Most superhero movies have Easter eggs here and there referencing their comic book source material, but we think that Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse wins hands down for the sheer amount of them included. The latest Spidey(s) film has a whole slew of nods to the comics and past movies alike. Here’s a few of the biggest Easter eggs we noticed sprinkled throughout this amazing film.
The Comics Code Authority Seal
As the movie opens, we see the classic “Comics Code Authority” seal of approval, which appeared on most comics from the ’50s on until the early 2000s. If you grew up reading comics during that time frame, then that seal was synonymous with all Marvel and DC books.
Spider #42
The spider that bit Miles is from the Alchemax Corporation, and had the number “42” on its back. We also see the number when Miles falls down on the street after first getting his powers. According to Miles’ creator Brian Michael Bendis’ blog post, it’s a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy reference.
Miles Morales’ Phone Contacts
Speaking of Miles Morales’ creator Brian Bendis, you can see his name listed in Miles’ phone contacts. Also included is S. Ditko, a nod to Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko, who passed away earlier this year.
Alchemax Corporation
As for the company called Alchemax itself, it’s a big evil science corporation in the Marvel universe, and is where Spider-Man 2099 got his powers from. In the film, it’s the center of all the weird dimension breaching experiments going on, and ties in directly to the film’s post-credits scene (see below).
Peter Parker’s Dance
There’s a bunch of nod’s in the blonde Peter Parker’s history to the Sam Raimi Spider-Man films, when he’s going over his 12-year career as Spider-Man. Among them are them the upside down kiss from Spider-Man 1, the train rescue from Spider-Man 2, and even the notorious Tobey Maguire dance scene in Spider-Man 3.
The Marvel Multiverse
The Marvel Comics Multiverse designations are adhered to on a graph, as we see that the second older Peter Parker is from Earth 616 (the “main” Marvel Earth in the comics), Miles is from Earth 1610, Gwen is from Earth-65, Spider-Noir is from Earth-90214, Peni Parker is from Earth 14512, Spider-Ham hails from Earth-8311, Spider-Man 2099 is from Earth-928, and ’60s animated Spidey comes from Earth-6799.
Tombstone
One of Spidey’s longest-tenured bad guys is Tombstone, who shows up in the film as one of the Kingpin’s enforcers. He’s played Marvin “Krondon” Jones III, a.k.a. Black Lightning villain Tobias Whale.
Blonde Peter Parker
The Peter Parker on Miles’ Earth (played by Chris Pine) is blonde, which is probably a tip of the hat to Ben Reilly, Peter’s clone, who bleached his hair blonde back in the ’90s and became the Scarlet Spider.
Stan “the Man” Lee
After the first Peter dies, we see Stan Lee himself selling Spider-Man costumes to mourning fans. His first words spoken are, “I’m really gonna miss him,” which it could not be more poignant, given Stan’s recent passing.
Kingpin’s Family
The Kingpin’s wife and son are Vanessa and Richard Fisk, who are also Wilson Fisk’s family in the pages of the comics (and on Daredevil).
Lady Octopus
The “Dock Ock” of this universe is a woman named Liv; although she’s a new character, she’s based on the comics’ Lady Octopus.
The Spider-Costumes
Almost every alternate Spider costume is on display, including the Iron Spider Armor from Civil War, the Secret Wars costume, the Stealth suit, a variation on the Scarlet Spider suit, and the recent Sony PS4 game gets a nod too. There’s even a Spidey WITH A CAPE! from the What If? story “What If Spider-Man Had Stopped the Burglar Who Killed His Uncle?”
The Spider Buggy
In the ’70s, Peter briefly drove around in the Spider-Buggy… which was maybe not the best vehicle to use in Manhattan. Unlike the Batmobile, this one didn’t exactly stick around. We catch a glimpse of it when Miles visits Peter’s amazing Spider-lair which holds his costumes and gadgets.
Spider-Man 2099
The ’90s hero Spider-Man 2099 appears in the post-credits sequence, played by none other than Oscar Isaac. And if you’re wondering who the heck this particular iteration of Spider-Man is, you might want to read this.
1960s Animated Spidey
There’s also a post-credits nod to the 1967 Saturday morning cartoon Spidey, and we get to hear the amazing and iconic theme music too!And those are just the ones we noticed after one viewing! We believe people will be unearthing Easter eggs for years to come with this particular movie. Did you notice any not on the list?
Images: Marvel Comics
Additional reporting by Hector Navarro.
