Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Review

The Spider-Man franchise is Sony’s cash cow and many of their projects have been beloved by fans. One of the most beloved projects is Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, leading to a sequel being inevitable.

Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) has been Spider-Man for a year, and he has to balance being a superhero with life as a normal teenager. He confronts The Spot (Jason Schwartzman), a supervillain with the ability to create portals. The Spot’s appearance gets noticed by a multi-dimensional society of Spider-People and Gwen Stacey/Spider-Woman (Hailee Steinfeld) is sent to investigate, leading Miles into a multiverse-spanning adventure.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was a highly influential film. Other films have been influenced by Into the Spider-Verse’s animation like, The Mitchells vs. The Machines, The Bad Guys, and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. Whilst Spider-Man: No Way Home was influenced by Into the Spider-Verse’s story. Added to that multiverse stories have become more popular in mainstream culture. The Phase 4 and 5 films and TV shows of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have brought multiverse-level threats, Rick and Morty has become one of the most popular adult animated shows, and Everything Everywhere All At Once, earned critical and awards acclaim.

The first Spider-Verse movie saw various versions of Spider-Man teleported to Miles’ world. The sequel showed Miles going into other universes and seeing all the different weird and wonderful worlds and seeing alternative versions of Spider-Man and Spider-Woman. Story wise it felt like the film Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness should have been.

Across the Spider-Verse had elements of other recent multiverse media. Miguel O’Hara/Spider-Man 2099 (Oscar Isaac) set up the Spider Society so they could stop threats to the multiverse and stop anomalies caused by the end of events of Into the Spider-Verse. It felt like the Time Variance Authority (TVA) from the Loki series. Rick and Morty seem to have been another influence on the Spider-Verse sequel. In Rick and Morty there was the Citadel, a city in space that harbours countless versions of Rick and Morty. Some of the variations of Spider-Man felt like they could have fitted in Rick and Morty, like Spider-Punk (Daniel Kaluuya) and the angst-ridden Ben Reilly (Andy Samberg) to wacky versions like Spider-Cat and a sentient beach buggy. Edge-eyed Spider-Man fans will see a lot of references to the franchise.

Miles Morales was the Rick C-137 of this scenario. He was the malcontent, the rogue. He didn’t want to play by the rules of Miguel’s society. Added to that Miles’ origins as Spider-Man were abnormal.

The other way Across the Spider-Verse felt like Rick and Morty was the self-awareness and meta-commentary. This was done during a ‘Canon Event’, something that must happen, or the consequence could be dire. It’s similar to a fixed point in time in Doctor Who, or how Variants in Loki could prevent the course of destiny. However, the keyword was ‘Canon,’ since it implies an important event in a story.

Across the Spider-Verse does explore the trope of all Spider-Man media: tragedy defines the character. Into the Spider-Verse already showed this with different versions of Spider-Man experiencing the death of a loved one. Miles was trying to avoid his tragedy.

Across the Spider-Verse’s meta-narrative also extended to The Spot. The Spot was seen as a joke villain because of his appearance and ineptitude. His first scene was him incompetently trying to rob an ATM. Miles and Gwen referred to him as a villain of the week, someone not to be taken too seriously. This made The Spot determined to become Miles’ nemesis, partly because it would give his life a purpose, partly due to all superheroes needing a foe. The film showed The Spot had the potential to be one of the most powerful villains in creation.

Whilst Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was a grand, multiverse-spanning story, it also kept the emotional core and essence of the franchise. Miles and Gwen were both dealing with the struggles of their double lives. They were struggling to balance their personal lives with being a superhero, which the best Spider-Man stories explore. The draw of Spider-Man is his relatability: he’s a normal kid from an ordinary background who gets thrust with powers and responsibility. Miles and Gwen had the added complication that their dads were cops and Gwen’s dad was hostile towards Spider-Woman because of their personal circumstances.

The previous Spider-Verse film focused on the relationship between Miles and Peter Parker (Jake Johnson) and how Miles helped Peter get his mojo back. Across the Spider-Verse was more about the relationship between Miles and Gwen. The film’s opening focused on Gwen and how she lived a lonely life where she pushed everyone away. Miles and Gwen could act as confidants to each other since no one else could understand what they are going through. There was great drama throughout the film because of their relationship.

Across the Spider-Verse was a glorious-looking film, just like its predecessor. The multiverse travel meant there were new landscapes to explore, some similar to Miles’ world, others that were radically different. It also meant there were some different art styles that were on display. It started early with Gwen fighting a Vulture from a different world. Comic book and animation lovers will get a kick out of it.

I went to Across the Spider-Verse with my young Spider-Man-obsessed nephew. Whilst he enjoyed the art and action, the complex story was a bit much for him and the 140-minute runtime was a big ask for him. Young children in the audience I was with struggled. It’s a film meant for older children.

Across the Spider-Verse was a great big love letter to all things Spider-Man. It is a grand adventure, tonally right, filled with references, and plays on some of the tropes of the franchise. The only annoying thing about Across the Spider-Verse was it only told half the story.