It has been five long years since we last saw Miles Morales in Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse. Before we get into our review of the latest, Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse, let’s recap some of what went down in Sony’s 2018 animated flick.
Technically, it was first multi-verse film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. (The concept first appeared on the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame). Into the Spiderverse delighted fans with its pop of colors, amazing soundtrack, and stunning animation. We meet the young teen, Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore), who lives in Brooklyn, New York. He gets bit by a radioactive spider and gains super-spider abilities. While struggling to find who he is supposed to be, the brilliant Morales attends Brooklyn Visions Academy, a school for the academically gifted. Morales is passionate about his artwork and graphic design.
His parents, though so loving, are embarrassingly overbearing. His father is a police officer and his mother is a nurse. Miles’ uncle Aaron (voiced by Mahershala Ali) is also the Prowler, as Miles soon learns. But Aaron takes him to a subway station to turn his sketchbook art into graffiti. That’s when Miles gets bitten by the radioactive spider. Once he wakes up with spider powers, Miles returns to the subway station and finds the dead spider glitching on the ground with “Alchemax 42” written on its back. Upon doing his research, Miles discovers Alchemax is a company helping Kingpin (voiced by Liev Schreiber) build a super-collider. The Kingpin wants to use this technology to access parallel universes to bring back his dead wife and daughter.
Finding the super-collider underneath the city, Miles meets Peter Parker’s Spider-Man. Spider-Man fights the Green Goblin but gets caught in the super-collider. As a result, all the Spider-Men who have been bitten by a radioactive spider from other universes are brought into Miles’ universe. He meets Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson), Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld), Spider-Man Noir (Nicolas Cage), Peter Porker AKA Spider-Ham (John Mulaney), and Peni Parker.
After the super-collider explodes and the Spider-Man from Miles’ universe dies, he is left with the dying wish to make sure the super-collider is destroyed. Otherwise, it can destroy Brooklyn. Once Miles discovers Peter B. Parker, he tells him he needs a mentor. Though Peter B. Parker is an empty shell of the hero — and man — he used to be, taking Miles under his wing reawakens the Spider-Man he once was. Miles and the rest of his Spider-Man allies successfully defeat Kingpin and destroy the super-collider. Through his experience, Miles realizes who he is and discovers what it truly means to be Spider-Man.
Keep reading below to read our spoiler-free review of the second installment, Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse:
Brooklyn's One and Only Spider-Man
As we are reunited with “Brooklyn’s one and only Spider-Man,” we see that Miles’ relationship with his parents is even more strained. After Miles abruptly leaves the meeting with parents and his guidance counselor to continue battling The Spot (voiced by Jason Schwartzman), his guidance counselor tells them, “He’s lying to you. And I think you know it.” Not long after, Gwen Stacy appears above Miles’ bed to ask if he wants to get out of there. Behind her, a portal to the multi-verse. Following his crush, he goes to the Spider-Man HQ, where he meets a pregnant, motorcycle-riding Spider-Woman AKA Jessica Drew (Issa Rae), Spider-Punk (voiced by Daniel Kaluuya), and Spider-Man India AKA Pavitr Prabhakar.
Image courtesy of Sony Pictures.
The Spot
We are introduced to The Spot in the trailer, in a scene where Miles tries to apprehend him in a bodega. The Spot can seemingly transport things through the spots within the black-hole ink blots on his body, making him a slippery foe for Miles. We also meet Spider-Man 2099 AKA Miguel O’Hara, who we aren’t sure is an ally or a villain. At the end of Into the Spiderverse, we saw Miguel monitoring the multi-verse and using a Dimensional Travel Watch that allows for travel through various dimensions. As the leader of the immense spider team, Miguel blatantly rejects Miles’ offer to join. Miguel tells Miles, “Being Spider-Man is a sacrifice. You have a choice between saving one person and saving every world.” Sounds very much like Kang the Conqueror’s philosophy of sacrificing people for the greater good of the universe. Responding in Spider-Man fashion, 15-year-old Miles says, “I can do both!”
Image courtesy of Sony Pictures.
Pushing The Narrative
In Across The Spider-Verse, Miles propels forward with his sense of self and his powers. As he says to Miguel in the trailer, “Everyone keeps telling me how my story is supposed to go! Nah, I’mma do my own thing.” Miguel isn’t the only one whose story we see develop, as Gwen Stacy’s return shows us more of her life in her universe. As with the return of Peter B. Parker, who now has an adorable infant daughter named Mayday.
Image courtesy of Sony Pictures.
Stunning Visuals
In the sequel, the animation is taken to the next level, with trippy watercolors and neon colors that change with the mood. From the striking comic book aesthetics of having the characters’ skin flecked with comic book dots, to the psychadelic fusion of animation techniques, the film’s distinct art styles are made even more compelling watching it in Dolby Vision. It was easy to be immersed in these jaw-dropping visuals that amplified the action scenes that much more.
Image courtesy of Sony Pictures.
