Merchandising spoils a new spidey variant for ‘Across the Spider-Verse’

It is Spider-Man mania out there, and lovers of the franchise must be thrilled to be getting so many variants of the beloved character. With Sony’s animation Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse getting a sequel, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, in 2023. Fans will get to see the return of many of their favorite characters from the first film plus some new additions.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse has been one of the most successful Spider-Man films over the last decade. Though it may not have done as well in the Box-Office as its other counterparts it is frequently picked as a fan favorite and even won an Academy Award, BAFTA, and Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature Film.

Thanks to its success a sequel is on the way, with returning characters Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), Gwen Stacey/Spider-Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld), Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson), and a newcomer, Spider-Man 2099 (Oscar Isacc). The primary antagonist of the film will be the Spot (Jason Schwartzman) and along with the Vulture (Jorma Taccone).

The addition of another character may have also been spoiled thanks to the release of merchandise in the form of children’s toys. Images have surfaced on Twitter showing toys for the upcoming films in stores featuring the design for Spider-Punk.

Some think that due to the film’s delay the merchandising schedule got mixed up releasing the toys on time for the initial release date rather than delaying them to match the film.

But who is Spider-Punk? Spider-Punk is a variant of Spider-Man from Earth-138, real name Hobie Brown. Brown is a foul-mouthed homeless teenager who is transformed into this version of Spider-Man after being bitten by a spider irradiated from illegally dumped waste. This leads to the downtrodden people of New York against President Norman Osborne, brandishing his guitar and inciting a rebellion against the President and his V.E.N.O.M group.

The images show two separate toys from the Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse collection. The first toy is the classic Spider-Man mask but featuring the spikes symbolic of Spider-Punk. The second seems to show that marketing has also combined Spider-Punks guitar with his web-shooting abilities in the Spider-Punk Web Blaster.

Whether or not the release of the toys at this time was intentional or a mistake is unknown but it does make it seem like this character will appear in the upcoming film. We will have to wait for an official announcement to confirm that the character will indeed be included in the film.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Part 1 is set to be released in theatres on June 2, 2023.