‘Across the Spider-Verse’: What Universe Is Peter B. Parker From?
The Academy Award-winning Spider-Verse saga continued with ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,’ which premiered about a month ago. It was an epic flick that visited numerous dimensions, universes, and versions of Spidey. One of them, again, was Peter B. Parker, who served as Miles Morales’ mentor in the first film. But what universe is Peter B. Parker from?
Peter B. Parker is originally from the Earth-616 universe, which is the mainstream Marvel universe from the comics. However, seeing glaring differences between the comics Earth-616 and the Spider-Verse Earth-616, Peter B. Parker’s universe is considered Earth-616B.
The same actually goes for Miles Morales. In the comics, his universe is Earth-1610, and so it is in the Spider-Verse. However, the two versions of Miles (comics/Spider-Verse) are evidently different; hence, Miles Morales’ universe from the Spider-Verse is called Earth-1610B. They are two incarnations of the same character. Let’s dive into a detailed explanation.
Who is Peter B. Parker?
Peter Benjamin Parker is one of the most important Spider-People we see in the Spider-Verse saga – apart from the main character, Miles Morales. Peter B. Parker was born in Queens, New York, in 1980 and has been Spider-Man for 22 years, making him a bit tired and worn out.
Life wasn’t too kind to Parker. After losing his parents early on and being raised by his beloved Aunt May and Uncle Ben, he was bitten by a radioactive spider in his teenage years. Suddenly, he got incredible powers – much like every other version of Spidey.
A bit later, a crime happened that Peter B. Parker could’ve prevented but chose not to, and it led to the murder of his Uncle Ben. Devastated, Peter vowed to defend New York against crime and any other threat its citizens may face.
After a while, he married Mary Jane Watson, but his vigilante work strained their relationship, as he was never around. Meanwhile, his Aunt May also passed away, and Peter suffered numerous heavy injuries that took a toll on him physically and mentally.
Eventually, he even broke up with Mary Jane, as she wanted children, and for Peter to slow down with being Spider-Man, but he just couldn’t get himself to do it. He was too afraid of having kids and then losing them to a vengeful enemy; he preferred letting MJ go instead. It broke his heart, though, and Parker kind of let go of himself.
Fast forward to Kingpin creating the Super Collider, a portal opened up that brought Peter B. Parker to Miles Morales’ universe. He explained to Miles what was going on and eventually became his mentor, helping Morales cope with the changes and perfect his skills as Spidey.
Once they stopped Kingpin’s plans, Peter managed to reconcile with Mary Jane and even have a daughter, returning the happiness he once had on his face. We saw him appear again in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, where he was pretty much a dad more than he was Spider-Man.
What universe is Peter B. Parker from?
In the Spider-Verse saga, Peter B. Parker’s original universe was referred to as Earth-616. Marvel Comics fans will know that Earth-616 was the designated reality number for the mainstream universe in the comics, too, meaning that Peter B. Parker might actually be the ‘real’ Peter Parker – Spider-Man from the main Marvel Comics universe.
Is that the case, though? Is Peter B. Parker the same Peter Parker from the Marvel Comics mainstream universe? Well, yes, and no.
You see, the Marvel Comics Earth-616 Peter heavily inspired Peter B. Parker. They have all the same powers and, more-or-less, the same history. Essentially, they are two incarnations of the same character.
However, there are glaring differences between their universes, meaning the comics Earth-616 and the Spider-Verse Earth-616 cannot be the same universe, which is why the Spider-Verse version is referred to as Earth-616B.
It’s pretty much the same with Miles Morales. He’s part of the Ultimate Universe in the comics, aka Earth-1610. His reality in the Spider-Verse is also called Earth-1610, and he is pretty much the same character as he is in the comics.
But, due to some changes and differences in their reality, they can’t possibly be the same – hence, the Spider-Verse Miles is considered to be from Earth-1610B. The same character, two different incarnations.
If you played ‘Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions’ or ‘Spider-Man: Edge of Time,’ you’ll notice that both Spideys in those two games are referred to as Earth-616 Peter. They are, indeed, the same version of Peter Parker, but two different interpretations of the same Peter Parker.
That’s pretty much how I view Peter B. Parker – he IS, by all means, the same Peter Parker as the comic Earth-616 version of Peter – but a different incarnation. I reckon that’s why they added the ‘B’ in his name – sure, Benjamin is his middle name, but I believe it was added so you could easily differentiate the Earth-616 and Earth-616B versions.
Will Peter B. Parker return?
If you haven’t watched ‘Across the Spider-Verse’ yet, skip the following section.
Peter B. Parker has appeared in both of the Spider-Verse saga films so far and is still alive and well by the end of ‘Across the Spider-Verse.’ He also accepted that ‘duty’ will always call him, and so did his wife, MJ, so there’s no reason why Peter B. Parker wouldn’t return to complete the trilogy.
Despite the fact that we waited for about five years between ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ and ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,’ the third movie, ‘Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse,’ is already set with a release date. The trilogy will wrap up on March 29, 2024, when the final movie drops in theaters. Man, I can’t wait!
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