This post contains spoilers for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Do not read any further if you don’t want to be spoiled!

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Sony’s animated Spider-Man feature film, has two post-credits scenes. The first is a tribute to Stan Lee, the co-creator of Spider-Man who died in November, and a thank-you to Lee’s Spider-Man co-creator, Steve Ditko. The second is a jokey callback to the dimension-jumping aspect of the movie.

Over the past several years, mid- and post-credits scenes have become a superhero movie tradition. Though Marvel is most famous for them, they’re something that fans look forward to every time a major movie studio — Marvel, Fox, Sony, Warner Bros. — puts out a superhero-centric release. Sometimes, they contain huge reveals that hint at future films (see: Thanos intercepting Thor’s Asgardian spaceship at the end of Thor: Ragnarok, which nodded toward Avengers: Infinity War).

But with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, things are a little different. The movie isn’t currently connected to Sony’s Spider-Man and Venom superhero properties or cinematic universe (though Sony could certainly change this in the future). So its two post-credits scenes are a bit more specific to the movie and to the history of Spider-Man than usual.

spoiler, aquaman

1) The first scene is a tribute to Stan Lee and Steve Ditko

The first Into the Spider-Verse credits scene is actually more of a title card. It contains a quote from Stan Lee, the co-creator of Spider-Man who died on November 12 after a long and legendary career in the comics industry.

“That person who helps others simply because it should or must be done, and because it is the right thing to do, is indeed, without a doubt, a real superhero,” the quote reads.

The meaning of the quote — which comes from an interview Lee once gave about heroism — is self-explanatory. But in light of his death, it’s a touching reminder of how this man who was responsible for changing so many people’s lives saw goodness in the world. The scene ends with a thank-you addressed to both Lee and his Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko.

2) The second scene introduces us to Oscar Isaac’s Spider-Man 2099

The main plot of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is about the existence of multiple universes that are parallel to the one the movie is primarily set in, but which all differ from one another to varying degrees.

For example, in Miles Morales’s universe, Morales gets bitten by a special spider that somehow gives him powers, and then watches Peter Parker, a.k.a., Spider-Man die — a shift from what happens in Spider-Gwen’s universe, where she gets bitten by a distinctly radioactive spider, ends up with powers, and then watches Peter Parker die. The differences are primarily in who gets to be a Spider-Person and how their powers came to be.

But one thing remains constant throughout every universe the film reveals: There are heroic spider-people in each one, hence the title of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. And in the second credits scene, we are introduced to another version of Spider-Man who didn’t appear in the movie.

After an introductory caption that reads, “Meanwhile, in Nueva York…” we see a woman explaining the dimension-jumping events of the movie we just watched to a mysterious figure. The figure is ultimately revealed to be a character from the Spider-Man comic books known as Miguel O’Hara, a.k.a. Spider-Man 2099. Voiced here by Oscar Isaac (Star Wars), Miguel is an established spider-person who has had adventures in the 2D world of comic books, but not in any of Spider-Man’s cinematic, live-action adaptations.

Miguel reveals that he’s going on his own dimension-jumping adventure to “the beginning”; it’s then we learn that Miguel means the 1967 Spider-Man animated TV series, specifically an episode called “Double Identity,” the origin of the “Spider-Man pointing at Spider-Man” meme:

Spider-Man pointing at Spider-Man.
Spider-Man the animated series (1967)

We see Miguel insert himself into the scene, and hijinks ensue. It’s a playful nod to Spider-Man’s pop culture dominance and a clever, self-aware joke that pays off for an audience that is familiar with the history of Spider-Man and Miguel, while also appealing to anyone who’s seen the meme or who might laugh at two Spider-Men fighting over which of them is the real Spider-Man.

Isaac is a well-known actor, and while his presence as the voice of Miguel could indicate that Sony has bigger plans for the character, nothing has been announced yet. With that said, perhaps Miguel will join the rest of the Spider-Gang for the Into the Spider-Verse sequel that’s already in development.