At some point, we all want to wear the mask. We’ve all wanted to stand up for something greater than ourselves for the better of others. Whether we want to or not, that calling lingers to us to take that stand when it’s needed most. This is the journey Miles Morales embarks after being bit by a radioactive spider, and watching his world’s one and only Spider-Man die right in front of his eyes doing what he does best; being a hero. While only being a PG animated film, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse is easily one of the most beautifully constructed cinematic films of the 2010s. 

     Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse was never projected to be the massive success that it is seen as now back in 2018 when it was released. The movie was extremely experimental, being the very first of its kind in terms of its animation style. Famous directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the minds behind works like The LEGO Movie and 21 Jump Street were put up to the task to bring this first of its kind movie to life. They made a living comic book and became an instant success. Directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman, with Lord and Miller at their sides, Sony greenlit the movie and was released to public theaters December 14, 2018. Starring Shameik Moore as Miles Morales, Jake Johnson as Peter B. Parker, Haliee Steinfeld as Gwen Stacey, Marhershala Ali as Anthony Davis, and Liev Schreiber as Kingpin, embark on Miles’ thrilling journey of taking the mantle as his world’s Spider-Man and with the help of multiple other Spider-Men from stop Kingpin from creating a black hole under Brooklyn.

     Like every Spider-Man story, Miles starts off as your average teenager from Brooklyn: transferring schools, hanging out with his uncle, being embarrassed by his father, the whole nine yards. Until that all changes one night in an abandoned subway he was exploring, he gets bit by a radioactive spider and all hell breaks loose. Scrambling for a way out, Miles finds himself down a wrong tunnel and gets into a colossal fight between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin, in the hulk of Kingpin’s multiversal collider; a massive underground partí al accelerator designed to bring his deceased family back from another dimension to his own. When the machine fails, it kills his world’s Spider-Man, leaving Miles to become New York’s savior before Kingpin creates a black hole under the city. Miles won’t take the fight alone, as the collider also brought different Spider-Men from other dimensions to his universe as a result of the failure. But will it be in vein, or will this group of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Mans be able to save the Spider-Verse before Kingpin annihilates it?

     One thing has always stood out to me in the movie and that is Kingpin’s character design. Kingpin is known for his comically wide and broad size, and it is utilized to its fullest extent in this movie. Every time his looming figure comes into screen he physically becomes the screen, with nothing but the black and white of his suit being in frame, and the vibrancy of his lone head in the center of it all. While usually a joke in the comics, this movie utilized his size to represent the power and pure dominance that Kingpin truly has a grip on for the entirety of the movie. His sheer brute force combined with his dense body makes for a very unique visualization of fear, and it works wonders. We get his backstory on why he created the collider in one beautiful scene that’s guided by nothing but music and the click of a pen in his hand. He only speaks once throughout the entirety of this flashback and it’s in the heartbreak of seeing his wife and son  watching in horror as he has Spider-Man pinned to a wall. He loses his guard and can only make out one word, “Vanessa,” his wife. And as they fled the home, it would be the last that Kingpin would ever see of them. It makes for a sympathetic villain to the audience, but yet we can’t help but be afraid of him as well now that we know he is a lost man with nothing left to lose, and everything to gain.

     Overall, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is such a powerful movie for both kids and adults to enjoy. When I had first viewed the movie at 13 years old, it was surreal to feel the emotions I was getting at what I thought was just a kid’s film, and I’m grateful for being humbled about that statement. This movie has so many well crafted moments for an older audience to enjoy a deep and exciting origin story while also giving the flare and spectacles for a child to fonder. It introduces kids how to accept a hard truth, how to overcome the passing of a loved one, and above all else to build grit, determination, and confidence when you feel as though it has all been stripped from you. This movie was and still is truly ahead of its time and should absolutely be a top priority for having a great movie night, whether it’s just for fun or a thrilling story.