It’s been a while since Miles Morales swung back into our lives, but the impact of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse hasn't faded one bit. Most sequels just try to do the same thing but bigger. This one? It decided to tear the whole concept of a "hero’s journey" apart and see what fell out.
Honestly, it’s rare to see a movie this expensive be this weird.
The first film, Into the Spider-Verse, was a lightning strike. It changed how people thought about animation. But the second chapter? It’s a 140-minute anxiety attack wrapped in neon paint and punk rock. It’s messy. It’s loud. It ends on a cliffhanger that made half the theater gasp in 2023. And yet, it works because it understands something most Marvel movies have forgotten lately: the person behind the mask matters way more than the multiverse ending.
The Problem with Canon Events
If you’ve spent any time on the internet, you’ve seen the "Canon Event" memes.
In the film, Miguel O'Hara (Spider-Man 2099) explains that certain tragedies must happen. If Uncle Ben doesn't die, the universe collapses. If a police captain doesn't die saving a kid, the world ends. It’s a brilliant meta-commentary on comic book writing. For decades, writers have tortured Peter Parker because they think "Spider-Man is about suffering."
Miles Morales says no.
That’s the core conflict of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. It’s not just Miles fighting a villain like The Spot; it’s Miles fighting the very idea of how his story is "supposed" to go. When Miguel tells him he’s an anomaly—a mistake—it hits hard. Oscar Isaac’s performance as Miguel is terrifying because he isn't a "bad guy" in the traditional sense. He’s a guy who’s so traumatized by his own failures that he’s willing to let people die to keep the math of the multiverse working.
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He's a bureaucrat with claws.
A Visual Style That Actually Means Something
Most movies use one art style. This movie uses about six, often in the same frame.
The world of Gwen Stacy (Earth-65) is a moving watercolor painting. The colors change based on her mood. When she’s arguing with her father, the walls literally melt from blue to angry red. It’s expressionism on a blockbuster budget. Then you jump to Mumbattan, which looks like a 1970s Indian comic book, or the Spider-Society HQ, which is a brutalist nightmare of floating platforms and high-tech cages.
Then there’s Hobie Brown. Spider-Punk.
Daniel Kaluuya’s Hobie is the best part of the movie, hands down. His character design is a collage. He’s animated at a different frame rate than everyone else. He looks like a Xeroxed concert flyer from the London punk scene. He doesn't believe in consistency, and his visual design reflects that. It took the animators years just to figure out how to make him look that "unfinished."
- The Spot starts as a joke. He’s a "villain of the week" who can’t even rob a bodega.
- By the end, he’s a multiversal horror. He looks like a sketch that someone tried to erase but couldn't.
- The ink splotches on his body move with a life of their own, creating a sense of visual unease that most live-action CGI can't touch.
Why the Cliffhanger Still Stings
We have to talk about that ending.
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Ending a movie on "To Be Continued" is a massive risk. People felt burned when the credits rolled and Miles was trapped on Earth-42 with a version of himself that became Prowler. But looking back, that pause was necessary. It gave the emotional beats time to breathe.
Gwen Stacy’s arc is actually the emotional backbone of this film. She starts the movie as a runaway, hiding from her father’s badge. She ends it by forming her own band of Spider-People to go save Miles. It’s her redemption story as much as it is Miles’s origin story.
The stakes in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse aren't just about "the world." They're about whether or not Miles can save his dad without losing himself. It’s personal.
The Nerd Stuff: Easter Eggs That Actually Matter
Yes, there are a million Spider-Men in the background. You’ve got the Spectacular Spider-Man from the 2008 cartoon, the Insomniac Games Spider-Man, and even a brief, weird live-action cameo with Donald Glover as Aaron Davis (Prowler).
But the movie doesn't rely on them.
The cameos are textures. They make the world feel huge, but the camera stays glued to Miles’s face. When he’s being chased by hundreds of Spider-People, the tension comes from his desperation, not from you recognizing a suit from a 1994 comic book. That’s the difference between good fan service and lazy writing.
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What Most People Miss About the Score
Daniel Pemberton’s score is a masterpiece of layering. He didn’t just write orchestral music; he created specific "sounds" for each character.
The Prowler theme is a screeching, metallic sound that triggers an immediate fight-or-flight response. Miles’s theme is heavily influenced by hip-hop and scratching. When they clash, the music clashes too. It’s a sonic representation of the multiverse. You can hear the different worlds bleeding into each other. If you watch the movie with a good pair of headphones, you’ll notice things you missed in the theater.
The Reality of Production
It’s worth noting that making this movie was incredibly hard. Reports from animators suggested grueling hours and massive structural changes midway through production. While the result is a masterpiece, it’s a reminder that the "magic" on screen comes at a real human cost. This is a common talking point in the industry now, and it’s a nuance worth remembering when we celebrate the film's 1,000+ animators.
The delay of the third film, Beyond the Spider-Verse, is likely a direct result of the studio trying to avoid those same pitfalls again. Or at least, that's what we hope.
How to Get the Most Out of Your Rewatch
If you’re going back to watch it again before the third one eventually drops, don't just look at Miles. Watch the backgrounds.
The background characters are doing incredible things. There’s a Spider-Cat. There’s a Spider-Rex. But more importantly, look at the way the environment shifts whenever Gwen Stacy is on screen. The "melting" effect isn't just a filter; it’s a narrative tool.
Also, pay attention to the dialogue in the first 20 minutes. Almost every line of Gwen’s narration sets up the ending. She tells us exactly what’s going to happen, but we’re too distracted by the colors to see the tragedy coming.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse isn't just a "cartoon." It’s a high-water mark for the genre. It proves that you can have a massive, confusing multiverse plot and still make the audience care about a kid and his mom having a heart-to-heart on a rooftop.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Creators
- Study the Art Styles: If you're an artist or designer, look at how the movie uses different frame rates (stepping) to give characters distinct personalities. Hobie Brown is the gold standard for this.
- Track the Themes: Watch for the recurring imagery of "hands." Characters reaching for each other, missing, or letting go. It’s the visual metaphor for the entire film's exploration of connection.
- Support the Medium: If you want more movies like this, seek out independent animation. Films like The Mitchells vs. the Machines or Entergalactic use similar boundary-pushing techniques.
- Stay Patient: The wait for Beyond the Spider-Verse is long, but given the complexity of the animation seen in this installment, the extra time is a sign that the quality is being prioritized over a release date.