‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ Is Pure Superhero-Movie Bliss

Every world gets the Spider-Man it deserves. And here on Earth-1610, our webslinger is one Miles Morales: a half-Black, half-Puerto Rican teen who loves graffiti, Air Jordans, and quantum physics. Like most Spider-Folk, he was bit by a radioactive arachnid, developed the ability to crawl up walls and sense oncoming danger, ginned himself up some shooters and a suit, and learned that with great power came great responsibility. He also managed to save the many multiverses from collapsing in on each other, after a handful of other interdimensional Spideys — Spider-Gwen, Spider-Man Noir, a mecha-suited spider-gamine — made their way into his corner of the Spider-Verse. Long story.

Hitting theaters right as the MCU renaissance was at its interconnected apex but before superhero-movie fatigue inspired symphonies of weary sighs, 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse took a legacy Marvel character’s story and made it seem fresh, exciting, unique. It wasn’t just that Peter Parker was no longer your friendly neighborhood you-know-who — Morales had been donning the spider-suit since 2011 in the comics — so much as it understood both the universal appeal of Spidey’s story and its malleability. Anyone could get chomped by a mutated creepy-crawly; anyone could learn to use those powers for good and enjoy the rush of swinging skyscraper to skyscraper around NYC. Perhaps more importantly, this animated adventure inherently got why superhero comics have connected with generations of readers through both form and content, while never forgetting it’s a movie. Throw in wit, excitement, an emotional undercurrent, a genuine respect for the medium yet a goofy sense of irreverence overall (Spider-Ham?), and no wonder many of us still consider it one of the genre’s high points.

To say that fans have been rabid for the inevitable sequel is a little like noting that all that sticky teen web-shooting is also, ah, a little metaphorical: It’s not so much an understatement as a stunningly obvious one. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse knows it has a lot to live up to. It works double-time to build off the first movie’s conceptual foundation, dive deeper into Morales’ story, and enhances the idea of a Spider-Man and Spider-Woman (and Spider-animal, vegetable, and mineral) for all seasons. This second round would stand masked head and spandexed shoulders above most other superhero screen epics even if the recent competition wasn’t so disappointing and threadbare, and completely recaptures the panel-to-panel thrill of discovering your respective era’s teen-angsty Marvel icon. The thrill of the multiversal new is gone. Everything else, however, is extra-webbed for your pleasure.

Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) is still living in Brooklyn with his dad, Police Officer Jefferson Davis (Brian Tyree Henry), and his mom, Rio (Luna Lauren Velez). He continues to stop criminals in their tracks, keep his identity a secret and unsuccessfully balance a personal life with a superheroic gig. College looms just across the horizon. Mostly, Miles is lonely; he misses Gwen Stacy, a.k.a. Spider-Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld), aspiring rock drummer and staunch defender of Earth-65. So, when she shows up unannounced in his room one day, he’s stoked beyond belief. Gwen has missed Miles, too. The need for the company of someone who understands what it means to hide their true self from friends and family behind a mask? It’s mutual.

There’s a reason she’s hopped dimensions besides just saying howdy-doo to an old friend, however. A prologue featuring an attack from the Vulture — this version of the legendary villain seems to have sprung straight outta a Da Vinci sketch circa 1490 — ends with Gwen getting recruited for an elite cross-universe squad of Spideys. It’s run by Miguel O’Hara, better known as Spider-Man 2099 (Oscar Isaac), who was last seen pointing fingers, literally, in Into the Spider-Verse‘s post-credits sequence. Gwen’s spider-handler, Jessica Drew (Issa Rae), has sent her to Miles’ earth to keep tabs on a new threat. His name is the Spot (Jason Schwartzman). He’s essentially a lanky human void, able to throw black holes in the fabric of space. The would-be supervillain also has a personal connection to Morales, and considers him his nemesis. Our hero doesn’t take this guy seriously. It’s a decision Miles will regret.

From there, Across the Spider-Verse sets its story into motion proper and begins to live up to its name. It’s safe to say that, as in the first movie, Miles will cross paths with other Spider-heroes, including his old mentor Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson). This time, though, he’ll encounter hundreds of different variations of webslingers, ranging from an East Indian Spidey from an alt-future “Mumbhattan” to a British-anarchist Spidey complete with spirit-of-’76 liberty spikes. (Never mind the bollocks, here’s Spider-Punk!) Gunslinger Spideys, dinosaur Spideys, blue-collar Spideys, proud-dad Spideys, and a few who are more spider than man pass through the frame. Several live-action cameos will likely cause squeals of delight from audience members who aren’t even card-carrying Spider-heads. And, given the fact that writer-producers Chris Miller and Phil Lord are once again on board, well … don’t be surprised if a brand-name toy variation of the superhero shows up, too.

The whole notion of multiverses has become a bit of a franchise get-out-jail-free card of late, with superhero series using the chin-stroking concept of competing timelines as a way to bring back beloved characters and/or actors, lazily service needy fans, reverse death, hit the reset button — basically, using it to make absolutely nothing count whatsoever. Multiverses can be an excuse.

But they can also be an opportunity, and this is what the Spider-Verse creative team figured out from the jump. The trio of directors (Joaquim Dos Santos, Justin K. Thompson, and Soul co-director Kemp Powers), along with Lord, Miller, and their co-writer Dave Callaham, treat it as an anything-goes open permit, switching formats at will and flexing their imagination to the fullest. Thankfully, they don’t sacrifice little things like story and narrative logic in the name of an Easter-Eggs-über alles mentality; there are in-jokes galore, but you don’t need to be in on the references to follow what’s going on. And, as with the first movie, Across the Spider-Verse is pure nirvana not just for superhero fans but animation nuts — the fluidity and sheer panache of the visuals in virtually every frame of the movie is mind-blowing. (To put the look of this in old-school comic-nerd terms: Imagine the clean, lean lines of Arthur Adams’ work seamlessly merged with the scratched-up psychedelia of Bill Sienkiewicz.)

Readers with long memories may recall that there was originally a “Part 1” in the title when this was announced back in 2021, and Across the Spider-Verse does indeed end on a cliffhanger. Which may explain why several subplots feel half-realized, or why the main villain — there are several — feels more like a MacGuffin than a proper arch-foe. We’ll get more when Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse hits theaters next March. Yet knowing you’re stepping into a Morales interruptus story shouldn’t keep you from basking in awe over what the film does bring to the continuing Spidey saga.

At the risk of pissing off the ever-vigilant spoiler police, there’s a moment when Miles saves someone he shouldn’t. Any time-travel scholar will tell you that once you alter the course of a predetermined series of events, you risk pulling down the whole space-time continuum house of cards. Miles, we’re told, has messed with a “canon event.” And, as any longtime fan of anything knows, you do not fuck with the canon. You can add to it, however, and prove that a franchise’s future is never set in stone. This is exactly what this sequel does, and does beautifully. Part 2 can’t come soon enough.

From Rolling Stone US.