Introduction
My brother and I (and most of the general public) have been into superhero movies for over a decade now. I remember the first Spider-Man movie (the Tobey Maguire version) came out in 2002, when I was 10. Ten is kind of the perfect age to be introduced into the genre of superhero movies. My brother was 10 in 2008 when Iron Man was released, which I think of as the taking-off point of the modern Marvel Comic Universe. Since 2008, there have been dozens of Marvel movies, and a handful of DC movies as well. Frankly, I’d be surprised if we’ve had a 2 month stretch in the last 10 years where there wasn’t a superhero movie playing in theaters.
Naturally, my brother and I bonded strongly over these superhero movies. While I was in high school he would tag along with me and my friends to the theater, and after I left for college we’d make special plans to go see the new releases over winter break and summer vacation when I came home.
At first it was fun and exciting to catch every new superhero movie, especially the MCU films, because they were all interconnected. If you waited until the post-credits scene, you’d get a sneak peek at what to expect in the next movie. But after 20+ movies and hundreds of dollars spent on tickets and movie theater Dr. Pepper, it’s begun to feel a little wearisome. Nothing against Marvel, because they consistently bring fun action scenes, spectacular special effects, and a good use of humor to their movies. But there’s only so much you can do with a superhero storyline, and it gets a little predictable after a while. I found the movies to have less and less replay value as a result.
So, when my brother told me that Into the Spider-Verse was an awesome movie and he wanted to go see it again with me this past December, I was hesitant.
But I let him talk me into it, and we went to a Tuesday morning matinee during the week before Christmas. Maybe it’s because I went in with semi-low expectations, but I couldn’t have been more impressed with that movie. I proceeded to go see it twice more in theaters and bought it on Amazon as soon as the digital copy dropped.
Here’s a comprehensive list of the 10 reasons why Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was such an amazing cinematic experience (WARNING – SPOILERS AHEAD):
1. Revolutionary animation
Within moments of the film starting, I was blown away by the animation and visual effects. The combination of classic comic book dot-art (and even comic text subtitles) with crisp CGI animation was something I had never seen before, and it reminded me of the feeling I got when I saw Avatar in theaters for the first time: a feeling that I was seeing something visually revolutionary.
In Spider-Verse, the facial features were detailed and humanlike, capable of conveying strong emotions, but the characters still appeared cartoonish enough to not be taken too seriously. The action and fighting were smooth and stunning. The scenes inside Kingpin’s supercollider were possibly the most psychedelic cinematic moments of my life. What’s more, the artwork that Miles Morales does within the film (stickers, graffiti murals, designing his own suit) are equally awesome.
2. Fantastic soundtrack
The official album soundtrack has a good combination of big names and rising stars. It’s not quite on the same level as the Black Panther soundtrack from early 2018, but also not too far off (more Black Panther comparisons later). The biggest hit and most memorable song on the soundtrack or in the movie is “Sunflower” by Post Malone and Swae Lee, which has been stuck in my head for months now. Other impressive names on the track list include Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, Amine, Vince Staples, and Denzel Curry.
The two sleeper songs (by artists I had never heard of) that turned out to be absolute bangers are “What’s Up Danger” by Blackway & Black Caviar and “Start a Riot” by Duckwrth & Shaboozey. Both of those songs are so powerful they make me feel like I could run through a wall.
Even the background music throughout the film is exceptional. When the Prowler appears on screen (a significant villain) these intense, edgy, semi-scary synth sounds erupt. At other times the music is fast, mellow and fun, like when Miles is at school (I definitely heard a Gift of Gab sample in one scene), or epic and inspirational, when Spider-Man is swinging through the city, or slow and emotionally strong during the sad and somber moments. It consistently sets the tone for each scene and helps to progress the narrative.
3. Consistent, recurring themes
The writing throughout the movie was terrific, with multiple themes tying the characters together and driving the plot.
Great Expectations
For example, early in the story we’re led to believe Miles is assigned to read the book Great Expectations for a class (we see the book cover in several shots), and then later is assigned a personal essay about himself, which he titles “Great Expectations,” before getting distracted and running off to hang out with his Uncle Aaron. He then designs a graffiti mural with his Uncle Aaron that reads “no Expectations.” He continuously struggles with navigating the expectations of others (his parents, his teachers, Spider-Man, the Spider-people from other dimensions, etc.). Finally, after a strong moment of self-discovery and emergence, Miles embraces his identity as the new Spider-Man and saves the multiverse. At the end of the movie he can be seen handing in his completed essay.
Anyone Can Wear the Mask
Another powerful theme in the movie is that “Anyone can wear the mask.” When Mary Jane is speaking at Peter Parker’s funeral, she says, “My husband, Peter Parker, was an ordinary person. He always said it could’ve been anyone behind the mask. He was just the kid who happened to get bit. He didn’t ask for his powers, but he chose to be Spider-Man…he made us each feel powerful. We all have powers of one kind or another. In our own way, we are all Spider-Man” In his closing monologue, Miles says, “I never thought I’d be able to do any of this stuff, but I can. Anyone can wear the mask. You could wear the mask. If you didn’t know that before, I hope you do now...because I’m Spider-Man, and I’m not the only one.” Obviously, this theme ties into the overall plot of multiple Spider-people coming together from different universes, but it also serves as a strong motivational message intended to leave the audience inspired.
