Spider-Verse Cleverly References This Forgotten Spider-Man Gem From 1999
An overlooked version of Spidey surprisingly wasn’t forgotten by the creators of Across Spider-Verse.
The iconic Spider-Man: The Animated Series which aired from 1994 till 1998 was a huge hit and is a cult classic nowadays. Unfortunately, the show was canceled after its fifth season.
In 1999, Fox Kids aired a new animated series about the web slinger — Spider-Man Unlimited, which was intended as a loose sequel series to Spider-Man: The Animated Series.
To be honest, the show had almost nothing in common with the previous animated series. Moreover, the show occupied the same time slot as the absolute hit of that time, Pokémon. Overall, the show aired 13 episodes and ended on a cliffhanger without any future installment.
Spider-Man Unlimited totally had a stroke of bad luck, but it's arguably one of the most distinctive Spidey stories out there. Let's take a moment to appreciate the show that even the recent Across the Spider-Verse movie gave a shout-out to.
The show takes us to Counter-Earth, where animal hybrids are superior and humans are oppressed. The ruler of the planet is none other than the High Evolutionary, a mad scientist responsible for the creation of the animal-human hybrids.
If you watched Guardians of the Galaxy vol.3, you know this guy. It is the same character who is responsible for Rocket’s sufferings in the MCU.
Now the most interesting part. What does Spider-Man Unlimited have to do with Across the Spider-Verse?
Surprisingly, the creators of the 1999 series initially had an idea about making a cartoon based on Spider-Man 2099, that would follow Miguel O'Hara in Nueva York, — the same Miguel O’Hara who is the key character in Sony’s latest sequel.
One reason they dropped it was because Batman Beyond, a show about a future version of Batman, had already started airing, and they didn't want to do something similar.
Even though the Spider-Man 2099 cartoon never happened, the Spider-Man Unlimited suit looks a lot like the one Miguel O'Hara wears.
If you watched Across the Spider-Verse, you know that Miguel O'Hara’s theme is one that you just can’t forget. Guess what? This music theme is actually a clever mix of Spider-Man 2099 theme from Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions (a video game) and surprisingly, the Spider-Man Unlimited intro soundtrack.
And on top of that, among the numerous Spider-People we’ve seen in Across the Spider-Verse, you can spot Spider-Man Unlimited himself.