We started off going Into the Spider-Verse. And just recently, we were finally able to
swing into theaters and travel Across the Spider-Verse. What’s the next step? Well,
naturally, it’s going Beyond the Spider-Verse– and the best part is that we have less than a
year to wait. But that also means that we’ve only got so much time to think
about what’s going to happen. I’m Kyle with WickedBinge, and let’s go across the
Spider-Verse(fandom) to discuss Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse Predictions we LOVE and HATE.
Now, it should go without saying, but major spoilers for both Spider-Verse Movies,
particularly Across the Spider-Verse, which was just recently released. Feel
free to give your own predictions in the comments–and your opinions on these.
First up, this theory suggests a transition from one genre to another? This theory suggests that
Beyond the Spider-Verse will be Live Action. We source this prediction from Reddit user
CherryIntelligent856, who predicts that Miles will travel to a live action universe and stay there
for most of the film. While we understand the market for a live action Miles Morales movie–and
mean no disrespect to anyone interested in this theory–We HATE this prediction. One
of the best parts of the Spider-Verse saga is its incredibly fluent, vividly colorful
and stylized animation. To take that away or even reduce it would be to remove the heart
of what makes these movies so special–so while we’re not opposed to some live action aspects,
we’re hoping Miles’s “Disney Reboot” arc doesn’t come to fruition in the Spiderverse movies.
Alright, now we’re getting into MAJOR spoiler territory. Watching this video isn’t a canon
event, so feel free to save it for later if you need. Speaking of–what if there’s
No Death Needed? One of the greatest conflicts of Across the Spider-Verse was the dilemma of
certain canon events needing to happen in each Spiderman’s universe in order for them to not
collapse. For Miles’s universe, according to Spiderman 2099, this means his father,
soon-to-be police captain Jefferson Davis, being killed. Naturally, Miles doesn’t want his father
to be killed…but he also doesn’t want the universe to collapse. A common suggestion
among fans is that nobody really needs to die in Miles’s universe. For one thing, Miles himself is
an anomaly–so why would his story necessarily have to play out exactly like the canon would
suggest? Not just that, but he’s already lost his uncle Aaron. This theory would basically
mean that nobody else needs to die for Miles’s universe to remain safe. We Have Mixed Feelings
for This Prediction. Everyone likes a good, happy ending, us included. But with that being said,
it would be a difficult way of concluding the story without feeling cliche. The last
thing we want is for stakes to be low in the climactic third Spider-Verse entry–so while
we’d love to see it, we want to keep our minds open to heroic sacrifices and drama.
On the note of sacrifices, let’s remind ourselves that with great power comes
great responsibility–enter what we’ll call the “Necessary sacrifices” theory. Returning
to reddit, the user EnragedChinchilla asserts an interesting theory that completely opposes
what we just discussed. In short, he claims that the canon events are crucial because of
the impact they have on the Spider-People therein. The losses of loved ones turn
Spider-People into the heroes they need to be–whether it’s Uncle Ben’s iconic words of
“With Great Power comes Great Responsibility” or Spider-Gwen’s loss of her best friend,
the way these losses effect the superheroes is pivotal in the way they function. This theory
therefore suggests that Miles will have to choose to let his father die for the sake of
the universe–playing off of the iconic phrase, he’s responsible for making necessary sacrifices
to protect those around them–however painful they may be. We Like This Theory. We hate to say that,
since we’ve grown fond of Jefferson Davis–and to say we outright like a theory that involves him
being allowed to die by his own son just doesn’t feel right. But we have to think of it from a
storytelling standpoint–the emotional impact of his death would be incredibly heavy, and what’s
more–maybe with him being an anomaly, the death will belong to someone we don’t expect? Only
time will tell–but as heartbreaking as it will surely be, we give this theory the upper hand.
We understand where that theory comes from; like that lady near the beginning of Across
the Spider-Verse says, you can’t have your cake and eat it too… unless, that is,
you have Two Cakes. Our final Reddit-sourced theory comes from user pizza_time2099,
who observes an interesting bit of foreshadowing: “Miles is trying…to save his father and the
universe at the same time.” And going back to the start of the movie, he brings two cakes
to his father’s party…and drops them on the way. We want to start out by saying–AWESOME
observation. We love this symbolism–and it could have harrowing implications. Could
this be foreshadowing that Miles will lose both his universe and his father by trying to juggle
both of them? This theory is incredibly dark, and if it came true, it would be an extremely
morbid and depressing ending to a pretty fun series. On the other hand, any way you slice it,
the symbolism is pretty brilliant–so we’ll meet in the middle and say We Have Mixed Feelings.
