Eminem’s new song seems to be an ode to Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man

Eminem is apparently a homage to Spider-Man Actor Tobey Maguire in his new single “Tobey” – but the greeting is not as random as it seems.

The track, which also features rappers from Michigan, Big Sean And BabyTronwas released on Tuesday, July 2nd and is the second single from the legendary rapper’s upcoming album. The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce).

“Tobey Maguire got bitten by a spider / but look, it was a goat,” raps 24-year-old BabyTron in the first line of the nearly five-minute song, suggesting that 51-year-old Eminem – dubbed the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) by fans and some fellow artists – “bit” him like the radioactive spider bit Maguire’s Peter Parker in the superhero series.

(After hearing the first verse, fans came up with theories about why Eminem was only referring to Maguire and not his character. One Reddit user said, “Because Tobey is Spider-Man and Eminem is Slim Shady. The person who plays the fictional role,” while another added, “Probably just because of the rhymes, man.”)

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In the second verse, 36-year-old Big Sean repeats the same line before starting his portion of the rap. In Eminem’s verse, he repeats the line with a slight variation before rapping the rest of the lyrics in his typical fast-paced spitfire style.

Fans of the 15-time Grammy winner couldn’t get enough of the song and its visual effects: a reference to the iconic Spider-Man meme in which three Spider-Mans point at each other in a standoff.

“When Big Sean and BabyTron say they were bitten by a goat, they mean EM. EM also says at the end that he might be the goat that bit Big Sean and Babytron… So Em did what he wanted to do, give hope… Amazing,” wrote one YouTuber.

Another said: “Em is actually bringing up the new generation, kind of a legend passing the torch. A lot of rappers, especially the legends, don’t do that.”

The music video for “Tobey” is set to premiere on Friday, July 5, just one week before the release of his 12th studio album.

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This is not the first time the Detroit native has referenced the Spiderverse in his work. He contributed the song “Venom” to the 2018 film of the same name. The song also appeared on his kamikaze Album released in the same year.

Earlier this week, the founder of Mom’s Spaghetti restaurant released the music video for “Houdini,” the first single from his new album. Pete Davidson, 50 cents, Snoop Dogg and comedian Shane Gillis all made cameo appearances in the video that are hard to miss. All three of his children – Hailie, Alaina and Stevie – also made cameo appearances in the video.

In May, Eminem (real name Marshall Mathers) announced his new album with a fake obituary for his alter ego Slim Shady in the print edition of Detroit Free Press.

“Shady is a product of Detroit who began his career there as a renegade splinter in the thriving underground rap scene of the mid-to-late 1990s. He first became a household name in 1999 with the debut of his playfully wacky single ‘My Name Is,’ which – along with the uniquely striking video – introduced the young artist and his lyrics to a larger audience,” the eulogy reads. “That audience was soon confronted with the extreme darkness of the muse/rapper as he led millions of fans down a path that glorified a demonstrably nihilistic worldview.”

The eulogy ended with the words: “Ultimately, the very things that seemed to be his tools became calling cards that defined an existence that could only come to a sudden and terrible end. His complex and tormented existence has come to an end, and the legacy he leaves behind is no closer to resolution than the manner in which this figure left this world. May he truly find in the afterlife the peace he could not find on earth.”

The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) will be released on Friday, July 12th.