Get Back Up
A third powerful theme is persistence, more specifically getting back up. At the end of Peter Parker’s opening monologue of the movie, he says, “But after everything, I still love being Spider-Man. Who wouldn’t? So, no matter how many hits I take, I always find a way to come back.” Later, when Miles is introduced to the other spider-people and tells them he will save the multiverse and help them get back, they begin asking him a dozen questions (some of them pretty hilarious) on if he has what it takes. Miles starts to get overwhelmed, and then Gwen asks, “Above all, no matter how many times you get hit, can you get back up?” Everyone is challenging Miles and knocking him down, and he gets so overwhelmed that he can’t get up and is forced to leave the scene feeling defeated. At the end of the movie, Kingpin delivers a crushing blow to Miles’ head (very similar, in fact, to the blow that killed Peter Parker) as Miles’ dad, a policeman, watches from a distance. Miles stays down for a moment, and his Dad (a known anti-Spiderman guy, but clueless to his son’s new hero persona) urges him to “Get up, Spiderman! Get up, c’mon!” Miles sees his dad looking on, finds the strength to get back up, and finishes Kingpin with a move I will talk more about later in this section.
It's a Leap of Faith
A fourth theme in the movie is faith, centered around the line, “It’s a leap of faith.” For better or worse, Peter B. Parker (the alternate universe Spiderman in his late-30’s who is slightly out-of-shape and recently divorced) serves as Miles’ mentor and coach for most of the film. At some point, Miles asks, “When will I know I’m ready?” to which Peter responds, “You won’t. It’s a leap of faith. That’s all it is, Miles, a leap of faith.” Later, when Peter tries to sacrifice himself to save the multiverse, Miles trips him and holds him over the portal to return to his own universe. He says, “You gotta go home, man.” Peter, clearly hesitant, clutches Miles arm and asks, “How do I know I won’t mess it up again?” Miles gives a smile and says, “You won’t.” Peter, realizing what just happened, smiles and says, “Right. It’s a leap of faith.” Miles lets go and Peter returns to his universe, motivated to be better than before.
The Shoulder Touch
A final (less universal, but no less enjoyable) theme is the shoulder touch. When Miles goes to his Uncle Aaron’s apartment early in the film, the shoulder touch comes up when the two are talking about a girl at school Miles is into (coincidentally, it’s Gwen). Uncle Aaron asks, “Do you know about the shoulder touch?” to which Miles responds with perfect adolescent cluelessness: “Of course I do…but, uh, tell me anyway.” Uncle Aaron tells him to approach the girl, put his hand on her shoulder, give a romantic stare, and simply say, “Hey.” The two spend the next 30 seconds practicing the move while Miles tries to perfect his suave voice. Later that night, Miles is bitten by the radioactive spider, and wakes up the next morning with powers. At school, he runs into Gwen and awkwardly tries the shoulder touch on her, but his sticky spider hand gets stuck in her hair, and she has to get it shaved off. In the final battle, Kingpin (whose entire motivation in the movie is getting his family back who he unintentionally drove to death) tells Miles “You took my family. Now I’m gonna make sure you never see yours again.” He pummels Miles, but when our hero finally gets back up, Miles answers, “I’ll always have my family. You ever hear of the shoulder touch?” Kingpin, caught off guard, doesn’t know what to say. Miles puts his hand on Kingpin’s shoulder, drops his voice an octave, and says “Hey” as he blasts the villain with his newly harnessed electric powers. Since Kingpin killed Uncle Aaron earlier in the movie, it was karmic bliss when Miles defeated the villain with a move that Uncle Aaron taught him.
4. Diverse representation
The movie does a great job of representing a diverse range of cultures throughout the film. For starters, Miles Morales is perhaps the first multi-racial superhero I’ve seen on screen, with an African-American father and a Puerto Rican mother. Miles speaks Spanish with his mother and his friends on the way to school, and enjoys many facets of black culture, such as hip hop, sneakers, and graffiti art. Even one of the villains (Scorpion) is Hispanic, and speaks Spanish while on screen.
We also see quite a bit of female empowerment in the movie, with Gwen Stacy and Penni Parker as two very cool Spider-Women, and the latter representing some fun aspects of Japanese-American culture such as anime, gaming, and tech. Furthermore, Aunt May breaks the mold of being a sweet old lady and is instead more of a badass accomplice with a sense of humor, who builds Spidey gear and even clubs a villain out of her house with a baseball bat. Lastly, we see another twist of character with Dr. Olivia Octavius, a female version of the notorious Spider-Man villain Doc Ock. It’s always cool to see powerful women depicted in STEM fields. (Unfortunately, despite all of this progressiveness, the movie still somehow fails the painfully easy Bechdel Test).
