Not many would have expected to witness so many Spider-‘Men’ in action before Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse hit the theatres. Into the Spider-Verse might have given fans a sneak peek into the ‘Spider-Verse’. But it was the sequel that really zoomed into the possibility of exploring the story of so many versions of Spider-Man.
But when you have so many characters, there are a few who make the cut even though they shouldn’t have. And Across the Spider-Verse had one such character as well; it was the antagonist himself.
The writers of Across the Spider-Verse were spoiled for choices
Basking in the success of the 2023 flick, writers Phil Lord and Chris Miller sat down for an interview with Collider to speak at length about their project, the vision, the process, and what the future had in store for the franchise.
In the course of the conversation, the talk turned to the pick of characters that were in the film. Don’t let a large number of characters fool you that they lazily picked up the Spider-Men that made it to the film. They had at their disposal the entire world of Marvel comics to choose from. In the end, they couldn’t be more satisfied with their job.
The Spot was not always going to be a villain
There was one exception though. Speaking with Collider, Lord and Miller revealed that there was one character that they weren’t sure about including initially. The Spot, who might have started out as just another hooligan in the movie, was not on their list initially.
Miller said,
“The Spot, wasn’t where we started, but it was something that (producer) Avi Arad actually pitched us, and we’re like, “The Spot? That’s the dorkiest, dumbest villain…” (Collider)
Arad was adamant, as he considered his spots as “a really cool power!” And in the end, even the duo of Miller and Lord couldn’t help but agree. The reason? He isn’t considered that powerful.
Spot’s character arc gave Chris Miller and Phil Lord the confidence that he was the right fit
The duo wanted to have a villain for Across the Spider-Verse whose rise would surprise everyone. The producer was the first to come up with this point. And that is when it donned upon them. Miller said,
“’Oh yeah, people don’t realize how powerful he is!’ And obviously, the fact that he has these portals was relevant, and we’re like, ‘Well, wouldn’t it be interesting to take a person who is overlooked as dumb, and feels left out and lonely, and wants to prove themselves? The same arc that Miles is going on, but the dark version of it.'”
There were still doubts. Could Spot be made a formidable foe? He continued,
“It wasn’t really until all the animation and the lighting came in for his full transformation that we were like, ‘Oh yeah, this is gonna work. This is even better than what we were hoping for.'”
The Spot was born. And he is all set to cause headache to the members of the Spider-Verse in the next entrant in the franchise, Beyond the Spider-Verse.
