Victoria Mullins is a current PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Research in Children’s Literature. Her research is focused on exploring the relationship between Disney animation and cinematic horror.
Spider-Man has become a part of our cultural mythology. His ability to shoot webs and scale buildings has captured the imaginations of both adults and children alike since he first shot onto the comics scene in 1962 (in the anthology comic book Amazing Fantasy #15, and, a year later, in the first publication of his original solo series The Amazing Spider-Man #1). From spider-suits to web blasters, Spider-Man has spawned a plethora of merchandise. (My favourite of which being the beautifully-misshapen Spider-Man Popsicle.) Yet, for all that the suit itself has been commodified, it is the person behind the mask that makes Spider-Man unique. Whilst the spider’s bite granted him superpowers, it is Spider-Man’s humanity that makes him amazing. And, it is his relatability that set him apart from the pantheon of flawless superhumans (such as Superman) and made him one of our culture’s most enduring superheroes.
Unlike the perfection of other superheroes – such as Superman, Captain Marvel, Captain America, etc. – Spider-Man has feet of clay. His has an Everyman appeal, which is enhanced by the complete anonymity granted to him by his head-to-to suit. (Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee believed that the suit helped readers to see themselves as Spider-Man, as anyone could lie behind the mask.) Spider-Man is just an “average guy” who was bitten by a radioactive spider one day and mistakenly made a superhero. He still has problems.
This was first exemplified by the figure of Peter Parker who, orphaned at a young age, lives with his Aunt May in Queens. As Peter fights crime by night and attends high school by day, Spider-Man became the first notable teenage superhero (where previously comics had only presented teenagers as sidekicks, such as Robin “the Boy Wonder”). Peter is a heroic teenager who, in spite of (and, in many cases, because of) his superpowers, voices ‘self-obsessions with rejection, inadequacy, and loneliness’ with which readers – especially younger readers – could relate (Wright, Comic Book Nation, 2001). Indeed, it is ultimately through making mistakes that Peter learns that “with great power there must also come great responsibility.”
Whilst this holds true of many of the different Spider-Man story arcs, the character of Spider-Man has been transformed many times over. If we consider the different filmic adaptations of Spider-Man since Sony acquired the filmic rights to the character in 1999, we can see that the presentation of Peter Parker is different within each one. The professional photographer (and not-so-professional dancer) Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) of Sam Raimi’s blockbuster Spider-Man trilogy (2002, 2004, 2007) is unlike unconvincingly high-school-aged Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) of Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man (2012, 2014). Similarly, the Spider-Man of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Tom Holland) is different still (he is, for instance, believable as a high-school student and IMHO the best live-action incarnation of Peter Parker). If you are interested in the differences between the different filmic incarnations of Spider-Man, cult-filmmaker and comics writer Kevin Smith has explained it excellently in a video interview with WIRED.
Images clockwise from top left: Miles Morales first appearance in Ultimate Fallout #4 (Bendis et al. 2011) [Image credit: https://readcomiconline.to/Comic/Ultimate-Fallout/Issue-4?id=58149%5D; Miles as he appears in Into the Spider-verse [Image credit: https://www.vox.com/2018/11/28/18113552/spider-man-into-the-spider-verse-review-miles-morales%5D; Miles Morales as voiced by Donald Glover in Disney XD’s Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon series [Image credit: https://www.slashfilm.com/donald-glover-spider-man-miles-morales/]; Miles Morales in Marvel’s Spider-Man for PS4 (2018) [Image credit: https://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2018/09/13/spider-man-ps4-miles-morales-original/#/slide/1%5D
Although Peter Parker provides a large presence within the film, Into the Spider-Verse is undoubtedly Miles Morales’ story. Whilst Peter is an orphan, Miles lives in Brooklyn with his mother, who works as a nurse, and his father, who works as a police officer. And, unlike Peter, Miles (voiced by Shameik Moore) is a smart and cool high-school student with a rebellious streak (showcased by the creative release he finds in graffiti art and his consistently untied shoelaces). However, for all the contrast that Miles offers to Peter, he shares with him the sense of self-doubt that differentiates Spider-Man from other superheroes. At the film’s outset, Miles is selected to go to a new school. The school represents a big opportunity for Miles, but he struggles to attain the popularity he had at his previous school and longs to be in Brooklyn with his family and friends (something that is expressed through the film’s soundtrack). This can be observed through the assignment of Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations as one of Miles’s class texts: a reference which is played out throughout the film as Miles attempts to grapple with the great burden he feels (as both a teenager and a superhero).
