The following contains spoilers for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, now playing in theaters.
One of the most impressive aspects of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is how it introduces so many characters. It's way more packed than its predecessor, with Miles Morales starting a war with the Spider-Society. He wants to save his dad, Jefferson, even if Miguel O'Hara thinks it'll destabilize the Multiverse.
As such, fans are treated to a bevy of Easter eggs, nostalgic nods and references to past Spider-Man comics, cartoons, books and older movies. With that in mind, let's dissect the biggest ones seen as Miles goes on this life-altering journey.
Spider-Man's Iconic Villains Keep Appearing
When Miles gets to Spider-Man 2099's citadel in Nueva York, he spots quite a few prisoners caught after incursions. Donald Glover's Prowler is present, nodding to how the Marvel Cinematic Universe introduced Glover as Uncle Aaron. Whatever reality this one's from, he's living up to his comics history. Other cells have Kraven, Rhino, Grizzly, Typeface, Mooseterio and Videoman.
In addition, J. Jonah Jameson mentions in a news report that the Sinister Six are running amok on Earth-42, where there's no Spider-Man. Peter B.'s daughter, Mayday, also has stuffed Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus toys. When Miles later tries to flee the citadel, a training hologram appears with Otto and his iconic "Hello, Peter!" line from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2. Armadillo is even seen on Miles' Earth, fighting him in front of a train, affirming Across the Spider-Verse has space for obscure villains.
Across the Spider-Verse's Canon Events Spotlight Tragic Moments
As Miguel tries to educate Miles on the canon events, aka major events that must happen or the universe will collapse, audiences see Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker in a portal. He's mourning Uncle Ben's death, as well as Captain Stacy's. Tobey Maguire's also seen mourning Ben. Lastly, the Spectacular Spider-Man's animated Pete is there mourning Gwen's dad, too.
Across the Spider-Verse Has an Array of Wall-Crawlers
Miguel's AI, Lyla, is front and center, along with other popular web heads at the citadel. While Jessica Drew, Spider-Gwen, Spider-Byte, Ben Reilly, Peter B. and Spider-Man of India (aka Pavitr Prabhakar) get a lot of screen time, cameos pop up for Spider-Man Unlimited, Lego Spider-Man, Spider-Cat and Spider-Rex, too.
Peter Parkedcar, Sun-Spider, Superior Spider-Man (an Otto), a pixelated Atari Green Goblin, an Iron Spider, Neversoft Spider-Man, Spider-Cop, Web-Slinger and Spider-Horse are among the many as well. Julia Carpenter and other Jessica Drews are there, too. This leads to many Spider-People doing the iconic pointing meme when Miguel orders them to catch Miles.
Across the Spider-Verse Shouts Out the MCU
When Miguel, Gwen and Jess take down the Renaissance Vulture at the beginning of Across the Spider-Verse, Miguel mentions how he hates incursions. This includes "Doctor Strange and the little nerd from Earth-199999," which he yells in a caustic manner. This is the MCU's dimension, with Spider-Man 2099 mentioning Strange's spell going awry in Spider-Man: No Way Home and the heroes and villains that popped into Marvel's movies.
Gwen's Band Homages Mary Jane
While Mary Jane's role in Across the Spider-Verse is limited, she does appear at the end of the movie as Mayday's mom and Peter B.'s wife. But even earlier, there's a shoutout with Gwen's band, as she's drumming for a group known as The Mary Janes. This nods to the Spider-Gwen comic from Jason Latour, Robbi Rodriguez and Rico Renzi, and Gwen's hobby as a punk rocker trying to find her place in the world.
Spider-Man's Amazing Fantasy Shoutout
When Gwen's in Miles' room, there's a copy of Amazing Fantasy #15, Spider-Man's debut comic. The cover features Spider-Man saving a guy. Although the book's known for Stan Lee and Steve Ditko's magic, the cover belongs to Jack Kirby. This cover has the comics code approval logo, which also appears in the opening credits.
