Warning: Spoilers Ahead
The fast-paced world of the Spider-Verse had loads of Easter eggs and references. Let’s see how many of these caught your eye.
Creators of Miles Morales are in the Superhero’s Contact List
When Miles flips through his phone, you might have noticed that one of his favorite contacts is listed as “B. Bendis”. This is a very clear reference to one of the co-creators of Miles Morales, Brian Michael Bendis. The contact listed as Sara Pichelli is also a nod to the comic artist who first drew the Miles Morales version of Ultimate Spider-Man.
All of the Jackie Robinson References
The directors clearly saw parallels between Miles’ journey and that of legendary Jackie Robinson because there were many references to the athlete throughout the film. Were you able to spot all of these?
- The number 42 flashes in the opening credit scene after the Sony and Marvel logos. This clearly references Jackie Robinson’s jersey number.
- The spider that bites Miles in the underground tunnel also has a number 42 on its back.
- After Miles gets his powers, he attempts to jump off a building and jumpstart his powers. He constantly goes down a couple of flight of stairs until he gets a little closer to the ground. However, he still fails miserably. When he crashes to the ground, there are two numbers that also land next to him – 4 and 2.
- Uncle Aaron has a weighted ball in his boxing gym that is 42 lbs.
- The sign in the back of the bus that Miles and Peter Parker take to Hudson says “Maximum Capacity 42”.
- There are multiple Jackie Robinson posters that feature his iconic blue cap and jersey numbers throughout the Time Square scenes and in Miles’ room.
Stephen Curry’s Posters
Jackie Robinson wasn’t the only inspiring black athlete referenced in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Golden State Warrior, Stephen Curry can also be seen plastered throughout the movie. You’ll find a Stephen Curry billboard ad floating around the Times Square scenes and a poster of a basketball player wearing jersey number 30 in Miles’ dorm room.
A Reference to Infinity War
When Miles leaves his house at the beginning of the movie, you can see that his house number is 17. Although this one might be a stretch, 17 could refer to Spider-Man Vol. 1 #17. The cover of this comic reads, At the Hands of Thanos! The Death of Spider-Man and could potentially reference the events of Infinity War.
Miles’ Dad’s Cop Car References Law & Order
The license plate on Miles’ dad’s cop car read “RFD-960” which is the same plate that is always used on the lead detective’s car throughout Law & Order.
Shaun of the Dead Poster in Times Square
Co-director, Rodney Rothman shared on Twitter that fans should be on the lookout for a Shaun of the Dead Easter egg in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. This ad was located on a billboard in Times Square with the title, “From Dusk Till Shaun”.
Clone High Ad in Times Square
Directors and producers like to add nods to some of their previous films as Easter eggs and there was definitely one in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Phil Lord and Chris Miller both worked on an MTV series called Clone High. Although the show was canceled in 2003, they create a spin-off movie in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse called Clone College. You can find a poster for the movie on a building in Miles Morales’ Times Square.
Sony’s Ad Placements
Sony is known for placing subliminal marketing ads in its movies and Into the Spider-Verse was no different. Throughout the film, you might have noticed Miles and his roommate both had beautiful Sony headphones with a shiny and very obvious logo.
Sony Pays Tributes to its Sponsors
Sony didn’t only advertise its own products. It also gave shout-outs to some of the companies that contributed to the film. For example, everyone in the movie was using an app called QQ to talk to each other on their phones. QQ is a social media-based campaign in China that provided promotional monies to Sony during production. There are also ads for Marvel and Samsung’s Galaxy Wing floating around the NYC skyline.
All the Fake Companies
Miles lives in an alternate universe where everything is the same, but different. Therefore, there were several twisted nods to real-world companies. For example, there was a company called Koca Soda in the film that is a nice jab at Coca-Cola. Back in 1904, there was a knock-off beverage called Koca Nola which became an instant hit when customers confused it for the popular drink, Coca-Cola.
During one of the shots of Times Square, you can also see the Snapchat logo on one of the billboards. However, underneath the logo, it says “Picaboo”. Picaboo was actually the name of Snapchat’s prototype before it was relaunched as Snapchat.
Some more fake companies include the Red Men Group referring to the Blue Men Group, RedEx referencing FedEx, and USB trucks moonlighting as UPS vehicles.
Reference to Spider-Man’s Comic Debut
The first comic book to ever feature Peter Parker was Amazing Fantasy #15 in 1962. This comic can be found in Miles’ dorm room and is a great shout out to the origins of the superhero.
Hang in There Miles!
This one isn’t an Easter egg, but rather a clever joke that you might not have caught. When Miles is hanging from his school, there’s a poster in the shot that says, “Hang in there!”.
It’s Hoodie Weather
Spider-Man is known for wearing his hoodies and the directors used his wardrobe failures to create an ad in the universe. During Kingpin and Miles’ final fight on the train, there’s an ad above their head that reads, “Hoodie Weather.”
Stan Lee’s Cameo
One of the best Easter eggs in any Marvel film is Stan Lee’s cameo and this one did not disappoint. When Miles walks into Stan Lee’s Collectibles he talks with the legendary man himself. It definitely fills our eyes with tears when Stan Lee says he’s really going to miss Spider-Man. We’re all really going to miss you, Stan Lee.
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Did you notice any other Easter eggs in the film? Point them out in the comments!