5. Movie nods
Into the Spider-Verse was a self-aware movie that made multiple nods to other films. I’m not sure if it was intentional, but when the beat drops to start the movie and we quickly see a shot of Spider-Man staring into a public bathroom mirror, it reminds me of the opening scene of 8 Mile.
During Peter Parker’s opening monologue, he references the earlier Tobey Maguire Spider-Man movies, and cracks a joke about the weird emo Spider-Man scene from Spider-Man 3 (“And I uh… I did this: *weird Spider-Man dance moves in public* We don’t really talk about this…”).
During the funeral scene, there’s a shot of the crowd wearing masks that reminded me of the end of V for Vendetta.
There’s even a quick shot where Miles stands on top of a building statue that made me think of a poster I saw for Black Panther before its release.
When Peter Porker, the Spider-Pig (possibly even a movie nod itself to the Simpsons Movie from 2007), is leaving at the end, he says “That’s all, folks…” to which someone replies, “Can he even say that? Like, legally?” There are plenty of other subtle nods and pop culture references, and the more I watch, the more of them I can catch.
6. Alternate Universe Easter Eggs
The easter eggs in this movie are so much fun to find, and they are everywhere. Since it takes place in Brooklyn in an alternate universe, we see a ton of NYC advertising for things that aren’t quite right. When the first Spider-Man is warped into Miles’ dimension, he crashes into Times Square, where we see billboards fly by advertising “Mr. Tomato Head,” the “New York Red Sox,” the “RedEx Invitational Golf Tournament featuring ‘Golden Boy’ Stephen Curry,” and a movie starring Seth Rogen as a jockey called “Hold Your Horses.” I think my favorite (and most seen) easter egg is the Chance the Rapper Coloring Book album cover, but he’s wearing a 4 on his hat instead of a 3. What was that extra Chance album?!
7. A Modern Feel for the Digital Age
Because smartphones and other modern communicative technologies would ruin the plot to a majority of film narratives, they’re often ignored and left out of movies. But Into the Spider-Verse captures the essence of the Digital Age very well. When he first sees Spider-Man fighting the Prowler, Miles instinctively starts recording it on his phone (classic Gen Z), and then when Prowler starts chasing him through the dark train tunnels, Miles uses the flashlight on his phone to light the way, as so many of us have done on the way to the fridge in the middle of the night.
The scene where everyone was learning of Spider-Man’s death was especially powerful, as the news came pouring into their smartphones and their shocked facial features were highlighted by the glow of the screens.
In a moment I related to very strongly, when Miles is hacking into Doc Ock’s computer, he unlocks the screen to see her desktop full of hundreds of icons, to which he mutters “Clean up your desktop lady!” Once Miles embraces his role as the hero, we see citizens filming him on their phones as he swings by.
8. Brooklyn
Brooklyn was pretty well-represented in the film, getting multiple shout-outs on the soundtrack. When Miles heads over to Uncle Aaron’s apartment, we see and hear Aaron throw on a Biggie Smalls record. The final battle between Miles and Kingpin inside Kingpin’s supercollider appears to happen on top of the Brooklyn Bridge. We also see the number “42” appear several times throughout the movie, on the radioactive spider that bites Miles and after Miles falls from a building and knocks numbers off a street sign. Maybe there were other connotations behind the number 42, but I like to think it was an acknowledgement of Brooklyn Dodger great Jackie Robinson.
9. Donald Glover
Donald Glover wanted to be Spider-Man way back in 2010, going viral on Twitter with the hashtag #Donald4Spiderman. In 2011, while starring in the NBC comedy Community, his character wakes up one morning in Spider-Man pajamas to further Glover’s campaign to play the hero. While he never landed a leading acting role for the Spider-Man, he did voice Miles Morales in the Disney XD “Ultimate Spider-Man” series, and made a brief appearance in the 2017 live-action film, Spider-Man: Homecoming.
As one of the best easter eggs from Into the Spider-Verse, when Miles is at Uncle Aaron’s apartment, the television is on in the background and playing the scene from Community when Glover is wearing his Spider-Man pajamas. That’s pretty cool.
Also, this may be a reach, but when Miles first discovers his powers at school and winds up losing his shirt and shoes, he is staggering around on the side of the building in just his gray pants and it definitely made me think of Childish Gambino’s viral music video for “This is America.”
10. The OG Stan Lee
It was my first time seeing Stan Lee in a Marvel movie since his death in November 2018, and I think I let out an audible gasp in the theater. One of the best running themes of Marvel movies is the inevitable cameo appearance of Stan Lee. Usually they’re pretty minimal and non-impactful, but for Into the Spider-Verse he plays a costume shop clerk who sells Miles his first Spider-Man suit. When Miles asks, “What if it doesn’t fit?” Stan responds, “It always fits, eventually!” For a laugh, the camera pans over to a sign that reads, “No returns or refunds EVER!” as Stan gives a toothy grin, but I think the interaction plays well into the movie’s stronger main themes.
Anyone can wear the mask, sometimes you just have to grow into it.
