) and Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021). This Venom briefly appears in Earth-199999, the MCU, as part of an end-credit scene in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Note:Â A different Venom appears in Earth-96283, Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man 3, and is in no way connected to the stand-alone Venom movies.
Morbius Movie – Which Universe?
The 2022 Morbius movie is also set in Earth-688B, Venom’s Universe. This Universe has not seen a Spider-Man; however, many films are set to release in this Universe.
Do you like the Spider-Verse? Who’s your favourite Spider-Person? If you have questions or comments, go ahead and drop them below.
Barry is a technologist who helps start-ups build successful products. His love for movies and production has led him to write his well-received film explanation and analysis articles to help everyone appreciate the films better. He’s regularly available for a chat conversation on his website and consults on storyboarding from time to time.
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