Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse featured a lot of massive Easter Eggs, but one that left many fans stumped was the recurring presence of the number "42." Those digits were also part of Brian Michael Bendis' Ultimate Spider-Man run featuring Miles Morales, but its significance was never revealed.
However, while we previously assumed the number in the film was a reference to that comic, a live commentary for the movie last night confirmed that it was actually a nod to Jackie Robinson.
He was the first African American Major League Baseball player whose jersey number was 42 and, as you may recall, a film called 42 was released in 2013 starring Black Panther's Chadwick Boseman. Following the Tweet shared by the official Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Twitter account, producer Christopher Miller weighed in with, "42 and Miles have a lot of synergy."
As Easter Eggs go, this is a fun one, and fitting for a film that made history (it remains the only Marvel Comics adaptation to have won a major award at the Oscars).
Check out the Tweet below:
References to the number 42 throughout #SpiderVerse are in honor of Jackie Robinson, the first African American Major League Baseball player, whose jersey number was 42. #QuarantineWatchParty //t.co/BZF0hwOnKu pic.twitter.com/NpbnPi5NXm
Most superhero movies have Easter eggs here and there referencing their comic book source material, but we think that Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse wins hands down for the sheer amount of them included. The latest Spidey(s) film has a whole slew of nods to the comics and past movies alike. Here’s a few of the biggest Easter eggs we noticed sprinkled throughout this amazing film.
The Comics Code Authority Seal
As the movie opens, we see the classic “Comics Code Authority” seal of approval, which appeared on most comics from the ’50s on until the early 2000s. If you grew up reading comics during that time frame, then that seal was synonymous with all Marvel and DC books.
Spider #42
The spider that bit Miles is from the Alchemax Corporation, and had the number “42” on its back. We also see the number when Miles falls down on the street after first getting his powers. According to Miles’ creator Brian Michael Bendis’ blog post, it’s a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy reference.
Miles Morales’ Phone Contacts
Speaking of Miles Morales’ creator Brian Bendis, you can see his name listed in Miles’ phone contacts. Also included is S. Ditko, a nod to Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko, who passed away earlier this year.
Alchemax Corporation
As for the company called Alchemax itself, it’s a big evil science corporation in the Marvel universe, and is where Spider-Man 2099 got his powers from. In the film, it’s the center of all the weird dimension breaching experiments going on, and ties in directly to the film’s post-credits scene (see below).Peter Parker’s Dance
There’s a bunch of nod’s in the blonde Peter Parker’s history to the Sam Raimi Spider-Man films, when he’s going over his 12-year career as Spider-Man. Among them are them the upside down kiss from Spider-Man 1, the train rescue from Spider-Man 2, and even the notorious Tobey Maguire dance scene in Spider-Man 3.The Marvel Multiverse
The Marvel Comics Multiverse designations are adhered to on a graph, as we see that the second older Peter Parker is from Earth 616 (the “main” Marvel Earth in the comics), Miles is from Earth 1610, Gwen is from Earth-65, Spider-Noir is from Earth-90214, Peni Parker is from Earth 14512, Spider-Ham hails from Earth-8311, Spider-Man 2099 is from Earth-928, and ’60s animated Spidey comes from Earth-6799.
Tombstone
One of Spidey’s longest-tenured bad guys is Tombstone, who shows up in the film as one of the Kingpin’s enforcers. He’s played Marvin “Krondon” Jones III, a.k.a. Black Lightning villain Tobias Whale.Blonde Peter Parker
The Peter Parker on Miles’ Earth (played by Chris Pine) is blonde, which is probably a tip of the hat to Ben Reilly, Peter’s clone, who bleached his hair blonde back in the ’90s and became the Scarlet Spider.
Stan “the Man” Lee
After the first Peter dies, we see Stan Lee himself selling Spider-Man costumes to mourning fans. His first words spoken are, “I’m really gonna miss him,” which it could not be more poignant, given Stan’s recent passing.
Kingpin’s Family
The Kingpin’s wife and son are Vanessa and Richard Fisk, who are also Wilson Fisk’s family in the pages of the comics (and on Daredevil).
Why is Miles Morales Number 42?
As the number of the spider that bit him and the winning lottery number for Brooklyn Visions Academy, the number 42 means a lot in Miles Morales' world, and Saladin Ahmed celebrates this landmark issue with an oversized spectacular alongside amazing Miles Morales: Spider-Man artists!What number universe is into the spider verse?
Earth-616. Earth-616 is the home universe of Peter B. Parker. In the comics, Earth-616 is the "prime-universe" — the main setting of most of its non-alternate universe storylines.What is the Spider
Peter Parker, the Spider-Man of Earth-616 is the original Spider-Man of the character and appears in nearly every single piece of other media surrounding Spider-Man.What was the number of the spider that bit Miles?
In the comics, 42 is Miles' winning number when his name is drawn in the lottery for Brooklyn Visions Academy. And the spider that bites him is marked with a 42 — Arachnid Subject 42 in an Osborn Industries laboratory.