The Spider-Verse's Original Villain Was Way Too Dark (And Powerful) For The Movies

The animated superhero blockbuster "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" is finally here, bringing with it one of the goofiest villains in all of Spider-Man's rogues gallery –- Dr. Jonathan Ohnn (Jason Schwartzman), aptly named "The Spot" for the numerous black spots that cover his body. Originally dismissed by writers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller as "the dorkiest, dumbest villain" in the comics, Lord and Miller eventually realized that The Spot (for all his dorkiness) is actually ridiculously powerful, as all of the spots on his body are interdimensional portals that lead to different universes.

As shockingly powerful as The Spot might be in "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse," he still doesn't hold a candle to the terrifying villain from the original "Spider-Verse" comic storyline that ran from 2014 to 2015. This enormously popular run (which served as the primary inspiration for the "Spider-Verse" franchise as well as the MCU's "Spider-Man: No Way Home") centered around an interdimensional villain known as Morlun who was far too disturbing and far too powerful for the big screen. The red-eyed, almost vampiric Morlun is a member of "The Inheritors," a family of interdimensional parasites who feed on "Spider-Totems" (beings that bridge the gap between human and animal, and specifically those with spider powers) all across the multiverse in order to survive.

Throughout the "Spider-Verse" run, Morlun and his siblings are seen draining the life essence and power of Spider-People from all across the multiverse, devouring these heroes to sate their hunger and massacring thousands of other Spider-Totems along the way.

The Inheritor's desire to eat Spider-People eventually led them to establish the Great Hunt; an initiative which saw Morlun and his family (which includes his father, Solus, and his siblings Bora, Daemos, Brix, Verna, Jennix, and Karn) trying to kill and eat every single Spider-Totem in the multiverse. The Great Hunt serves as the backdrop of the original "Spider-Verse" comic book run, and during the ensuing battle (known as "The Totem War") the Inheritors used their extreme powers to kill 45 versions of Spider-Man from multiple different universes.

These "Fallen Spiders" include Spider-Man 2099, Fantastic Spider-Man, "House of M" Spider-Man, Spider-Girl, Spider-Woman, and dozens of other multiversal variants of the friendly neighborhood web-slinger. This massacre happened in part due to the impossible power of Morlun and the other Inheritors, who each display superhuman speed, strength, and durability, and who become stronger after absorbing the life force of living creatures. Morlun's power varies depending on how recently he's fed and upon what sources he has fed, and although his power fades as time goes on, Morlun can renew it anytime by absorbing a new living creature.

Because Morlun's power is tied to the beings that he devours, Morlun's strength is possibly limitless — depending solely on the power of those that he absorbs, and allowing him to massacre and eat dozens of Spider-Totems all across the multiverse.

There's no question that the spider-devouring Morlun is one of the strongest villains we've ever seen Spider-Man battle, something Peter Parker himself learns during their fight in the "Spider-Geddon" comic run that followed the original "Spider-Verse" comic storyline.

After Morlun and the Inheritors were defeated and imprisoned in Sims Tower during the events of "Spider-Verse," the family of parasites escaped onto Earth-616 and Morlun came face-to-face with the Spider-Man of the primary Marvel comics continuity. Morlun successfully tracks Peter Parker through New York City and gives him (for all intents and purposes) the beating of his life –- breaking his wrist, shattering his Dimensional Travel Watch, and almost killing him before the intervention of the multiversal Spider-Army.

During this fight, Peter states that Morlun's punches are the hardest he's ever felt in his life, while Morlun is unaffected by all of his blows. It becomes immediately clear why this interdimensional parasite has managed to kill so many Spider-People before, and even more terrifying is the fact that this supremely powerful being still has the potential to grow stronger. Considering the sheer level of power that Morlun possesses (not to mention all of the other Inheritors that share his power), and the ease with which he slaughters and consumes Spider-People, it's easy to see why Morlun and his family did not appear in "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" –- since they would have brutally murdered a huge number of the film's numerous Spider-People.