Our fellow cartoon fans will love this next theory, undoubtedly–this is the
Spidey’s Spiderverse Debut theory. Quite possibly the most iconic Spider-Man out
there is his iteration in the 90’s cartoon Spider-Man: The Animated Series. Danilo
Castro of wegotthiscovered.com reminds the world that the internet is well aware of his
absence–and while he hasn’t appeared yet, this might just be a deliberate choice.
Could it be that The Animated Series’s Spidey will finally make his debut in Beyond the
Spider-Verse? There’s no doubt about it–We LOVE This Theory! The Spider-Verse in and of itself was
not only inspired by the last two episodes of the animated series, but it’s one of the most beloved
iterations of the character. There’s no doubt that fans would be ecstatic to see the ‘90s animated
arachnid make it to the Spider-Verse saga–as far as we’re concerned, he absolutely deserves it.
Staying on the trend of popular characters returning, we have even more in this next
entry–because there’s also some very reasonable predictions that The Sinister Six Will Return.
In the final act of Across the Spider-Verse, Miles ends up stranded in the universe of Earth
42. Because the spider that bit him was actually from here, this universe had no Spider-Man–and
as a result, New York was in absolute chaos. Part of the chaos in question included six
company names in the background. As pointed out by denofgeek.com, they reference Electro,
Vulture, Sandman, Scorpion, Doc Ock, and Rhino. While these could easily just be fun easter eggs
for the audience, they might also be legitimate foreshadowing for the upcoming film’s villains.
Yet again–We LOVE This Theory. The Spider-Verse saga’s portrayals of classic Spiderman villains
have been phenomenal so far–and to add several new ones to the mix would be a fantastic choice.
Scorpion and Vulture did have iterations present in the films, but didn’t get a lot
of screen time–and as for Doc Ock, she was a major antagonist in Into the Spider-Verse,
but was absent from Across the Spider-Verse. We never saw anything of her after being hit with a
truck near the Super Collider, so could it be that she ended up on Earth-42 and formed a Sinister Six
of her own? We hope so--but any way you slice it, this may just be our favorite theory of them all.
Alright, let’s get into the villains we know for SURE will be in the next movie…or at least,
a major anti-hero. This is the Inheritor Miguel theory. In an article on Looper.com, Mike Bedard
points out a deep-cut reference that may just end up tying into the Spider-Verse movies. For those
unfamiliar with what exactly an Inheritor is, they’re predators who feed on Totems–that is,
beings who connect the animal and human kingdoms. This naturally includes Spider-People–and given
Miguel’s antagonistic role and his attempt to downright bite Vulture at one point,
we wouldn’t be too surprised if Miguel turned out to be an Inheritor–or perhaps
working with them. Since he once visited a universe where he himself was dead,
it’s certainly possible. That said…We Don’t Like this Theory. Sure, some fans
might enjoy a deep-cut reference like this, but for Spider-Man 2099 to not be who we thought he
was at all would be rather frustrating. We won’t say we hate it, because we can at least see some
potential in it–-but in our opinion, there are better ways to flesh out O’Hara’s character.
For the grand finale of our list, we’re going to talk about a theory that could go two different
ways–and perhaps the most talked-about facet of the movie. This is the question of Prowler Miles:
Hero or Villain? Across the Spider-Verse ends on a cliffhanger, and quite an intense one.
Miles is trapped on Earth 42, chained to a punching back, and is faced with this
universe’s version of the Prowler–who just so happens to also be this universe’s version of
himself. This has naturally led fans to speculate what role he’ll play in Beyond
the Spider-Verse. These speculations vary widely, but the most notable are obviously
the prospect of him getting a redemption arc, being mentored by Miles to become a proper hero,
or him being a full-fledged villain. We’ll go through each of these three paths individually:
First of all–We LOVE the Redemption Arc Prediction. From the way Miles speaks and
the fact that there’s no Spider-Man in Earth-42’s universe, we can assume that Uncle Aaron was his
mentor rather than Peter. With Miles’s character arc clearly building up to him realizing how much
responsibility comes with being Spider-Man, what better way to illustrate this than by having him
help his misguided alternate-universe self find a better path in life?
But while this may be controversial, we also have to say that We Like the Villain Prediction. When
there’s no hero to step up, the world falls into chaos. While it’s possible that Miles,
and perhaps other Spider People, could be a good influence on Prowler Miles, it’s also entirely
possible that due to the lack of any superheroes in his world, he’s not super interested–seeing
his own path as perfectly reasonable. We don’t like it as much as the redemption arc route,
but still–this one could be pretty sick. One thing’s for sure: Both would be in tune with
Miles’s assertion that he’s going to go his own way. We believe in you, Miles–all two of you.