Across the Spiderverse is a computer-animated superhero film from America that was released on June 2nd, 2023. Following its prequel, Into the Spiderverse, this film follows teenage boy Miles Morales, who now finds himself more comfortable in the role as his universe’s only Spider-man.
When he reunites with his old friend, Gwen Stacy, a spider-woman from another universe, she takes him across the multiverse where many different spider-people reside, eventually being introduced to a group known as the Spider Society, led by Miguel O’Hara or better known as Spider-man 2099. The three run into deep conflict when Morales discovers that his father will die due to fate, just as all the Spider-people eventually lost someone close to them as well. Understanding this is most likely to happen, Morales escapes to do everything he can to save his father, simultaneously putting his whole universe at risk.
Despite it only being almost a month since this movie was released to the public, many already claim this film to be one of the best films of the year. With its beautiful and unique designs and well-planned plot twists, this film proves to once again be ahead of its time. As the movie begins, viewers get a glimpse of Gwen Stacy’s life in her universe, understanding the tragedy she has faced on her own and her first interference with Miguel O’Hara. However, something seems to be off: the design. Since Stacy comes from a different universe, the style dramatically differs from that of Miles’ universe. The colors are more vibrant and are smudged across the screen. The colors also changed according to one’s emotions as once Gwen Stacy and her father make up from their conflicts, the screen changes from loud and dark colors to pastels that cover a white background. It’s a beautiful sight to gaze at for hours, making it a world one desires to reside in. The depiction of the film’s villain, Spot, is another work of art to mention, The twitching black and white that surrounds him as he goes from a silly villain to a much more serious one perfectly sets the eerie tone and the danger that he is now able and willing to cause to destroy Miles Morales.
Additionally, the way in which this film plays out and leads to the ending is absolutely genius. The concept that Miles was never supposed to be Spider-man and rather the spider that bit him was from another universe truly threw me off since I had watched a whole other film where it was believed being Spider-man was supposed to happen for Miles. Understanding that the original Spider-man from Miles’ universe was supposed to continue to live rather than die saving Miles was also another cool thing to think about because it makes you wonder how life for Miles and the people in his universe could have been if their superhero didn’t tragically pass away. What caught many’s attention, includingmine, was one of the final scenes in which Miles is sent to the universe in which there is Spider-man present rather than complete chaos. Miles discovers that his self in that corrupted universe is The Prowler, a villain that Miles had to defeat in his original universe. This sets into motion the third and final movie’s main conflict as Mikes must defend himself before his friends arrive to help him. This plot twist truly surprised me since we have seen Miles as a funny, charismatic, kind boy throughout the majority of the two movies until this very moment. Seeing the complete opposite of someone so kind truly scares you more than someone who is originally evil which is why Across the Spiderverse can grab so many people’s attention and likings as well.
Danna Taboada (she/her) is a sixteen-year-old writer from New York. She loves listening to music of any genre, dancing, spending time with her family and friends, reading, and writing. She plans on majoring in Creative Writing in the future.