How Across The Spider-Verse Changes The Spot From The Comics
Contains spoilers for "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse"
In superhero movies, the villain's just as important (if not more so) than the hero. "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" went all in on giving Miles Morales intriguing variations of classic Spider-Man villains, including Kingpin and Doc Ock, a.k.a. Liv. Those are fan-favorite villains, and even when the movie did something different, like making Doc Ock a woman and making her arrival a twist reveal, they felt like serious threats. As the sequel, "Across the Spider-Verse" has to up the ante in every way, and it's doing this by making the antagonist ... The Spot?
You'd be forgiven for having never heard of The Spot before. He hasn't exactly been on the upper echelon of Spider-Man foes, meaning casual Spidey fans may be completely unfamiliar with him. He popped up in a couple of episodes of the 1994 "Spider-Man" series as well as the 2017 one, but it's safe to say the character will get his biggest break to date in "Across the Spider-Verse."
Until this point, The Spot was a "villain of the week"-type character, as Miles refers to him in the movie. But some significant changes to the villain make him a worthy adversary to earn a place on the big screen.
Who is The Spot in Marvel Comics?
Dr. Jonathan Ohnn, a.k.a. The Spot, first came onto the scene in 1984, albeit in an unnamed appearance. He officially became The Spot in 1985, created by writer Al Milgrom and artist Herb Trimpe. His backstory is that he's a scientist, like so many other Spider-Man villains, who worked for Kingpin to develop portal technology similar to that of Cloak. Ohnn is successful but steps into a portal after a blackout occurs. When he finds his way out of a dimension, he realizes he's covered in spots that function as portals. It doesn't take long for him to realize he could theoretically beat anyone in a fight, but in his first match against Spider-Man and Black Cat, Peter Parker ends up laughing once Spot says his supervillain name.
Spot's abilities naturally pertain to his interdimensional portals, which he can throw at an enemy to disorient them. He can use portals to attack Spider-Man at different angles, and since the punches are coming from other dimensions, Peter's Spider-Sense can't detect them. He's also basically immortal, having died several times in the comics, but he manages to come back. This is typically explained that when he's fatally wounded, he reconstitutes himself in the Spotted Dimension to come back later.
Outside of that, Spot has pretty much been related to C-list territory. He's been part of the Sinister Six and MODOK's 11 at various points, but he's usually a single component of a much more famous villain's plans. But he finally gets his due in "Across the Spider-Verse."
Across the Spider-Verse gives Spot the spotlight
Surprisingly, "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" offers a pretty faithful adaptation of The Spot. His powers are the same, and he even has a similar origin story. Viewers learn that Miles Morales inadvertently created the supervillain, who was a scientist working for Kingpin in the first movie. Dr. Jonathan Ohnn was there when the various Spider-People tried to shut down Kingpin's collider, ending up with portals all over his body.
And at the start of the movie, Miles treats Spot exactly how he's been treated in the comics — as a joke. Miles makes fun of the villain despite Spot insisting the two are nemeses. Miles even refers to him as a "villain of the week," and that seems to be the case at first as Miles gets into a zany fight with Ohnn after he tries to rob a convenience store. Jason Schwartzman voices Spot in the film, and he really nails the pathetic nature of the character that people are likely used to at this point.
However, the biggest divergence comes in what Spot becomes by the end of "Across the Spider-Verse." He travels to other universes to find another working collider so that he can enhance his powers further. He achieves this, causing him to take on almost a photonegative appearance of his initial form. Even his voice changes to become more menacing, and it's obvious he'll play a significant role in "Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse." The most significant change the movie makes to Spot involves turning him into a villain worth remembering, and given his prominence in two "Spider-Man" movies, the character has the potential to break out in a big way in other types of media going forward.