The Bagel Effect (Spider-Verse)

Submission 20,520

Part of a series on Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse. [View Related Entries]

Featured Episode

Editor's Note: This entry contains spoiler information related to the Spider-Verse movies that are part of the Spider-Man cinematic universe.

About

The Bagel Effect is a scene from the first Spider-Verse movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse in which Miles Morales throws a bagel at a scientist in the Kingpin's facility who, in the June 2023 sequel Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, becomes the villain The Spot. The bagel hitting the scientist was likened to "The Bagel Effect" in reference to "The Butterfly Effect," as in, fans of the franchise humorously likened the throwing of the bagel to the multiverse's later demise. After the sequel's release in 2023, Bagel Effect memes surfaced on YouTube and TikTok, among other video platforms, mostly referencing the Goku Prowler meme format.

Origin

On June 2nd, 2023, the Spider-Man film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was released worldwide.^[1] Within the plot of the sequel, the villain The Spot becomes the main antagonist. Due to this, meme creators resurfaced a scene from the first Spider-Verse movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse in which The Spot is hit with a bagel when he's still a scientist in Kingpin's facility.

The first discovered meme creator to bridge the association was YouTuber^[2] BeedleEz on June 3rd, 2023, who uploaded a video called "The bagel effect," which followed the format of the Goku Prowler meme, instead showing The Spot doing Goku's stare. The video gained roughly 681,500 views and 32,000 likes in three days (shown below).

Spread

After YouTuber^[2] BeedleEz's video, others on the platform followed with their own iterations. For instance, on June 4th, 2023, YouTuber^[3] GelNox uploaded a video called "The bagel effect" that gained roughly 1.4 million views and 74,000 likes in two days (shown below, left). On June 5th, YouTuber^[4] Edgar Bro uploaded a video called "The Bagel Effect 🥯🕳️" that gained roughly 158,000 views and 7,200 ikes in two days (shown below, right).

Also on June 3rd, 2023, multiple TikTokers^[5]^[6] referenced the scene in the Spider-Verse movie when The Spot tells Miles Morales about the time he hit him with the bagel, dubbing it "the Bagel Effect."