Warning! This article contains spoilers for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse builds upon the first movie in many ways, meaning several elements of Into the Spider-Verse play out differently on rewatch. From the general expansion of the first film's characters to the more consequential story, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is a bigger sequel in every sense of the word. However, the film does not lose sight of what came before it, featuring plenty of nods and references to the first film.
This happens with many of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse's Easter eggs, but also in the film's general plot. With many twists, turns, and surprises included before the film's cliffhanger ending, the events of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse greatly inform the sequel. That said, here is every way Into the Spider-Verse plays out differently on rewatch, knowing the context of how the story continues with the highly-acclaimed sequel.
10 The Spider That Bites Miles Morales Glitches
In the first act of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, the radioactive spider is introduced that gives Miles his powers. During the scene in which the spider bites Miles, it is shown to glitch like the many Spider-People from other universes. Somehow, it was lost on most that the spider was from a different universe, with many just assuming the spider was glitching as it was made via unknown means at Alchemax. With Across the Spider-Verse revealing that the spider is actually from a different dimension, Earth-42, the scene of the spider glitching takes on an entirely new meaning especially going into Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.
9 Spider-Ham Explains That Not Everyone Can Be Saved
After Uncle Aaron's death in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, there is a scene in which the other Spider-People explain to Miles how they understand what he is feeling. They each mention one person who died in their own universes that made them who they are before Spider-Ham says "Miles, the hardest thing about this job is you can't always save everybody." This scene takes on a new context after Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which explains the concept of canon events. It is likely that all these people needed to die and happen in every universe, something Miles eventually goes against in the sequel.
8 Miles Throws A Bagel As He Escapes Alchemex
Easily the biggest scene that plays differently in Into the Spider-Verse relates to Across the Spider-Verse's villain: Spot. The first film has a scene of Miles and Peter escaping Alchemax, with Miles throwing a bagel at a random scientist behind him. Across the Spider-Verse revealed that this scientist eventually became the Spot, grew his power, and is now threatening the entire multiverse and Miles' family by the time of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse's ending. Taking perhaps the most humorous, inconsequential scene from Into the Spider-Verse and recontextualizing it into an origin story for a multiverse-level threat is arguably the biggest way Across the Spider-Verse adds context to its predecessor.
7 Miles' Spider-Sense Is Green And Purple
The cliffhanger ending of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse sees Miles unintentionally visit Earth-42 where the spider that bit him was initially from. As that universe went without a radioactive spider, Earth-42 Miles did not get bitten, instead becoming the Prowler and leading the dimension into chaos without Spider-Man to protect it. The color scheme of the Prowler in both Across the Spider-Verse and Into the Spider-Verse is purple and green, the same color as Miles' Spidey-Sense in the first movie. This hints that the Miles of Earth-1610 was meant to inherit the mantle of the Prowler, as he was never supposed to become Spider-Man.
6 Miles' Building Fall Foreshadows Earth-42
Shortly after Miles is bitten by the spider during Into the Spider-Verse, he attempts to test out his abilities by jumping from a tall building. The jump goes wrong, and Miles hits many obstacles as he crashes back down to the street. One of these obstacles is a sign with numbers on it, with the numbers four and two landing on the street next to Miles. After Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse revealed that the spider is from Earth-42 and that Miles is transported there at the end of the film, this scene from Into the Spider-Verse holds a lot more weight.
5 Miles Ties Peter B. Parker Up Using A Boxing Bag
When Miles discovers Peter B. Parker in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, he ties him up using a boxing bag and jump rope. This scene can now be seen as foreshadowing for the cliffhanger ending of Across the Spider-Verse, in which Miles and Aaron from Earth-42 tie Earth-1610 Miles up in the same way. This is a neat way of linking the two Miles variants together, showing that - despite their different natures - they are still effectively the same person with the same ideas.
4 Gwen Stacy's Into The Spider-Verse Backstory
An interesting element of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is that it showcases Gwen's backstory when she first enters Earth-1610. However, after Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, much more context is added to the sequences. Gwen mentions that she saved her father's life and could not save her version of Peter in the first film, which is only added to in the sequel. It is revealed that George Stacy's death is often a canon event, adding more depth to Gwen saving him in the first film. Similarly, Gwen's history with Peter Parker opens Across the Spider-Verse, making the brief hints at this story in Into the Spider-Verse play much differently.
3 Uncle Aaron's Death Is A Canon Event
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse introduced the concept of a canon event, something traumatic that happens to every Spider-Man that is integral to their origin story. The film established that Miles' father dying is often a canon event, something that was replaced with Uncle Aaron's death due to Miles' cross-dimensional origins. As a result, rewatching Into the Spider-Verse makes Aaron's death play out much differently, knowing the impact a canon event will have on Miles' future story.
2 Spider-Man 2099's Post-Credit Scene
Before Spider-Man 2099 became the antagonist of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, he first appeared in the post-credit scene of Into the Spider-Verse. The scene showcases Miguel first inventing the watch that allows him to travel through dimensions, a much happier, less-intimidating version than the one shown in Across the Spider-Verse. The sequel reveals that this watch allowed Miguel to reconnect with his dead family before being in another universe destroyed that dimension. This caused Miguel to become the bitter man seen in Across the Spider-Verse, making the version of him from Into the Spider-Verse that has not experienced this trauma much different in retrospect.
1 Peter B. Parker Takes His Own Leap Of Faith
Finally, Peter B. Parker's final scene in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is much different given the context known from the sequel. The first film ends with Peter B. Parker saying he will take his own leap of faith by attempting to make it work with Mary Jane. The film ends somewhat ambiguously, with Peter last seen ending up on Mary Jane's doorstep attempting to reconnect. With Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse though, Peter is shown to be back together with Mary Jane, have a child, and be living a happy life, something uncommon for most iterations of Spider-Man.
