The Spot Will Make His Cinematic Debut in 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse'

This week in "Spider-Man villains you probably haven't heard of appearing in a high-profile movie," we have the Spot, who will soon make his cinematic debut in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. At the very least, his appearance is more justified within the context of a trippy and ambitious animated film than, say, a one-off villain who appeared in two Spider-Man comics in 2006 getting a feature-length film. The Spot has made numerous appearances as a notable adversary of the familiar webhead.

What are the Spot's powers and how could they factor into the upcoming movie? His abilities are closely tied to dimension-hopping, something that Spider-Man stories have tackled plenty of times before.

The Spot first appeared as a villain in a Spider-Man comic in 1985. His alter ego is that of Johnathan Ohnn, a scientist who is briefly employed by Wilson Fisk. He is initially hired to develop an imitation of the Cloak's ability to manipulate the Darkvoid Dimension to teleport.

One night, he succeeds in creating a black circular portal. After stepping into it, he is brought to an entirely new dimension where light and dark are mixed. He manages to escape back to his lab but is forever altered.

The many dark portals he encountered in that realm become adhered to his skin, turning his body completely white with black spots. He soon encounters Spider-Man and declares himself a new villain named the Spot. He even wins his first encounter with Spider-Man using his powers.

As his name suggests, the Spot has the ability to use the black "spots" on his body to manipulate warps in space. Anything that travels through those spots passes through the "Spotted Dimension" to reemerge in another location that is dictated by another spot. He can place spots anywhere, even in mid-air, to control how things travel. He even uses his powers to redirect punches aimed at him and send them flying right back to his attacker.

His ability to manipulate the Spotted Dimension has made him a formidable villain. Throughout his career, the Spot faces off against the likes of Daredevil and the Fantastic Four.

Of course, he isn't unbeatable. He only has a finite number of spots to work with and often needs to reclaim them to use them again. If he uses too many spots at once, he becomes completely white and therefore vulnerable to attacks again.

This ability will certainly make him a villain to look out for in Across the Spider-Verse. The Spot will be voiced by Jason Schwartzman in the upcoming film. His ability to "think with portals" and use his spots to manipulate space blends in perfectly with the stylish multiverse-hopping that the first Spider-Verse film is known for.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse will premiere in theaters on June 2, 2023. Another film dubbed Beyond the Spider-Verse will come out on March 29, 2024.