Comic book readers know that the Spider-Verse is vast and complex, giving rise to an endless number of Spider-themed heroes. Thankfully, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse brought many of these heroes to the forefront, giving them a chance to shine on the big screen. The best part about these heroes is that many of them highlight different skills, while still getting the job done (saving the day). It’s a good reminder that there are many ways for a person to become a hero, even when the stakes are so incredibly high. Naturally, some Spider-Verse characters are going to be more powerful than others, no matter how we look at it.
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It’s important to remember that, as expansive as the Spider-Verse cast is, not all variants have made their way into the films. We’re still hoping to see many of our favorites in Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, but we have a bit more waiting to do before we get to find that out. In the meantime, let’s appreciate some of these incredibly powerful heroes and what they bring to the table.
1) Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew)
For every version of Spider-Man out there, there’s a version of Spider-Woman, aka Jessica Drew. This particular version hails from Earth-332 and is voiced by Issa Rae. Spider-Woman is a formidable force to be reckoned with, first appearing in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. She jumps in just in time to help save the day in Earth-65, and immediately finds herself becoming a bit of an idol for Gwen Stacy’s Spider-Woman. It’s hard to blame her there!
Spider-Woman is a confident and capable individual, making her a strong leader and guide. While she works for Miguel O’Hara, it’s clear that she does so by choice. The fact that she was willing to argue for Gwen is proof of that. Jessica has organic webbing, unlike many Peter Parkers out in the multiverse. She’s easily one of the strongest, most determined, and powerful heroes around. The fact that she still outpaced most of her task force while pregnant should speak volumes.
2) Spider-Punk (Hobart “Hobie” Brown)
Voiced by Daniel Kaluuya, Hobie Brown is the Spider-Man of Earth-138, but outside of his homeworld, he’s most often called Spider-Punk. In his world, he picked up the mantle to fight an oppressive regime, and since then, he has taken to the multiverse to help the Spider-Society. Most notably, he wasn’t afraid to quit as a means of helping Miles escape, as working for an establishment, any establishment, was never his thing. His commitment to his own values easily makes him one of the strongest heroes, though perhaps not in the way one might expect.
Spider-Punk has a lot of the common Spider-character abilities, including enhanced strength, speed, agility, and durability. He’s also got the famous spider-sense, which can be quite helpful. There are a few details that help make him stand out among the rest, including his different design. He’s also incredibly smart and is a talented musician. Ironically, his weapon of choice is his guitar, which may sound counterintuitive, but he makes it work. Like many of the Peter Parkers, Hobie has to use a wrist-mounted web-shooter.
3) Spider-Man 2099 (Miguel O’Hara)
Spider-Man, aka Miguel O’Hara, is the driving force behind the Multiversal Task Force. He’s voiced by Oscar Isaac and hails from Earth-928. In his world, the year is 2099, explaining why he’s sometimes referred to as Spider-Man 2099. Miguel has arguably one of the strongest understandings of canon events in the Spider-Verse, though some may argue he sees them in a very black and white dynamic. It’s this understanding that he uses to lead the Spider-People, hunting down anomalies and saving universes.
Miguel’s Spider-Man traits are pretty different from the rest, as is his origin story. He voluntarily became the center of a scientific experiment (his own), but a colleague sabotaged it, giving him some iconic Spider details mixed with a more vampiric look. As such, he’s got vampire-looking fangs and even talons on toes and fingertips. Did we mention that the fangs have venom? On the bright side, he’s also got increased speed, durability, strength, agility, etc. On the downside, Miguel needs access to artificial radioactive spider bites, though the full story behind that hasn’t been explained.
4) Spider-Man (Pavitr Prabhakar)
Next up is Pavitr Prabhakar, aka Spider-Man of Earth-50101. He’s voiced by Karan Soni, and in his world, he’s a student at Mumbattan Visions Academy. Pavitr’s story is an important one in the Spider-Verse, as when disaster strikes his world, he unknowingly makes a choice: be there in time to save his girlfriend, or save his father. It’s a canon event, and in Miguel’s book, that means that only one can be saved. Pavitr is a solid friend, taking the side of Spider-Punk and Miles when push came to shove, quitting the Spider-Society.
