SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE - 6/2/2023 - SPOILERS

[Johnny Sorrow]

I just got home from it. It was fucking fantastic. Turning the Spot into a Main Event villain was a risky choice and it paid off in a big, bad way. 

Edited June 4 by Johnny Sorrow

[The Man Known as Dan]

I need to absorb a bit to properly dissect this and decide how I rank it to the 1st one. The fact it’s up for debate tells you how much I loved it. 

 

EDIT: Okay, let's do this one last time, from the beginning. (Had to do it)

 

Spoiler

I think I like this more then the first. It might be recency bias, and there are elements to the first movie that are better. I think the first one had a big advantage of being the first of it's kind. The animation style felt so new and innovative, and now we are getting more and more stuff that has a similar feel to it (Puss in Boots, the upcoming Turtles movie being the prime examples). Not to insult what remains, at worst, one of my 5 favorite movies of all time (I think it's actually No.2? These movies to me are like the movie versions of Mass Effect that it completely changes the scale of how I view it's medium whenever one is released). It's certainly a funnier movie, of that I have no doubt. But I think the main description of why I like this one better can be wrapped into the fact that it feels like the movie itself is growing out of the funny and actually going to more adult concepts that comic book movies don't really tread too. And that's what I've been wanting in comic movies, change and evolution of the status quo. I really really liked the changers and the directions Into took, but Across doubled down on all the reasons why I loved the first one so much.

Let's really dig in with visuals. Going into this one, Into was by far my pick for favorite animation in a movie of all time. This one blows it out of the water. I knew I was all in when Gwen's universe looked like a water painting and the Vulture showed up looking like a Da Vinci design. A common quote about this movie is "You could pause it at any single frame and get a poster". I back that 100%. I sincerely hope we get to Hobie's world in Beyond because I am absolutely fascinated by it. 

Continuing the idea of Visuals, the evolution of the Spot was amazing visually and just straight up terrifying. I prefer Spot in this to Kingpen in the last one just because Spot is very much Miles villain, and had an actual character arc. Though you could argue that Miles best "nemesis" in the last movie was the Prowler or even Doc Oc. Which is a fair counter, though I'd say some of the spider's also count as bad guys here. 

Overall, I don't think you can be wrong in saying either is your favorite. I loved the depth of Gwen, and preferred the slower pace of this one, and really enjoyed the family time with Miles. I am also cannot wait for Beyond. I had to stifle a shoutof pure joy when they were doing the fade back to reveal Noir, Penni, and Ham on Gwen's team. I will say I was greatly helped by knowing full well this was a part 2 of a story and not the finale. I had no expectations this would finish the main story, and I think Gwen's story was tied perfectly here. 

 

Edited June 5 by The Man Known as Dan
Rest of Day thinking about it.

[Dolfan in NYC]

So, I'm coming from a place of total ignorance on the source material, so please bear with me on this question. 

But is/was Gwen ever considered a trans character?   Every scene in her world is basically bathed in blues and pinks and whites (obviously along with her hair).  She talks about having to hide half of herself...  what they're going for isn't really subtle.  

I'm honestly not familiar with Gwen as a character, so I don't know what makes them tick or who they're involved with. Especially since the heteronormative relationship they heavily imply, appeared to be a red herring.  (Though, of course, punk rock does have a really intertwined path with queer acceptance, liberation, and resistance.)

[Dolfan in NYC]

Also for those on Spotify, the writer of the Hobie spin-off created a playlist for him: 

 

 

[The Natural]

Watched Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023). I had high hopes because Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) is in my top five comic book movies of all time. I still prefer the first film for the smaller stakes, smaller cast and better story. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is still a great film though with gorgeous visuals.

I particularly enjoyed two things. The first was seeing The Spectacular Spider-Man from The Spectacular Spider-Man animated series (2008-2009), to me that is to Spider-Man as Batman: The Animated Series (1992-1995) is for Batman. The second, Spider-Gwen's expanded role. The animators did a terrific job translating Jason Latour/Rico Rodriguez comic book to the silver screen as someone who is a Spider-Gwen fan and owns two first printings of her first appearance in Edge of Spider-Verse #2. It sucks that we end on a cliffhanger waiting for Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse (2024), how that's handled will have a bearing retroactively on this. 

Spoiler thoughts:

Spoiler

I guessed the twist in the third act that Miles Morales was on the wrong Earth, Earth-42 because the animation style was entirely different to that we've seen before in both films, Earth-1610.

