Beyond The Spider-Verse: The One Spider-Man That '90s Fans Still Need To See

As promotional material promises, "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" doesn't hold back when it comes to highlighting Spider-People from all over the multiverse. Fan favorite Gwen "Spider-Woman" Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld), Hobie "Spider-Punk" Brown (Daniel Kaluuya), LEGO Spider-Man (Nic Novicki), and more all appear during Miles "Spider-Man" Morales' (Shamiek Moore) journey. Although, for longtime webheads — specifically those who grew up in the 1990s — there's one Spider-Man variant who's long overdue for some time in the "Spider-Verse" spotlight: the version voiced by Christopher Daniel Barnes on the widely-beloved classic "Spider-Man: The Animated Series."

From 1994 to 1998, Barnes was television's Spider-Man, voicing the young wall-crawling superhero throughout his many wild adventures. In fact, many fans of the animated show will tell you that he's still their ideal Peter Parker performer after all these years and equally praise-worthy adaptations of the character. Thus, considering his legacy and that of "Spider-Man: The Animated Series" at large, it's wild to think that he hasn't appeared in the "Spider-Verse" series yet, especially with other beloved animated Spideys having already appeared in the franchise. Although, this could be on purpose.

With "Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse" on the way, could Barnes' Peter Parker be in for a leading role in the threequel? Here's why he should get some time to shine during Miles' next cinematic outing.

One could argue that the 2018 hit "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" made the idea of multiversal Spider-People work for casual audiences. However, it's worth remembering that the feature might not have come to fruition as we know it had it not been for "Spider-Man: The Animated Series." The final two installments of its fifth and final season — the episodes "Chapter I: I Really, Really Hate Clones" and "Chapter II: Farewell, Spider-Man" — see Peter Parker encounter and team up with versions of Spider-Man from alternate dimensions to battle the evil Spider-Carnage (Barnes).

With that in mind, it seems like Christopher Daniel Barnes' Spider-Man would be a prime candidate to appear in "Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse." He's incredibly familiar with the Spider-Verse, and he's also taken on a version of the villainous Spot (portrayed by Oliver Muirhead on "Spider-Man: The Animated Series" and Jason Schwartzman in "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse") just like Miles Morales. Therefore, it would only make sense for the lead of the first true Spider-Verse story to join forces with the lead of the latest one in what could be one of the biggest "Spider-Man" movies of all time.

Time will tell if Christopher Daniel Barnes' Spider-Man will feature in "Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse," though the pieces are certainly in place for him to become a major player.