Pavitr Prabhakar is a fantastic Spider-Man, with many of the iconic abilities we’re used to, from enhanced strength to wall-crawling, and more or less everything else. He’s likewise a brilliant mind, especially when it comes to robotics and autonomous drones. While he has many powers akin to the likes of Peter Parker’s, his origin story is quite different, no radioactive spider necessary this time. One key detail that lets him stand out is his web-slingers, which are discreetly designed to look like bangles.
5) Spider-Rex (Pter Ptarker)
Pter Ptarker, aka Spider-Rex, may not have had a chance to speak during his cameo, but he still worked hard to steal the show. Hailing from Earth-66, his name teases his origin story. Once upon a time, this Rex was a Pterodactyl before his powers manifested. If it’s anything like the comic book version, we can thank an asteroid for that (yes, really).
Spider-Rex was only on the screen for a few moments of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, but that’s all it took for fans to fall in love with him. It goes without saying that this version of Spider-Man may not be small, but he’s almost certainly one of the strongest, and we mean that literally. He joined the massive chase scene, running after Miles Morales like so many other variants.
6) Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy)
While fans usually call her Spider-Gwen, Gwen Stacy of Earth-65 is usually called Spider-Woman by those who know her. Voiced by Hailee Steinfeld, she had a classic tragic superhero backstory, complete with the death of her best friend. That was before the events of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which threw her into Miles’ world. This opened the door to all-new possibilities for her, and she hasn’t quite looked back since.
Spider-Woman is an incredibly powerful individual, with superhuman strength, durability, and agility. Her time in the first movie showed how Gwen’s unique training and combination of abilities enable her to maneuver around threats and enemies. She’s a trained drummer, gymnast, and ballerina. Gwen has a seemingly stronger version of Spider-Sense. Unlike Jessica Drew, Gwen needs web-shooters mounted to her wrists.
7) Spider-Ham (Peter Porker)
Peter Porker, aka Spider-Ham, may be considered a comic relief by some, but he’s an incredibly powerful individual. His power levels are only possible because of his more cartoonish base. Voiced by John Mulaney, Spider-Ham hails from a cartoon world (obviously), where he was bitten by a radioactive pig.
Spider-Ham has a lot of the common Spider-Man abilities, plus a few unique to him. He has enhanced strength, speed, agility, etc. He’s also indestructible, thanks to the cartoonish physics. He can pull hammers out of a pocket dimension and achieve feats that would be impossible in any other realm.
8) Spider-Man (Peter B. Parker)
Peter B. Parker, voiced by Jake Johnson, may be the butt of many jokes, but he plays a critical roel in the Spider-Verse series. At first, he’s a retired hero turned reluctant mentor, but that’s all cleaned up by the time the first film wraps up. By the second film, he’s a father and dedicated hero, not to mention a member of the Spider-Society.
Naturally, Peter B. Parker has many of the abilities we’d expect Spider-Man to have. He’s pretty close to the base/original version most of us are used to, after all. He has enhanced strength, durability, speed, etc. He’s also got all the other classics, like Spider-Sense and wall-crawling. He’s a master strategist when motivated. Even when he’s phoning it in (see the beginning of Into the Spider-Verse), he’s pretty capable of making a plan that works.
9) Spider-Byte (Margo Kess)
Margo Kess, aka Spider-Byte, showcases a very different version of strength and power. She first appeared in Across the Spider-Verse and is voiced by Amandla Stenberg. While the other Spider-Characters are all geniuses in their own way, her intellect shines bright. Between classes, she helps capture criminals and assists the Spider-Society. She’s considered an essential member of the team, personally responsible for operating the “Go-Home-Machine.”
In addition to her tech-savvy ways, Spider-Byte has a few more physical abilities. For starters, she has a solid Spider-Sense, plus she can extend her arms to inhuman lengths as a means of traveling. Finally, she can create duplicates of herself, which came in handy when she decided to help Miles Morales.
10) Spider-Man (Miles Morales)
Miles Morales is easily the most iconic member of the Spider-Verse franchise, as he is at the helm of the series. Voiced by Shameik Moore, Miles is the latest in a long line of Spider-themed heroes. His origin story forced him to get up to pace with speed, and fans loved to watch it happen.
Naturally, Miles Morales has several iconic abilities that Spider-Man tends to have, from enhanced abilities to wall-crawling and Spider-Sense. He also has two abilities that make him stand out from the rest. First, he can absorb electricity and turn it into a venom strike, which sounds pretty unpleasant to be hit with. He can likewise camouflage, becoming invisible to the naked eye.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse are available to stream on Disney+ and Hulu.
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