Is Spider-Man 2099 a villain? Across the Spider-Verse director solves the mystery

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse will bring the futuristic Spider-Man 2099, Miguel O’Hara, to the forefront after introducing him in Into the Spider-Verse’s end credits scene. Voiced by MCU’s Moon Knight actor Oscar Isaac, Miguel will be going after Miles Morales due to his actions in the previous film.

However, whether or not Spider-Man 2099 is the main antagonist against Miles is what fans want to know. His tussle with Miles in the trailers seems pretty serious, and it has been the biggest aspect of Across the Spider-Verse’s entire marketing campaign. In spite of that, Spider-Man 2099 will not be the main antagonist of the upcoming Spider-Verse sequel.

Spider-Man 2099 is also a good guy!

Miles Morales vs. Miguel O’Hara (Image via Sony)

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse will be another hero vs. hero event as, according to the co-director of the film, both Miles and Miguel are right to take a stand for their respective beliefs. SFX Magazine got to speak with Across the Spider-Verse co-director, Kemp Powers who revealed that fans should refrain from thinking that Spider-Man 2099 is a bad guy. Powers said:

"Miguel definitely becomes an antagonist to Miles, but his goals are very understandable. Some people might side with Miles's perspective, but some people might side with Miguel's."

He added:

"You know, Miguel is the leader of this Spider-Force for a reason. He bears this incredible sense of responsibility. Spider-Man has always been your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man, and Miguel is very different in that his responsibilities go way beyond any one neighbourhood. He's just a fascinating character, but he's not a villain. He's a good guy."

The good thing about Spider-Man 2099 being in Across the Spider-Verse is that he offers great competition to Miles Morales and brings in a lot of variety since he is a different kind of Spider-Man.

How Miguel O’Hara is different from regular Spider-Men

Even though Miguel O’Hara looks like just another cooler version of Spider-Man, he is a vastly different character. He is a genius in the field of genetics. As an adult, he worked for an organization called Alchemax, and that’s where he got his powers from.

He is literally half a Spider as his genes were forcibly merged with a spider's DNA. That’s how he got his Web slinging and wall-crawling abilities. However, after the DNA fusion, he also grew talons on his feet and hands. To add to that, he has fangs like that of a Vampire. Lastly, he also shoots organic webbing, which makes him similar to Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker in one aspect.

So, with him in Spider-Verse 2, viewers will witness another Batman V Superman/ Captain America: Civil War kind of event where two heroes are pitted against each other until the real villain comes into the mix.

The Spot is the main villain of Spider-Verse 2

The Spot's interdimensional portal powers in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Image via Sony Pictures)

While Miles will take on Miguel for a considerable amount of time, the real threat to the Spider-Verse would turn out to be the Spot. He will be a major villain in Beyond the Spider-Verse. Before that, he will also have a significant role in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

The Spot has special interdimensional portal abilities, making him a really tough adversary for Miles Morales and his companions to defeat. To further dive into his powers, they are primarily based on his teleportation abilities, which enable him to create holes on his body and place them wherever he desires.

Moreover, he can use those holes to teleport himself or others. This ability gives him a significant advantage over his opponents. So, it will be interesting to see if Miguel and Miles ultimately team up to battle such an unpredictable villain.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse hits theaters on June 2, 2023.