Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse"Anyone can wear the mask." This was the underlying message ofSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and it’s a message that could appeal to any generation: no matter where you come from or what you look like, you can be a superhero.Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Versetakes this message to the ultimate extreme, as it features the Spider Society: an army of Spider-People and other Spider beings from across the multiverse. Assembled by Miguel O’Hara (Oscar Isaac),the Spider-Man of 2099, the Spider Society’s job is to protect the stability of the multiverse by ensuring “canon events” — certain points in every Spider-Person’s life — come to pass. The Spider-Society is certainly diverse, featuring Spider beings such as Web-Slinger, the Western Spider-Man, and a Spider-Cat that hacks up globs of webbing. There’s even a Spider-Man that’s a gigantic Tyrannosaurus Rex! But one of the Spider-Men who has a brief cameo has a tie to one of the most outlandish parts of Spider-Man’s past — and that’s the Spider-Mobile. Yes, Spider-Man had a car once upon a time.
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The Strange Comic Book Origins of the Spider-Mobile
The Spider-Mobile first appeared inAmazing Spider-Man #130, where automobile company Carson Motors came to Spider-Man with an offer: build a car that utilized their revolutionary non-polluting engine. Spidey initially refused, due to the fact that he could travel great distances via web-fluid (and also presumably because he lived in New York, where it’s easier to catch a taxi than drive your own vehicle). But Peter Parker’s life being what it is, he eventually took up the job to help pay his rent, and with the help of the Fantastic Four’s Human Torch, constructed the Spider-Mobile. The Spider-Mobile had built in web-cannons and airbags filled with Spider-Man’s web-fluid, staying on theme with the web-slinger’s motif/genius with gadgets. Its headlights were even larger versions of his Spider-Signal!
Despite all of its tricked-out gadgets and gears, there was one problem with the Spider-Mobile: Spider-Man didn’t know how to drive it, as he’d never gotten a driver’s license. After a crash course, he managed to use the Spider-Mobile to capture the gangster Hammerhead. A second outing against longtime foe Mysterio didn’t end well, as the Master of Illusions caused Spidey to crash the Spider-Mobile in the Hudson River. The Tinkerer would dig out the Spider-Mobile and retrofit it into a deadly weapon, but Spidey stopped it in its tracks. True to the “Parker luck,” Spidey ended up having to repay Carson for the damage.
When Peter Parker started up his own company Parker Industries, one of his major inventions was a brand-new Spider-Mobile. Unlike its predecessor, the new Spider-Mobile featured cutting-edge technology as well as even more spider-like abilities. Its wheels could unfold into spider-like legs, allowing it to crawl on surfaces like…well, like a spider. It even came equipped with a jet engine, allowing Spidey to travel great distances in a matter of minutes. The original Spider-Mobile would be found and redesigned by none other than Deadpool, —one of Spidey’s most popular partners in the comics— who rebranded it as the “Dead-Buggy.” The Merc with a Mouth and Spidey even had an adventure in the new vehicle.
Peter Parkedcar, the Spectacular Spider-Mobile, Appears in ‘Across the Spider-Verse’
Another version of the Spider-Mobile exists in the Multiverse, and it happens to be sentient! Peter Parkedcar lives a double life as the Amazing Spider-Mobile, taking photographs for J. Jonah Jalopy and fighting car-themed supervillains. During the originalSpider-Versestoryline, Parkedcar joined forces with Miles Morales to recruit other Spider-People who were being hunted by the vampiric Inquisitors. He’d also return to fight the malevolent Shathra, who was aiming to destroy the Web of Life and Destiny that connected all Spider-People. Parkedcar proved to be invaluable to defeating Shathra, for he was one of the few Spider-People she couldn’t corrupt due to his armored chassis. Once again reuniting with Miles, Spider-Mobile managed to travel to other realities to recruit a trio of “Spider-Bots” includingthe mecha Leopardonand SP//DR, the robot driven by Peni Parker. Together they managed to help the other Spider-People beat Shathra.
Parkedcar appears briefly inAcross the Spider-Verseas Miles (Shameik Moore) tours the halls of the Spider-Society. He’s carrying a multitude of Spider-People, including the Spider-Man from the “Last Stand” universe. When Miguel orders the Spider-Society to stop Miles at any cost, Parkedcar is one of the many Spiders who hunts him down. Not only is this a far cry from their friendly relationship in the comics, but it also shows that every Spider-Person in the multiverse is very good at their job. The appearance of the Spider-Mobile is also a testament to the boundless possibility of the Spider-Verse, as well as the various characters who have been part of its web across the years. Peter Parker is a character with 60 years of history under his belt, and in all that time, he’s had hundreds of adventures.He’s been cloned— more than once. He’s gained immense cosmic powers. He’s held a multitude of jobs. All of this has had a major hand in shaping all the other Spiders, from Miles to Miguel and even the Tokusatsu icon Takuya Yamashiro (aka the pilot of Leopardon), all of whom have been shaped by the core tenet of great power and great responsibility.
Those tenets play a large role in the storyline ofAcross the Spider-Verse, especially when it comes to the conflict between Miles and Miguel about canon events. Miguel reveals that the spider that bit Miles was intended for another world, and that he was never meant to be Spider-Man. But Miles is more than willingto throw himself into danger to save others, especially his own family. Those are the kind of attributes that have made Spider-Man a character that continues to endure to this day, and helps make each and every person in the Spider-Verse stand out. Especially the one that happens to be a giant car.
