One of the most amazing movies to hit a few years back was the colorful and dynamic animated film "Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse". It was a very unique and ambitious project to get off the ground by Sony Pictures Animation and Columbia Pictures, but this Phil Lord and Chris Miller directed movie did the impossible and managed to tell the stories of not just one but multiple Spider-Men from different dimensions and realities. While everyone knows the story of Peter Parker and his alter-ego - it's quite rare to see the other webslingers who have taken up his mantle and legacy to fight crime and do spectacular things like only a spider can, and this movie absolutely nailed it by making characters like Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy household names along with their stories and adventures seen only in comic books that expanded the world and introduced the concept of "Spider-Verse" to popular culture and society.
Fast forward five years later, we finally have the long awaited sequel to the 2018 Academy Award winning animated movie - and it picks up just about a year into the adventures of Miles as he finally becomes his universe's full fledged Spider-Man. However as with all things that come with great power and responsibility, trouble brews and more things pop up that make the web more tangled and complicated. Gwen Stacy from Earth-65 returns along with some new faces, and we are introduced to even more Spidey variants from the multiverse - all led by Miguel O' Hara aka the futuristic Spider-Man 2099.
It's a bigger and more jam-packed sequel in Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse, and it delivers in so many ways that I have to put up this review and express why it is an absolute must see for Spider-Man fans and kids of all ages! Full of ambition just like its predecessor, this one is longer, has more Spider-Men and Women unlike the last time, and is full of easter eggs and nods that will make any Spider-Man and comic book fan happy.
I was absolutely thrilled to see it last Tuesday thanks to our friends at Columbia Pictures Philippines - and I suited up alongside my fellow webheads from Spider-Verse PH! Anything involving Miles, Gwen, Peter B. Parker, 2099, or the rest of the wallcrawlers will be crowdpleasers, and this film is one for anyone who loves superheroes and comic book stories!
SPOILER WARNING for those who want to see this fresh, so consider this YOUR WARNING!
Before we get started on the review proper, here's the synopsis for the film in case you don't know what it is.
After reuniting with Gwen Stacy, Brooklyn’s full-time friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is catapulted across the Multiverse, where he encounters the Spider Society, a team of Spider-People charged with protecting the Multiverse’s very existence. But when the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat, Miles finds himself pitted against the other Spiders and must redefine what it means to be a hero so he can save the people he loves most. Anyone can wear the mask, it’s how you wear the mask that makes you a hero.
Just as the description says, Across The Spider-Verse is very much still a Miles Morales centric Spider-Man story - but it also focuses on Gwen Stacy as well as the main players of the newly introduced Spider Society led by Miguel O'Hara/ Spider-Man 2099. The sequel picks up some time right after the end of the first film - and we see what happens to Gwen when she returns to her dimension and how she ends up joining the multiverse gathering of Spider-People. However we soon jump right back to Miles - who has more or less adjusted to the responsibilities of being a superhero while also dealing with school and family life. It's always trying to find that balance and go through numerous problems and trouble that makes the life of a Spider-Man hard. Now it's even more complicated thanks to the introduction of a new villain in The Spot - who has ties to Miles' past and beginnings as a superhero that will be further explored as you see the film for yourselves.
Of course it isn't Spider-Verse without meeting the many variations of Spider-Men and Women that make up the alternate realities and dimensions of the multiverse, and we meet A LOT. Chief among those of course is Spider-Man 2099 - a futuristic version of Spidey that’s a fan favorite of Marvel Comics fans and readers since the 1990’s, and this film gives him his big break and introduction after making an appearance in the post-credits scene of Into The Spider-Verse. Miguel O’Hara is a darker and more serious character in ASTV, and it might turn off some fans who love him to know he antagonizes Miles and has a strict outlook towards how to safeguard the multiverse. That’s well and fine, but at least we see him in action and he gets more exposure with his appearance in this sequel.
Then of course we meet other variants like Jessica Drew/ Spider-Woman - who is a black character in this movie and serves as a mentor to Gwen in the Spider Society. Then we also meet Spider-Man India and Spider-Punk - two other new Spider-Men who have their own unique personalities and origins that should impress Spidey fans too. Of course we see fan favorites from the first film come back, and Peter B. Parker returns to show that he has progressed since mentoring Miles in ITSV - including reuniting with his wife Mary Jane Watson and making a baby together in the young and adorable MayDay Parker! Yes that baby is the future Spider-Girl, and she is as adorable as you can imagine too.
Of course I should say that the film is quite long and it will require viewers to pay attention and see how this adventure plays out for Miles’ destiny as Spider-Man and how the entire Spider-Verse is explained and branched out with so many variants and possibilities. There’s also a ton of cameos and references that fans will absolutely love - and you have to see it to believe it first hand. Across The Spider-Verse isn’t a complete adventure and it serves as the first part of a storyline that will continue with Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse next year. Think of this sequel as the “Avengers: Infinity War” to the Spider-Verse storyline - you’ll have to be patient and wait for the next movie before you get that cliffhanger resolved.
That being said, I absolutely love that we have a Spider-Verse - and that this opens the door to more sequels, spin-offs, and possibilities. The art is fantastic, the characters and story are so relatable, and I can’t imagine how the world of Spider-Man would get even more popular without this franchise coming to life from a very big and ambitious comic book event from a decade ago. We’ve come so far - and so has Miles Morales, Peter Parker, Gwen Stacy, and the rest of the Spider-Verse!
Catch Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse in theaters now!
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