Ghostflower & Earth-8

Ghostflower & Earth-8

In Spider-Man/Spider-Gwen: “Sitting In A Tree,” Miles and Gwen travel across the multiverse to find Jefferson Morales. One of the universes Gwen found is Earth-8, a dimension where her and Miles are married and have a superpowered family together. Considering that the comic was released in 2017, prior to ITSV’s 2018 release date, and is one of the major comics where Gwen and Miles interact with each other, one might wonder if Earth-8 will be incorporated into BTSV? One way Earth-8 can be incorporated in BTSV is by having Miles and Gwen’s universes collide to create Earth-8. There’s also a chance that this idea has been foreshadowed through the visual language of the SV films.

The idea of universes merging together was already present in ITSV with the Super-Collider that allows multiple dimensions to crash into each other. There’s also the classroom scene where Miles and Gwen meet each other for the first time and how behind them is a poster of two universes colliding:

This collision imagery is present in ATSV, such as when Gwen and Miles swing around New York and this “Whooosh” onomatopoeia between them has two o’s be connected to each other:

There’s also the scene where Gwen says goodbye to Miles and between them are two holes that are in the similar formation as the two o’s and the universe collision in the poster:

The repeated imagery of two enmeshed circles is not only representative of two universes colliding, but when flipped vertically it resembles the number 8, hence Earth-8. Additionally, this image is akin to the infinity symbol ♾️, which is fitting considering how much this couple is linked to the idea of infinite possibilities:

(The scene above is from ITSV when Gwen and Miles first meet in the classroom and Dr. Olivia Octavia is talking about the vastness of the multiverse in the background).

(This scene is from ATSV when Gwen tells Miles’s parents about his disappearance and what she has learned from him).

Admittedly, this theory is a bit of a reach and there’s plenty of other ways Earth-8 can be incorporated into BTSV, if it will at all. It is interesting though to speculate considering how Miles’s guidance counselor states, “Every person is their own universe” (an epithet used in the ATSV script as well). If this statement were to be true then Miles and Gwen’s universes colliding implicates that they’re one in the same, as stated by Miles when he was talking with Gwen at the Williamsburg Bank Building:

In a way this sentiment is true as they’re both creative types with cop fathers who lost a Peter Parker and struggle with their families’ expectations, along with having to lead a double life as Spiderpeople. Gwen and Miles acknowledging their similarities in the text, highlights the intentionality in their connection despite them coming from different dimensions that would have made them meeting impossible.

There’s also the scene at the Williamsburg Bank Building where Gwen does her own version of the shoulder touch with Miles. This resembles the collision imagery presented prior, where in a moment of vulnerability, Gwen chooses to collide into Miles and forge this connection between them.

Granted, this wouldn’t be the first time Miles and Gwen left their respective universes to live in another one though. After the end of the Ultimate comics, Earth-1610 got destroyed to have Miles and his friends and family move to Earth-616, since he was the main popular character from the comic line. More recently, Gwen has moved from her universe of Earth-65 to Earth-616 due to her own popularity. Fans’ reception is mixed to say the least because while Gwen and Miles residing in the mainstream Marvel universe of Earth-616 allows for more comic appearances, the downside is that it comes at the expense of their own stories as their status as the main Spiderperson will be overshadowed by Peter due to Earth-616 being his universe originally. This is further shown in Gwen’s case where she’s currently the only character from Earth-65 to make the move, thus leaving her supporting cast, distinct tone, and art style of her world behind. However, with Gwen and Miles having their respective universes be combined to create a new one, these issues can be resolved since they’ll likely keep their supporting casts and have a hybrid of their pre-existing art styles. Their statuses as Spiderpeople also won’t be overshadowed due to Earth-8 being created specifically for them, making it their universe to claim. This adds to the sentiment of how Miles and Gwen are “the same” as the overlaps in their characters allow them to complement each other, being two halves of the same story.

There’ll probably be plenty of multiverse shenanigans in BTSV and if they culminate into a major universal collision, we’ll just have to see when the movie comes out. However, whether it’s fate, destiny, or pure coincidence that brought Gwen and Miles together, the SV films seem to be going towards the star-crossed lovers route where they’ll have to find a tangible way to be together, which is through the creation of Earth-8.