Across The Spider-Verse: How Spider-Punk Gets His Powers (And The Coolest Ones He Has)
This article contains spoilers for "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse"
There's a multiverse's worth of ridiculously cool Spider-people in "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse," but even in this ocean of likable heroes, Spider-Punk stands as one of the break-out characters. Expertly voiced by Daniel Kaluuya and animated with a distinctive style that evokes punk rock's signature collage art, Hobie "Spider-Punk" Brown is the epitome of effortless cool. Hobie's introduced as something of a romantic rival to Miles (Shameik Moore), but as befits his philosophy to reject all labels, the punk-themed Spider-hero immediately twists the narrative onto its head.
Though he initially seems a bit haughty and self-centered, Hobie turns out to be a perfectly nice guy. As a staunch believer in individual freedom, he immediately sides with Miles after the Spider-Society attempts to prevent the younger hero from intervening in a personally devastating canon event. After Hobie subtly teaches Miles how to breach containment, he quits the Society, but that's not the last we see of Spider-Punk. He later gives Gwen a DIY version of the dimension-hopping bracelet, allowing her to gather the old "Into the Spider-Verse" team to help Miles. What's more, Hobie even joins the mission himself.
Cool and distant as he may seem, it's clear that Hobie is one of the bigger heroes in "Across the Spider-Verse," even if we don't get to learn too much about his particular origin story and Spidey power set. Let's take a closer look at those.
Musical might and anarchic attitude set Hobie Brown apart
In the comics, Hobart "Hobie" Brown is from Earth-138, a reality where consumer culture is a huge thing, so the world gives him plenty to rage against. An anarchist and a rebel, he's bitten by a spider that's been rendered radioactive by pollution, and sets out to make the world a better place — with his own brand of punk-themed justice.
Hobie's overall power set is a fairly close approximation to the standard Spider-Man powers, and his appearances tend to focus on his punk aspect rather than inspect his powers too closely. However, he has certain marked differences to your average Spider-person. The biggest one of them is that he's not afraid to get seriously violent, to the point that he's been known to deliver punk-style headbutts — a truly dangerous move considering his spike-adorned Spidey mask. A masterful guitarist, he's also been known to weaponize his ax, both as a blunt instrument and as a wall of sound against his universe's corporate-created version of the Venom symbiote.
Interestingly, the "Across the Spider-Verse" version of Hobie seems to have some extra abilities that your average comic book Spider-Punk is yet to demonstrate. He's heavily implied to have a version of Miles' energy power, which he can control well enough to give helpful tips to Miles. It's possible that he uses this skill to power his electric guitar, which is always at the ready and tends to emanate a stylized, yellow glow. Importantly, this Hobie is also a talented inventor, and reverse-engineers the Spider-Society's universe-travelling technology into the gadget he gives Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld) near the end. All in all, Spider-Punk is one cool customer who truly stands apart in a room full of Spider-Men.