Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was pumped up with just about every variation of Spider-Man or Spider-Woman that you can think of, but apparently there was so much more we could’ve gotten from the sequel. Some new concept art from Across the Spider-Verse has revealed that Spider-Man villains Doctor Octopus, The Shocker, Mysterio, Beetle, and Big Wheel were all given designs (or several) for the Spider-Verse franchise – and as with other classic Marvel villains that have shown up in the franchise, these looks were wildly different for Across the Spider-Verse – in some cases, literally!
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“Dr. Actual Octopus” as an actual octopus is a pretty good one; and ever since Spider-Man: Homecoming a lot of Marvel fans have had a soft spot for The Shocker. Seeing this sad-sack-budgeted version of the villain is something they’d probably love. Beetle looks like he was a funny jerk of a character, while the versions of Mysterio we see (including a take on Ultimate Mysterio and what looks like a hybrid combo of regular and Ultimate Mysterio. The Wheel (aka Big Wheele/Jackson Weele) is probably one that a lot of Marvel fans will have to lookup – but it’s a pretty sick deep-cut to some classic (and absurd) Spider-Man stories.
Across the Spider-Verse opened with a DaVinci-style version of The Vulture taking on Gwen Stacy, Spider-Man 2099, and Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew), which introduced the larger story of Miguel O’Hara’s mission to scrub the multiverse of “anomalies” that have started to pop up across the different realities of the Spider-Verse. That set up an awesome sequence at Spider Society HQ where we got to see the wild lineup of villains they had locked up – including the live-action Donald Glover (who appeared in Spider-Man: Homecoming). Honestly, at a certain point the animators had to cut some ideas – and while these are great to see in concept art, it’s obvious why they were easy cuts to make.
By now it’s no secret just how grueling it was for the team that made Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – enough so to warrant an entire lengthy article about those troubles. A barrage of different character concepts and ideas was part of those alleged troubles.
As it stands, there’s still time for Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse to scoop up any of these ideas – so fans do your thing and get your favorite one trending!
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is headed for digital release. Beyond the Spider-Verse is in development.
