Last year's Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse introduced countless fans to the Spider Society. Led by Miguel O'Hara, this massive army gathered the superhuman Spider-People from endless alternate dimensions to prevent tragedy. Most of those unique alternate arachnids briefly appear for an action scene or two. Miles Morales' example assembles a small breakaway team of heroic supporters. Margo Kess, better known as Spider-Byte, is the member of that team who got the least focus, but she remains engaging.
The original Into the Spider-Verse brought Spider-Folks from wildly disparate worlds together as a team of top-tier tutors for young Miles Morales. It's about Miles attaining the confidence and competence to save his reality. His journey continues in Across the Spider-Verse, forcing him to justify his claim to the Spider-Man title. His supporters are initially few and far between, but every new ally counts.
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The number 42 comes up throughout the Spider-Verse franchise, but it's meaning goes deeper than just the plot.
Who is Spider-Byte in Across the Spider-Verse?
Spider-Byte is one of the many Spider-People working in Miguel O'Hara's Spider Society. She first appears in their headquarters, operating a complex rig of computer systems. One of her chief duties seems to be running the Go-Home-Machine, which sends renegade variants to their universe through a nightmarish process. Her glowing purple form is holographic. Margo Kess sits in a computer chair wearing a VR headset, piloting her avatar at the Spider Society. Her avatar can interface with physical matter, duplicate itself repeatedly, and extend its limbs instead of spider webs. A brief shot depicts Margo in her home as her parents struggle to get her attention.
Margo doesn't get a lot of screen time in Across the Spider-Verse. She has three scenes, each of which features an ensemble cast. She first meets Miles Morales while he's taking his tour of the Spider Society. Miles and Margo hit it off immediately, finding an easy chemistry that could bloom into something more. Margo is sarcastic and playful, flitting around and bragging about her comfortable life as a superhero working from home. After they meet, Spider-Gwen quickly drags Miles away, seemingly lashing out in a brief spike of jealousy that they don't have time to explore. As Miles enacts his clever plan to escape Miguel's wrath and the overwhelming force of the Spider Society, Spider-Byte tries out new hairstyles for her avatar. Miles sneaks into the Go-Home-Machine and activates it while invisible, sparking panic. Spider-Byte discovers Miles trying to activate the machine. As her boss and co-workers demand she stop the process, she defies their orders and lets Miles escape. Margo appears in the film's final shot alongside Gwen, Hobie Brown, and the rest of the Spider-Gang, who will support Miles in the upcoming sequel.
Who plays Spider-Byte?
Amandla Stenberg portrays Spider-Byte in Across the Spider-Verse. It's her first and only superhero project to date. Her feature debut came in the 2011 action film Colombiana, in which she portrayed the pre-teen iteration of Zoe Saldaña's title character. The following year, she nailed the small but impactful role of Rue in The Hunger Games. More recently, Stenberg starred in the widely-beloved 2018 coming-of-age drama The Hate U Give. She won the NAACP Image Award for her performance, with numerous other notable prizes. She starred in Bodies Bodies Bodies and Dear Evan Hansen. Stenberg will star in the upcoming Star Wars Disney+ series The Acolyte later this year. She'll likely return to Spider-Byte in Beyond the Spider-Verse.
Does Spider-Byte appear in Marvel Comics?
Spider-Byte | |
|---|---|
Full Name | Margo Kess |
Creators | Nilah Magruder and Alberto Jiménez Alburquerque |
First Issue Date | October 31, 2018 |
Spider-Byte first appeared in the 2018 comic Vault of Spiders #1. She's the hero of Earth-22191, a parallel dimension comparable to Ready Player Oneor Snow Crash. Most citizens of Earth-22191 spend their lives on the computer. Like in Spider-Verse, Spider-Byte does her costumed heroics through a VR avatar. She operates in cyberspace and protects her community from internet crimes. She prevents hackers from stealing money from innocent people. Her primary antagonists were the Inheritors, a family of vampires who fed on Spider-People. She works from her school's computer lab instead of her parents' house, but she is otherwise very similar to her on-screen presence. Like most Spider-People in the Spider-Verse comic series, Spider-Byte is more of a concept than a character. The films elevate her and the rest of the cast.
Spider-Byte is a fascinating member of the Spider-Gang, but most of her appearances have been short. Margo could be a central figure in Miles' life in the next Spider-Verse film, heightening or drastically changing his life and relationships with other Spider-People. She's more than a love interest. Her decision to let Miles escape simultaneously got him out of danger and landed him in dire straits. She'll be back in Beyond the Spider-Verse, and fans will finally get to see more of the only Spider-Person on the World Wide Web.
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