In the Spider-Man 2 video game, players are tasked with tracking down dozens of adorable Spider-Bots, all of which are themed after various wall-crawling superheroes (and even a handful of supervillains like The Vulture and Black Cat).
The energy readings they emit resemble what we've seen in Sony's Spider-Verse movies and, when you collect them all, you finally track down the mysterious figure who has been the signal: the oddly animated Delilah.
Wait, who?
A relatively obscure assassin from the comic books who has only gone toe-to-toe with Spider-Man on a few occasions, you'd be forgiven for wondering why she's waiting for you at the other end of a Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse-style portal. She name-drops "Miguel" (a.k.a. Spider-Man 2099) and then vanishes, leaving Peter Parker and/or Miles Morales thoroughly confused.
According to Entertainment Weekly (via GameFragger.com) Delilah was supposed to appear in the animated sequel, serving as the bartender at an interdimensional version of the Bar with No Name which The Spot would have later destroyed in a post-credits scene.
It's a shame that scene was left on the cutting room floor as it robs this moment of the impact it might have otherwise had.
Talking to the site, Spider-Man 2's Senior Creative Director Bryan Intihar said they worked closely with Sony Animation to include this moment and to get their version of Spidey into Across the Spider-Verse.
"'They're all going to be themed around all these different spiders and these different characters.' That's very Spider-Verse," Intihar says, remembering how he pitched the crossover. "'Could we have a connection?'"
"Our goal with Spider-Man 2 was to inject as much narrative as we could into some of the optional activities, even a collectible like a Spider-Bot," he continues. "If we could have good narrative payoff at the end, that this is somehow tied to Spider-Verse, it would be the cherry on top of the experience."
Talking of crossovers, Intihar would go on to confirm that Insomniac's upcoming Wolverine game also takes place on Earth-1048, the same reality as this Spider-Man franchise. That's why we got a fun nod to the clawed mutant with an unlockable suit for Miles.
"For us, the most important thing right now is to make sure that game doesn't have to talk about the Spider-Verse in our games, making sure there's no obstacles or roadblocks they have to think extra about," he notes. "We just want to support them so that they can make the best Wolverine game possible. The things I've seen, they're well on their way. I'm very excited to see how that comes out."
Spider-Man 2 is now available. Wolverine doesn't currently have a confirmed release date.