Across the Spider-Verse Remixes Miles' Tragic Loss
While Into the Spider-Verse had Uncle Aaron dying on Miles' Earth, on Earth-42, Aaron lives, and Jefferson dies. However, Aaron isn't the Prowler as expected -- this role goes to the 42's evil Miles. It also nods to Brian Michael Bendis' Spider-Men, in which Miles faces off with an evil version of himself.
Miles' Ganke Lee Is a Ned Leeds Inversion
Ned Leeds in the MCU was changed to look and feel more like the Ultimate Universe's Ganke (Miles' best friend). Thus, it's ironic that Across the Universe's Ganke doesn't want to be the "guy in the chair" like Ned, refusing to help Miles. He flips the kind of loyalty Ned often shows in the MCU, with this Ganke feeling lazy and uninterested in Miles' superheroics. In addition to not helping, he's playing the upcoming Spider-Man 2 video game in their dorm room.
Miles Takes Peter's Place on the Punching Bag
Into the Spider-Verse had Miles tying Peter B. to a punching bag when they met. Across the Spider-Verse's ending now has Miles tied to one on Earth-42, with Evil Miles ready to beat him up. It also nods to how many stories used Spider-Man as the punching bag to make fun of.
Miguel's Daughter Nods to Aunt May
Miguel's daughter is named Riella O'Hara. While she's a new character, her name could be a nod to Aunt May's maiden name, Reilly. Sadly, Miguel replaced a dead Miguel on that world, which broke the temporal rules and caused everyone, including his child, to glitch out of existence.
Miguel's Web Honors Madame Web & Master Weaver
When Miguel shows Miles the web of destiny and fate, he makes it clear saving Jefferson could shatter it all. The pattern's similar to when Madame Web shows up in the comics. In addition, the Master Weaver is in this room, but unlike the comics where it's Karn or Spider-Zero manipulating space and time, it's actually a bot used by Spider-Byte. She teleports people from Miguel's lair back to their worlds to maintain temporal equilibrium.
Miguel's Spider-Man 2099 White Suit Is Present
In the back of Spider-Man 2099's laboratory, there's a white suit seen being made. This pays tribute to the suit made when Miguel got stranded on the mainstream Earth from the comics. It had Web-Wings, boot jets, and small spider-looking explosives. However, Across the Spider-Verse never gives Miguel a chance to wear it in battle.
The Spot Enters the VenomVerse
The Spot gets powered up thanks to Kingpin's particle collider being destroyed in the first film. As he jumps to various worlds, he opens a portal and sees Mrs. Chen from the Venom movies. However, when he takes some mints, she's not freaked out as she's tired of seeing weird stuff with Eddie Brock and the symbiote.
Mumbattan Features a 'Sacred Wars' Billboard
While Miles is swinging around Mumbattan when he meets Spider-Man India, fans can see a billboard for a movie, Sacred Wars. This is likely a tribute to the upcoming Avengers: Secret Wars that will be the climax of the MCU's ongoing Multiverse Saga. In that case, Kang's the master of space and time, but in Across the Spider-Verse, it's Miguel in his Nueva York base.
Across the Spider-Verse Remixes the Death of Gwen Stacy
Across the Spider-Verse has Miles' dad, Jefferson, falling like Gwen in the comics but surviving. Miles suffers a fall too, which happens outside Miguel's base. But Gwen catches him with her web. It flips the dynamic in the comics, where a Spider usually tries to catch her. However, Miles cuts free and runs away because he feels betrayed over the Jefferson issue.
Miles Nods to Spider-Man's Most Famous Quote
In Across the Spider-Verse's opening, as Miles recalls his activities in between movies, he talks about a baby powder ad. He says that with "great powder comes great responsibility." But he quickly admits his commercial career didn't pan out, nodding to the iconic Spider-Man line that's inspired many a wall-crawler over the years.
To see all these Easter eggs and more, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is now playing in theaters.