‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ Trailer Has A Sneak Japanese Spider-Man Nod

As you can imagine, Marvel Entertainment is at it again with the easter eggs. Today, Sony Pictures unveiled its big trailer for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and the reel was packed. From Miles Morales to Spider-Gwen, the trailer had it all, and it even gave a shoutout to a part of Spider-Man’s forgotten past.

Yes, Into the Spider-Verse has a Toei Spider-Man shoutout, so all of you otakus can nerd out about it.

If you check out the trailer above, you will find that the easter egg is a blink-and-miss-it moment. The reel kicks off with Miles doodling, but the drawing he’s hiding under his sketchpad is what you need to focus on. As you can see below, it looks like Miles was sketching some sort of mecha suit that looks just like Leopardon.

From its boxy shoulders down, the mecha screams Leopardon, and Spider-Man fanatics are feeling — well — fanatic over the nod. The mecha suit may not be popular in the west, but Spider-Man‘s 1970s TV show in Japan used Leopardon often.

For those unaware, the mecha suit was a giant robot built by Spider-Man. The massive machine was piloted by Takuya Yamashiro, Japan’s very own Spider-Man, and he used it to take on monstrous villains like Solus and the Inheritors. Leopardon may look clunky, but the mecha could fly up to Mach 15 speeds, and it is armed with all sorts of weaponry.

Sadly, it doesn’t shoot webs. If Miles wants to make his own Leopardon, he is going to have to fix that.

Of course, there’s no telling whether Toei’s Spider-Man will have a greater part in this new movie than an aside cameo. Tokusatsu fans are happy with the nod they’ve been given, but Sony Pictures is about to dip into the greater Spider-Verse. It is possible that Yamashiro’s take on the hero could pop into whatever universe Miles is chilling in. And, if that is the case, then fans are really hoping the Japanese cult hero brings his massive mecha with him.

Would you like to see Miles take Leopardon out for a spin? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics, k-pop, and anime!

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is set to hit theaters this Christmas. The film is directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman, and stars Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali, Jake Johnson, Liev Schreiber, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Velez, and Lily Tomlin.