Being that it was a massive box-office smash and has a sequel currently in production, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse proved that Sony didn’t completely need Marvel to make Spidey successful. The movie seemingly came out of nowhere and defied all expectations.
As if there wasn’t always a rush and sense of speed in the franchise, the animated 2018 movie took it to another level. Between new takes on old characters, the perfect voice-casting, and, of course, the stunning animation, Into the Spider-Verse is one of a kind.
The Refreshing Takes On Old Characters
![10 Ways Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse Is The Best Superhero Movie](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Spider-Man-Into-the-Spider-Verse-Doc-Ock.jpg)
Gwen Stacy is now a superhero, Dr. Octavius is now a woman, and Peter Parker and Mary Jane are no longer the happy-go-lucky couple, but instead are unhappy and divorced in Spider-Verse. It isn’t just the animation style that’s bold, but the refreshing take on old characters is something that hasn’t been done on this magnitude before either.
These takes on well-known characters is one of the many elements that shows how the movie takes risks that pay off in big ways. The only other franchise that can claim they’ve done genuinely different takes for each character is Batman, as each depiction of the Joker has been vastly different. But even then, not all of those variations are loved by the fans.
The Villains
![Kingpin looks angry in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Kingpin-in-Spider-Man-Into-the-Spider-Verse.jpg)
So many Spider-Man movies have suffered critically because they’re overstuffed with villains. This was a problem in Spider-Man 3, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and No Way Home could potentially have the same problem. However, though Into the Spider-Verse features more villains than any previous Spider-Man movie, it doesn’t have that familiar over-stuffed feeling.
In fact, the villains have enough time to shine and even steal the show in the film – particularly Wilson Fisk and Olivia Octavius. The villains are perfectly rounded (that goes literally for Fisk), the designs are creative, they are brilliantly voice acted (by Liev Schreiber and Kathryn Hahn), and their evil intentions actually make sense. Together, they are two of the best-animated villains of the 2010s.
The High Bar It Set For Multiverses
![Peter B. Parker and Miles Morales in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Miles-Morales-Peter-B-Parker-and-Gwen-Stacy-in-Spider-Man-Into-the-Spider-Verse.jpg)
Multiverses are the next big trend in Hollywood, as the upcoming The Flash movie will see Michael Keaton return as Batman, and Spider-Man: No Way Home is bringing back characters from the previous series. But it was Into the Spider-Verse that did it first.
The movie recreates scenes from both Sam Raimi’s trilogy and the Amazing Spider-Man series. Not only that, but it introduces all sorts of Spider-Man variations, and the studio was even brave enough to have Spider-Pig feature prominently.
The One-Of-A-Kind Animation
![Peter Parker and Miles rest on a rooftop in Into The Spider-Verse](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Miles-and-Peter-in-Spider-Man-Into-the-Spider-Verse.jpg)
There was no other movie that should have won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature other than Into the Spider-Verse. There have been movies in the past decade that have experimented with animation such as The LEGO Movie and Isle of Dogs, but Into the Spider-Verse made viewers feel like they were inside a comic book.
The inventiveness of the animation is inspiring, as there are several parts in the movie where two different frame rates are used. When Peter and Miles are swinging through New York together, Peter is animated at 24 frames per second, whereas Miles is animated at 12 frames per second to make it look choppier. The art direction of the movie even inspired some awesome Spider-Man fan art.
The Perfect Voice Casting
![Spider-Man Noir in the shadows in Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Into-The-Spider-Verse-Spider-Man-Noir.jpg)
It isn’t only Kathryn Hahn and Liev Schrieber that deliver great portrayals of the characters when it comes to voice acting. The movie sports an all-star cast, but their bankable names aren’t wholly the reason for their casting, as they have the talent to back it up. Jake Johnson’s portrayal of an older, down on his luck Peter Parker is a particularly inspiring casting choice.
Mahershala Ali as Prowler, John Melany as Spider-Ham, and Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen Stacy all put have the perfect voices that fit their respective characters as well. But the creme-de-la-creme is Nicolas Cage as Spider-Man Noir, who is hilariously emo. It’s almost as if the line, “Sometimes I let matches burn down to my fingers just to feel something” was written with Cage in mind.
The Way It Treats Viewers Like Adults
![Peter, Gwen, and Miles getting their Spidey senses in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse.](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Into-the-Spider-Verse-Peter-Gwen-Miles.jpg)
Though comic book movies aren’t just for kids, especially not anymore, there’s no doubt that Into the Spider-Verse is much more aimed at children than any other Spider-Man movie. But regardless of how old the viewers are, the film doesn’t hold back on its complex story.
Where most movies dumb down the plot to its most basic elements, Into the Spider-Verse treats audiences like they’re smart. It also manages to pull off such a thing without there being so much exposition. And amazingly, it’s able to be hilarious at the same time, seemingly juggling five balls at once. Spider-Man 3 could learn from Into The Spider-Verse, given that it’ll be treading familiar themes
The Fleshed Out Personality Of Miles Morales
![Miles Morales Bitten By Radioactive Spider in Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Miles-Morales-Bitten-By-Radioactive-Spider-in-Spider-Man-Into-the-Spider-Verse.jpg)
The story of Peter Parker has been told so many times at this point that it’s starting to feel a little tired, but that’s what makes Spider-Verse so special. The movie might see several multidimensional Spider-Man characters come together, but at the core of everything is Miles Morales.
Even when the movie indulges in all of the different universes, Miles is still at the heart of the story, as Spider-Verse is a coming-of-age drama like Boyz N The Hood as much as it is a superhero movie, since Miles is a minority trying to get out of a dangerous environment.
The Perfect Balance Of Comedy And Drama
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Though it’s the humor that’s praised the most about the movie, Into the Spider-Verse isn’t an outright comedy, and there’s a surprising amount of emotional stakes. Besides the fact that it’s Miles’ coming-of-age story, there’s the emotional turmoil of Peter’s divorce from MJ, which becomes shockingly dark for a kids’ movie.
On top of that, there’s the perfectly paced breakdown in Miles’ relationship with his uncle Aaron, followed by Aaron sacrificing himself. Combined with the comedy, it makes for the most thrilling and heartfelt Spider-Man movie yet.
Its Fitting Soundtrack
![Miles Morales listens to music in Spider-Man Into The Spider-Verse](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Into-the-Spider-Verse-music-Miles-Morales.jpg)
There are a lot of similarities between rap music and Miles Morales’ Spider-Man, and it ties to him growing up in a predominantly Black neighborhood. The elders in his life have a lot of expectations of him at such a young age, but he’s also just a kid who wears a pair of Jordans and wants to have the experiences people his age do.
The opening of the movie perfectly encapsulates all of this, and it’s thanks in part to the song “Sunflower” by Post Malone and Swae Lee. Miles is part-dancing to the song while he practices drawing graffiti in his room. From that point on, the rap music in the movie helps tell the story almost as much as the animation.
The Fan Service
![The heroes of the Spider-Verse in MIles' apartment.](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/The-heroes-of-the-Spider-Verse-in-MIles-apartment.jpg)
Excessive fan service can be a bad thing, but Into the Spider-Verse does it in a way that comes off like a love letter to the Spidey franchise. Compared to fan service in a movie like The Amazing Spider-Man 2, where Norman Osborne simply walks through a hallway randomly filled with mechanical tentacles and wings, Spider-Verse is much cleverer.
The movie not only recreates scenes from previous movies but commentates on them in a self-aware-like nature. And the number 42, which references both Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and basketball player Jackie Robinson, is hidden throughout the movie. Spider-Verse is a bottomless well of fan service.