Into the Spider-Verse is, at its heart, a Bildungsroman: the shoes (or, suit) Miles must fill are large, and the film documents his journey of self-discovery as he becomes his own version of Spider-Man. And, as it explores how Miles balances a teenager with being a superhero, the screenplay is excellent and laugh-out-loud funny – though, this is perhaps unsurprising given that it was written by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the creative minds behind 21 Jump Street (2012) and The Lego Movie (2014). As a side-note, Sony have made the script freely available for anybody who is interested (http://origin-flash.sonypictures.com/ist/awards_screenplays/SV_screenplay.pdf). Whilst the filmmakers at Sony Animation demonstrate an acute awareness of the Spider-Man mythology, you absolutely do not need to have a familiarity with Spider-Man in order to enjoy this film. However, any Spider-stans will find that the film a highly rewarding viewing experience, as they will be able to spot a huge web of references that highlight Spider-Man’s enduring place in the pop-culture pantheon. These involve references to the television shows, films, merchandise, and, perhaps most importantly, the different Spider-Man story arcs within Marvel comics.
Into the Spider-Verse is basically an animated comic. As Justin Thompson, the film’s production designer, explains: ‘As somebody obsessed with comics my whole life, I had seen films translated from comics and I always thought something got lost in translation. […] So I thought it would be amazing to make a movie from Miles Morales’ point of view, living inside a comic book and staring out at me: those Ben-Day dots, those screen tones, those offsets, the line work” (IndieWire, 2018). To achieve this, the Sony VFX team had to create new software, blending a range of animation styles. Apparently, their motto soon became “If it ain’t broke, break it.” And, the effect is truly wonderful to see. Into the Spider-Verse offers us not only a fresh view of Spider-Man, but also of the animated medium at large. (Indeed, Sony have even applied for a series of patent applications to protect these techniques through copyright.)
Into the Spider-Verse therefore stands – at least IMHO – as one the best superhero films ever made. So, I implore you, whether you like superhero films or not, WATCH THIS ONE! It is worth it based on the visuals alone, which make it a definite contender for this year’s Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. (This is attested to by the success of Ramin Zahed’s book, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – The Art of the Movie, which is currently – to my great annoyance – sold-out on both Amazon and Forbidden Planet.) And, since it scooped up with award for Best Animated Feature at this year’s Golden Globes on Sunday, some have suggested that it could be in the running to receive a Best Picture nomination. So, when you watch the film, STAY FOR THE POST-CREDIT SCENE. It is probably my favourite post-credit scene ever, and absolutely worth the wait!
(Oh, and as one last additional note for those of you who (like me) enjoy this sort of thing: you might want to check out the Venom (2018) post-credits scene before watching Into the Spider-Verse. It is absolutely not necessary to enjoy the film at all, but it is (technically) Miles Morales’s first big-screen appearance (and basically a trailer for Into the Spider-Verse).)
Did you enjoy this review? Be sure to check out our other contributions to Movie Review Month here on the CRCLC Blog, including Madeleine Hunter’s review of Disney’s take on E.T.A. Hoffman’s enigmatic children’s story, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms; Anna Purkiss’s review of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindewald, through the lens of disability studies; and Prof. Maria Nikolajeva’s return to the work of P.L. Travers and the legacy of Mary Poppins: “Mary Poppins Returns to All of Us”