WARNING: Major spoilers for Avatar 2 aheadJames Cameron's Avatar: The Way of Water includes a curious addition to the franchise cast: Spider, played by actor Jack Champion. Amid the chaos of Earth's mining operations for Unobtanium resuming on the paradise planet of Pandora, Sam Worthington's Jake Sully and Zoe Saldaña's Neytiri fight desperately to keep their new family safe. Set over a decade after 2009's Avatar, Jake and Neytiri apparently got to business without delay, as Avatar 2's star couple have three sons - Neteyam, Lo'ak, and Spider - as well as a daughter called Tuktirey. Because Jake fully inhabited his Na'vi body at the end of Avatar, Neteyam, Lo'ak, and Tuktirey are all biologically Na'vi, complete with blue skin, awesome strength, and that trademark bond with nature.
However, Avatar: The Way of Water's Spider is clearly human, despite being seemingly as agile and nearly as bonded with Pandora as Avatar 2's Na'vi cast. While the reason for Spider's presence is revealed somewhat early in the movie, the answer to why Jake and Neytiri have a human child is actually a major spoiler for the plot of Avatar 2. With spoiler warnings declared, here's everything viewers need to know about Spider's origins and what the character's fate means for the future of the Avatar franchise.
Spider Is Not Jake & Neytiri's Biological Child
Spider, whom audiences initially thought was Avatar 2's hybrid Na'vi and human child, is actually fully human. Spider - real name Miles Socorro (played by young Jack Champion) - was born in Pandora's "Hell's Gate" colony sometime around the events of Avatar. Housing a small society of scientists, soldiers, and RDA executives, Hell's Gate was a semi-permanent home for the humans stationed on Pandora, and it comes as no great surprise that children were conceived there. After what happened in the ending of Avatar - the Na'vi liberating Pandora from the humans - Miles was too young, small, and weak to be either put in cryosleep or sent to Earth.
So, why does Jake and Neytiri have a human son? Jake volunteered to adopt Miles as his own son, and the boy has been raised by the Sully family ever since. Miles was given the name Spider because of his uncanny agility. As for the identity of Spider's biological father, the clue is in Spider's real name.
Spider Is The Biological Son Of Miles Quaritch
Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water villain, Colonel Miles Quaritch, fathered Miles/Spider before Quaritch died in the first movie's final battle for Pandora. As for why Quaritch is a Na'vi in Avatar 2, it's all thanks to the Recombinant Program, which uploaded the memories of the Colonel and several other soldiers into stronger, faster, deadlier Na'vi bodies. Spider and Quaritch's relationship in Avatar: The Way of Water is complicated, to say the least.
After kidnapping Spider from Jake's family and finding a way to use the human teen against the Na'vi, it's curious how Quaritch flinched and relented when Neytiri threatened to kill Spider. Meanwhile, Avatar: The Way of Water's biggest twist is when Spider saves an incapacitated Quaritch instead of leaving him to die on the ocean floor - despite how Spider has personally witnessed how evil his biological father truly is. Spider hasn't even told Jake that he saved Quaritch, which is bound to cause tensions among the tribes.
Spider's Relationship With Miles Will Continue In Sequels
While the ending of Avatar: The Way of Water could see Spider potentially getting cast out of the tribe, it may also lead to Miles Quaritch's redemption arc in Avatar 3. Indeed, although Quaritch seems more sadistic and evil than ever before, the fact is that the Recombinant Program can't technically resurrect a person like the Tree of Souls on Pandora. This means that, while recombinant Quaritch is aware of his previous training and experiences - and is played by the same actor - he is actually an entirely new consciousness. Especially now that he has a son, recombinant Quaritch may not completely share the original Colonel's vision for Pandora.
In fact, while Spider and Quaritch are on opposing sides in the war for Pandora, both become intimately more familiar with the planet throughout Avatar 2. Recombinant Quaritch even establishes tsahelyu with a Banshee, and taming a mountain ikran as a Na'vi not only makes Quaritch deadlier, it also forces him to connect with the sentient spirits of Pandora - in a way that Spider can't. Spider saving Quaritch at the end of Avatar: The Way of Water could be what finally makes the recombinant reconsider fighting the Na'vi.
Colonel Miles Quaritch is, after all, a cunning and intelligent Na'vi. Quaritch continues to commit more crimes against the Na'vi in Avatar: The Way of Water, but it's also just a matter of time before he realizes that he can't ever return to Earth. Born on Pandora as a mercenary for a mining corporation, Quaritch could still come to the conclusion that he has a better future with his son, who saved his life and clearly already accepts him as family, despite everything.
Spider Continues The Blending Of Humans & Na'vi On Pandora
Notably, Spider and Miles ironically represent what can be achieved in the merging of human and Na'vi culture and technology. Spider is a human raised to be one with Pandora, while his father Quaritch is a Na'vi with the mind of an elite military strategist, and both characters' unique perspectives will continue to evolve in the plot of Avatar 3. As a human himself, Spider knows that even Quaritch can somehow commune with Eywa, especially since Quaritch is technically a Na'vi. Though it's unclear how Quaritch will process the events in Avatar 2, his human memories and Na'vi biology could provide the tribes with a wealth of human knowledge that Jake isn't privy to.
In Avatar: The Way of Water, Spider's presence continues what Jake started by becoming a member of the tribe, but Quaritch and the other recombinants offer something new to the table as Na'vi created to raid Pandora's resources. As a result of humanity's war on Pandora's people, the lines between human and Na'vi continue to be blurred. One theory even raises the possibility that Spider will become a Na'vi in Avatar 3, similar to what happened to Jake. In any case, it's clear that the future movies in the Avatar franchise will continue exploring the blending of Na'vi and humans on Pandora - mirroring the history of colonialism on Earth and consistent with Avatar's overarching themes.
