Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is quickly becoming one of the most celebrated superhero movies ever. Across the Spider-Verse may not have ended as audiences wanted, but the rest is pure magic. From the story to the voice cast, the film is excellent. And with so many new, well-rounded Spider-folks to choose from, there’s a little something for everyone to love.
Fans are understandably falling for Spider-Punk/Hobie Brown, but another new Spider-Person is getting a lot of love. Some know him as Indian Spider-Man (or Spider-Man India), while others know him simply as Pavitr Prabhakar. Here’s the background on the witty new Spidey.
He’s the one and only Spider-Man … of Mumbahattan
In 2004, Sharad Devarajan, Suresh Seetharaman, and Jeevan J. Kang created an Indian version of Peter Parker/Spider-Man for Marvel Comics. His name is Pavitr Prabhakar and he lives in Mumbai with his aunt and uncle, Maya and Bhim. Instead of being bitten by a radioactive spider, as the classic origin story goes, Pavitr meets an ancient yogi who gives him spider-like powers. Spider-Man: India only ran for four issues, but the character became a fan-favorite. Pavitr became one of the alternate versions of Spider-Man during the 2014-2015 “Spider-Verse” Marvel Comics storyline, in which he hails from Earth-50101. Instead of Mumbai, Pavitr now comes from Mumbahattan (a combination of Mumbai and Manhattan).
The creators of Across the Spider-Verse brought Pavitr into the multiverse of Spideys and gave him a new costume. Instead of looking like the classic Spider-Man costume with a little Indian flair, they made Pavitr look like a Spider-Man from India. For example, instead of basic web-shooters, Pavitr’s web-shooters are a part of his traditional-looking bangles. They also let his natural wavy locks—which he attributes to “coconut oil, prayers, some genetics”—flow freely.
With the help of voice actor Karan Soni (Deadpool, Miracle Workers), the writers developed a hilarious and witty character with some great India-centric jokes—like when he points out a large building where “the British stole all of our stuff,” or when he notes that chai means tea, so saying “chai tea” is like saying “tea tea.”
One thing that sets Pavitr apart from the other Spideys is the way he fights. He moves a lot differently than Miles or Gwen when facing off against an enemy—an intentional move by the brilliant animators of Across the Spider-Verse. Lead animator Nick Kondo tweeted how they got Pavitr’s moves down. “For Pavitr, we looked to one of the oldest known martial arts, Kalaripayattu, which originates from the Indian state of Kerala over 2000 years ago.” It’s great details like these that set the characters of Across the Spider-Verse apart from so many other superhero movies.
(featured image: Sony Pictures Animation)