I spotted The Spectacular Spider-Man three times: cradling Captain Stacy in TASM (Vol. 1) #90 montage, his speaking part and with his Uncle Ben in the Uncle Ben part of the film.

Cool seeing Donald Glover as the live action Prowler having played Aaron Davis, the Uncle of Miles Morales in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017).

 

Edited June 5 by The Natural

[The Natural]

1 hour ago, Dolfan in NYC said:

So, I'm coming from a place of total ignorance on the source material, so please bear with me on this question. 

But is/was Gwen ever considered a trans character?   Every scene in her world is basically bathed in blues and pinks and whites (obviously along with her hair).  She talks about having to hide half of herself...  what they're going for isn't really subtle.  

I'm honestly not familiar with Gwen as a character, so I don't know what makes them tick or who they're involved with. Especially since the heteronormative relationship they heavily imply, appeared to be a red herring.  (Though, of course, punk rock does have a really intertwined path with queer acceptance, liberation, and resistance.)

Having read Spider-Gwen's debut in Edge of Spider-Verse #2 by Jason Latour/Robbie Rodriguez and her two solo series by said creative team, it's not implied Gwen Stacy is trans. There's no pink in her hair in the comic books. The films bears resemblance to the source material in the look of. People were hoping Gwen Stacy would be in a relationship with Mary Jane Watson but it didn't happen. I still like to think both are romantically involved. Spider-Gwen and Miles Morales have made out in the comics. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Across the Spider-Verse pretty much tells her origin in her aforementioned first appearance with one difference. I still recommend that to everyone and her two solo series as well. I haven't read them since so relying on memory. Hope that helps, Kelvin.

Edited June 5 by The Natural

[The Man Known as Dan]

I will note that while there is very little evidence in the comics, I wouldn't use that as a sign that they were not intending that in the movie. Hell, a lot of stuff in this movie not only goes against comic lore, it feels like it's flipping it the bird (I'm looking specifically at them highlighting how awesome Mayday is, as well as the central premise of the movie being Miles rejecting the core idea that Spider-Man is supposed to be miserable)

I personally took it that she's an ally as she relates to it and is, you know, also just not a shitty person, but I love the interpretation of her as Trans as well. 

[Dewar]

Took the nephews to see this on Friday night. They loved it, I was entertained, and now I guess I have to go watch the next one when it comes out. 

[BrianS81177]

Yeah this was REALLY good. This is what Sony should be doing instead of half-hearted live action movies using Spidey villains.

[The Natural]

Top three Spider-Man movies? Mine are:

1. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018).

2. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021).

3. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023).

I'm in the minority when it comes to Spider-Man (2002) and Spider-Man 2 (2004). Spider-Man 3 (2007) is shit.

Edited June 6 by The Natural

[Casey]

There’s a little blurb in a Variety article about the movie that mentions the directors don’t know if Part 2 will make its March 2024 release date.

[The Natural]

3 hours ago, Casey said:

There’s a little blurb in a Variety article about the movie that mentions the directors don’t know if Part 2 will make its March 2024 release date.

Fuck. That wouldn't surprise me and Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse gets moved to Summer 2024. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse went from October 2022 to June 2023.

Edited June 7 by The Natural

[John from Cincinnati]

Better they take the time and get it right rather than rush something substandard and burn out a bunch of people in the process. What is it the people say now, let ‘em cook?

[Sparkleface]

On 6/5/2023 at 9:40 AM, Dolfan in NYC said:

So, I'm coming from a place of total ignorance on the source material, so please bear with me on this question. 

But is/was Gwen ever considered a trans character?   Every scene in her world is basically bathed in blues and pinks and whites (obviously along with her hair).  She talks about having to hide half of herself...  what they're going for isn't really subtle.  

I'm honestly not familiar with Gwen as a character, so I don't know what makes them tick or who they're involved with. Especially since the heteronormative relationship they heavily imply, appeared to be a red herring.  (Though, of course, punk rock does have a really intertwined path with queer acceptance, liberation, and resistance.)

Yeah well she's ours now.

[AxB]

This film is really good. Almost too good, in fact. It's an awful lot to take in, in a single viewing. If anything, they could have ended it earlier than they did.

As far as the "Is Gwen trans?" question, here is a YouTuber who talks about Trans people in media in most of her videos, talking about it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=and5DY3qFAQ

She also made a video about most of the ways Harry Potter is bad. It's not that exhaustive, only 10 hours long.

