Spider-Man Comics Support A Spider-Verse Movie Fan Theory
Warning: contains spoilers for Amazing Spider-Man #75!
The latest Spider-Man comics strongly support a popular fan theory concerning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse...in which Peter Parker is not who he says he is. Namely, the first Peter Parker seen in the film, who tragically dies early on in the film; this sacrifice in part motivates Miles Morales to become a hero himself and eventually a brand-new Spider-Man. But in 2021's Amazing Spider-Man #75 written by Zeb Wells with art by Patrick Gleason and colors by Marcio Menyz, a chance meeting between Peter Parker and a figure from his tumultuous past points to the Spider-Verse's most popular fan theory's strong plausibility.
In Into the Spider-Verse, Peter Parker (or so he claims to be) introduces the audience to his history as Spider-Man. The opening sequences shows Peter talking with Uncle Ben, falling in love with Mary-Jane, and fighting with various supervillains. Later on in the film, a nearly-defeated Peter meets Miles during a fight with the Kingpin, and Peter is killed in the battle (shockingly, the second time in the same year that Spider-Man would be killed in a major Hollywood film, the other being at the ending of Avengers: Infinity War). The sequence after the fight depicts New York mourning at the loss of Spider-Man, who is revealed to the world to be Peter Parker - and blonde.
In the entirety of his comic history, the 616 version of Peter Parker has never been portrayed as having blonde hair; artists usually give him brown or dark hair. For a comic character created in the early 60s when printing methods forced artists to draw characters with little detail, Peter Parker's appearance has changed remarkably little over time. However, there is a prominent blonde character who also has the exact face and body of Peter Parker: Ben Reilly.
In Amazing Spider-Man #75, Peter runs into a man in a Spider-Man outfit while swinging from the buildings of New York City. The assailant doesn't talk to Peter and instead immobilizes him with an electronic spider-shaped device. Later, the two meet and Ben reveals he's employed by the Beyond corporation: a company that now owns the trademark to Spider-Man (thanks to buying Parker Industries, Peter's old company). Fans believe that the Peter Parker in Into the Spider-Verse was never Peter at all, but his blonde-haired clone Ben.
If that was truly the case, it would fulfill what Marvel editorial had in mind for the character in the 90s: to take over as Spider-Man while Peter Parker raised his daughter with Mary Jane, free from being a superhero. Unfortunately, fans revolved at the idea, and Peter was brought back in the comics soon after. The directors of Into the Spider-Verse have yet to confirm this theory, but if it were true, it would make Ben Reilly's big-screen debut as Spider-Man.