New rejected designs for Peni Parker’s brief appearances in Across the Spider-Verse were just revealed.
Peni and her companion, SP//DR, were an underrated part of Into the Spider-Verse’s stellar ensemble. Even though many liked her, some of those same fans felt that more could‘ve been done with her character in the first entry.
Thankfully, she didn’t skip out on the sequel entirely. She was there as Miles Morales was learning about his father’s fate, and Peni stood alongside Gwen Stacy in her new Spider team by the end of Spider-Verse 2.
Peni Parker’s Rejected Suits
Concept artist Kristager Anka, who was a character designer for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, shared some new images on Twitter that showcased rejected costumes for Peni Parker and SP//DR.
Needless to say, SP//DR almost looked very different for their return to the screen.
These new designs are actually much closer to the character’s original comic book look when the duo debuted in October 2014.
These designs would have been a drastic overhaul of what SP//DR looked like in Into the Spider-Verse, leaning more into a taller, humanoid shape—probably much larger in size as well.
Turns out that Peni almost had her own plug suit inspired by Neon Genesis Evangelion, a highly popular anime.
An alternate version of that plug suit features different shades of red and blue, alongside some shades and a jacket.
Anka noted that when trying their hand at designs for the character, one of the key goals was “adapting the design from the comic:”
“Spent a little time on her, pitched an idea for her to have a plug suit, but mostly worked on the new mech. Just tried my hand at adapting the design from the comic.”
When she first appeared in Spider-Verse 2, Peni Parker sported a school uniform look.
When Peni showed up alongside Gwen at the end of the movie, she wore a sweater over her uniform as seen below.
How Much Peni Will Beyond the Spider-Verse Feature?
With Beyond the Spider-Verse, more than a few characters will likely be getting upgraded looks—such as Miguel O’Hara’s white suit, which can briefly be seen in Across. Maybe Peni will wear one of these rejected concepts for the final entry.
At the very least, with her being a member of Gwen’s new Spider squad, alongside Spider-Man Noir and Spider-Ham, it seems evident that the sequel will include her in a far bigger role.
Perhaps the Beyond in the title will start exploring concepts further and further away from Peter Parker himself. This could lead to audiences seeing Variants of Peni or even the likes of Noir and Spider-Ham.
After all, Gwen Stacy will be meeting some of her own—why not the rest of the team?
Across the Spider-Verse is now playing in theaters worldwide.
