While Spider-Man 2099 will be an antagonist in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the movie's actual big bad is...The Spot?!
Introduced in 1985's Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man, the villain is typically a punchline whose unique power set lends itself to fun, albeit repetitive, moments in battle. He's never posed much of a threat to the web-slinger, with the mild-mannered scientist's ability to open portals more of a nuisance than anything else.
However, The Spot will serve as the lead villain in both Across the Spider-Verse and Beyond the Spider-Verse, with co-director Joaquim Dos Santos telling Empire (via CBR), "In the comics, The Spot was a low-rent character, but he has all the potential in the world."
Writer and producer Christopher Miller adds, "He starts off goofy, with his Looney Tunes portals, but as the movie progresses he gets more powerful. You have to take him seriously." Finally, franchise producer Amy Pascal added, "He's a character everyone found great comedy and pathos in."
This lines up with comments from co-director Kemp Powers last year when he said Jason Schwartzman's Spot has "incredible potential" and noted that, "His ability to open portals across dimensions sets him up perfectly for the Spider-Verse...he's the villain of the next two films...and let's just say that The Spot and Miles are connected in surprising ways."
In Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, after reuniting with Gwen Stacy, Brooklyn’s full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is catapulted across the Multiverse, where he encounters a team of Spider-People charged with protecting its very existence.
However, when the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat, Miles finds himself pitted against the other Spiders and must redefine what it means to be a hero so he can save the people he loves most.
Written by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller and David Callaham, and directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse swings into theaters on June 2, 2023.