Or for more depth, here is a livestream examining the movie from a day ago, discussing it's queerness (and it's blackness, and how it's a black film in a way that black films for mixed/white audiences aren't) :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77qYrtOraHk

Edited June 10 by AxB

[J.T.]

On 6/5/2023 at 9:40 AM, Dolfan in NYC said:

So, I'm coming from a place of total ignorance on the source material, so please bear with me on this question. 

But is/was Gwen ever considered a trans character?   Every scene in her world is basically bathed in blues and pinks and whites (obviously along with her hair).  She talks about having to hide half of herself...  what they're going for isn't really subtle.  

I'm honestly not familiar with Gwen as a character, so I don't know what makes them tick or who they're involved with. Especially since the heteronormative relationship they heavily imply, appeared to be a red herring.  (Though, of course, punk rock does have a really intertwined path with queer acceptance, liberation, and resistance.)

I was always under the impression that the version of Peter Parker in Spider Gwen's universe identified as queer or was at least coming to terms with his sexuality as all people do at that age.  It speaks to why Peter of that universe would become The Lizard (i.e. he wanted to get back at the people tormenting him on the basis of his sexuality). 

That was why Gwen's father wore a Pride flag pin on his uniform.  He supported his daughter the best way he knew how to while she mourned Peter's death.   Nothing about Gwen or Peter's gender alignment is really confirmed, but some of the fan theories make a lot of sense. 

Gwen's father being a by the book NYC cop would not wear something out of uniform unless he knew an LGBTQ+ person on a personal level (like maybe Peter) or had one in his family (like maybe Gwen).

Edited June 19 by J.T.

[Kuetsar]

Took my nephews to the kiddie mutant matinee(12:30 show) and they were PISSED at the cliffhanger. Good, but could have easily lost 20 minutes, when you have a five year old bouncing on the seat, that's important. . .

[The Natural]

@Dolfan in NYC I remembered this post and thought of you:

  

On 4/4/2023 at 8:44 AM, The Natural said:

 

 

New Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse trailer! It's Amazing and Spectacular.

 

On 4/6/2023 at 4:46 PM, The Natural said:

 

[Marcel]

Like you guys, my 13-year-old was heated at the cliffhanger.  He made me promise to take him to Part 3 the first day it's out.  No problem here, as I absolutely loved the movie.  Striking animation, lots of callbacks, an engaging story, and a great cast....I think it's better than Part 1 - which was great - and in my Top 5 Superhero movies.  

My favorite thing about the movie was how each Spider was animated somewhat differently.  Being from different dimensions meant they all operated on different wavelengths, or something like that. 

Edited June 21 by Marcel

[Casey]

I don’t know if this has been talked about, but associate editor Andrew Leviton confirmed that multiple different cuts of the movie are currently in theaters. Nothing that changes the essence of the plot, just minor tweaks to scenes like dialogue and stuff, but still. That’s pretty cool. So you could see a different version of some scenes at another theater than you did at the one you originally saw it at.

Edited June 23 by Casey

[Dolfan in NYC]

On 6/23/2023 at 3:17 AM, Casey said:

I don’t know if this has been talked about, but associate editor Andrew Leviton confirmed that multiple different cuts of the movie are currently in theaters. Nothing that changes the essence of the plot, just minor tweaks to scenes like dialogue and stuff, but still. That’s pretty cool. So you could see a different version of some scenes at another theater than you did at the one you originally saw it at.

FOR EXAMPLE...

 

[Johnny Sorrow]

Seeing some of the negative reactions to this being a cliff hanger reminds me of when I was 10 and my dad took me to see Empire Strikes Back for my second time. He hadn't seen Star Wars. At the end he was complaining that it was a cliffhanger and that it was a rip off. 

[odessasteps]

Finally saw this today (thanks $5 fandango coupon).

WELL MADE .... but just tired of not only the multiverse stuff, now you can throw the referential stuff in there now. Like the Canon event dilemma... although the editors note were cute.

Did like the swerve with Other Miles. 

[Matt D]

16 minutes ago, odessasteps said:

Finally saw this today (thanks $5 fandango coupon).

WELL MADE .... but just tired of not only the multiverse stuff, now you can throw the referential stuff in there now. Like the Canon event dilemma... although the editors note were cute.

Did like the swerve with Other Miles. 

I want to go back in time and tell Mark about his monkey paw wish.

[odessasteps]

15 year old me reading Crisis would not believe how BIG TWO comics revolve around parallel worlds now,