Miles Morales is a Spider-Man more than worthy of the name - but we already knew that.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse may spotlight other heroes but it is still very much the story of the one from Brooklyn.
In the summer of 2011, Peter Parker died.
It wasn’t entirely unexpected. Since early February, THE DEATH OF SPIDER-MAN (Prelude, Part I, II, etc) had been prominently displayed on every issue of Ultimate Spider-Man, Marvel’s second-in-line flagship title.1
Such “you won’t believe what happens next!” gimmicks have been apart of comic book marketing since the very beginning, even if anything, death included, rarely sticks.
But… what if it did?2
In Ultimate Spider-Man #160, Peter Parker, unmasked as Spider-Man to the world, was killed on his front lawn in Queens, having fought the Green Goblin to the death.
So, naturally, people wondered. If Peter Parker is gone, doesn’t that mean Spider-Man is too?
Who could possibly take his place?
The simple answer, the obvious answer was, of course, anyone.3
To say that Spider-Man’s story must be Peter Parker’s exclusively is to fundamentally misunderstand what has allowed the character to endure for 61 years in the first place.
The most unlikely of heroes. Granted incredible power and spurred on by a preventable tragedy, they’re driven to use their gifts for good, for the betterment of others, no matter the sacrifice or personal toll such a commitment forces them to endure.
Why confine that, all of that timeless storytelling potential, to just one person?
2018’s Oscar-winning film, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (inspired, in part, by the 2015 comic crossover event of the same name) understood this to remarkable effect - and for once, Peter Parker wasn’t the main draw.
Instead, like Ultimate Spider-Man before it, Peter is killed (and within the first twenty minutes too - take that, eleven years and 160 issues of build-up).
In the aftermath, the mantle is taken up by Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) a Black/Puerto-Rican teenager, who, recently bitten by a radioactive spider himself, is struck with guilt. Maybe he wouldn’t have been able to help but he had power and didn’t use it regardless. And somebody, Spider-Man, died because of it.
So when supervillain shenanigans threaten not just his local Brooklyn but the very fabric of the multiverse, Miles teams-up with Spider-People from various realities in order to save it.
Among them, most notably, is Jake Johnson’s “Peter B. Parker”, a burnt out, past his prime Spider-Man who reluctantly takes on the role of mentor and an alternate-universe Gwen Stacy, voiced by Hailee Steinfeld, as an up-and-coming Spider-Woman.
Inspired by his family, new friends and own inherent heroism, Spider-Verse ended on a positive note, with Miles realizing that yes, he could be a hero, one all his own.
But at what cost?
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the highly-anticipated sequel that released last week, picks up just over a year after the events of the first film.
Miles has more-or-less settled into his role of New York’s protecter but (in classic Spider-Man fashion) struggles to balance the super heroics with his personal life, causing friction with his loving but expectant parents (Brian Tyree Henry and Lauren Vélez) who fear he isn’t living up to his full potential (and suspect, correctly, that he is hiding something).
Meanwhile, Gwen is having parent trouble of her own. Spider-Woman is a fugitive, relentlessly hunted by her own father, police captain George Stacy, (Shea Whigham) much to her own growing angst (so… not quite the same).
But when investigating a routine break-in brings her into contact with the “Spider-Society”, a self-styled multiverse task force, she is enlisted to track down the supervillain “the Spot”(Jason Schwartzman) who has the power to travel between universes and just so happens to have a bone to pick with a certain Spider-Man in Brooklyn.
Soon enough, Miles is entangled with not just Spot but the Spider-Society too, who, led by “Spider-Man 2099”, Miguel O’Hara (Oscar Issac) have a very specific opinion on heroism, forcing Miles and Gwen both to confront just what it means to call themselves superheroes.
It is all pretty standard Spider-Man fare. But the earnestness in which it is presented, through visual confidence and the work of its voice actors, helps to keep one fully engaged during a two-and-a-half hour runtime that never feels like a moment is wasted.
We knew going in that any follow-up to Spider-Verse would look to build on the first film’s strengths: visually, in every way, it does. Every stitch and seam in each frame is just… incredible to look at.
There’s such care, so much love for these characters, for each uniquely rendered and stylized universe they visit. Every small movement, every web-sling and story beat, every blink-and-you-miss-it cameo or reference (of which there are some particularly good ones, it should be said: from the casual to the deep cuts) it all just oozes a sense of individual craftsmanship and attention to detail. It is something made all the more impressive when you remember this is still a studio film, bankrolled by one of the largest companies on the planet. You’d never know it.
The ever-expanding roster of alt-Spider-Heroes, from the new (Daniel Kaluuya’s Hobie Brown and again, Oscar Issac’s Miguel) to the returning (Jake Johnson’s Peter B.) are all given moments to shine too, however briefly and with great success.
All that being equal though, for my money, Across the Spider-Verse, while bigger and bolder in every way compared to its predecessor, doesn’t quite reach the same emotional and narrative heights, even if that is by design.
A direct sequel, Beyond the Spider-Verse, was announced almost two years ago, intended, no doubt, to act as a “Part II” to everything this movie establishes narratively, restricting it from fully standing on its own. In essence, we’re only seeing half the story here (as good as it is) and we’ll need to wait until March of 2024 to see how it ends. But that shouldn’t (and doesn’t) take away from what it does so very well.
Every similarly-named and powered hero that came after is rightfully indebted to Peter Parker - but that doesn’t mean they should be content to simply follow his lead either. Across encapsulates this.
To blaze their own trail, to “do it their own way”, will only further expand the limits of what these characters can do, what they represent and what is possible.
And, even if it falters ever-so-slightly, there’s no question: that’s pretty damn amazing.
Ultimate Spider-Man, you say? That’s right! The gist is this: eager to bring the character “back to basics” without interfering with the long-running success of The Amazing Spider-Man, Marvel Comics simply launched a new series in September of 2000, Ultimate Spider-Man, set in a parallel reality and written by Brian Michael Bendis, which put Peter Parker back in high school. It would go on to become one of the most acclaimed and influential comic book runs of the modern age.
Yeah, I won’t keep you in suspense. It didn’t take. Within three years, Ultimate Peter would be mysteriously resurrected, with no real payoff or resolution to his story, outside of him possibly being immortal via his genetically-altered blood (no, I’m not joking). What can I say? That’s comics.
Well, maybe not anyone. No doubt spurred on by Ultimate’s success of re-casting their lead, The Amazing Spider-Man tried something kinda-sorta, not quite similar in 2013, with a dying Doc Ock switching bodies with Peter and becoming the “Superior Spider-Man” in the process. Leaving Peter to (supposedly) die in the not-so-good doctor’s body. While the results weren’t that bad, in the end, the overall reception was highly contested and the revamped series lasted only 45 main issues over two volumes (although that wouldn’t be the end for Otto’s Superior, who would ultimately return in various ways over the following years: again, that’s comics for ya).