New “Spider-Verse” swings to the top

Spider-Man finds himself teleported to another dimension. Swinging through the city, a new adaptation of Spider-Man gracefully jumps from building to building, taking scratches and giving swings to the Prowler, never far behind him. The movie ends with a final clash as the Spider-Man must outsmart his opponent to find his way back to the original universe.

The newest Spider-Man movie follows Miles Morales throughout his comic-book-like story as a high schooler. After viewing the terrifying death of Peter Parker, his dimension’s original Spider-Man, Morales is bitten by a multiversal Spider. Along the way, he finds a few friends and a few foes throughout the multiple dimensions.

“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” is the second installment of Morales’ tale, following the events of beating Kingpin’s scheme to break the multiverse in hopes of finding another universe of his dead family. Morales is invited to the Spider-Man HQ, an elite multiversal Spider-Man Taskforce where he learns that he is an “anomaly” and could potentially ruin the multiverse.

Spider-Man then finds out about one of his trivial enemies, Spot, and his ability to create portals to other dimensions. However, he is sent to the wrong dimension and has to fight a villain named The Prowler to save his dad from being destroyed by Spot’s wrath.

The story is likable and charming with its creative animations and witty jokes. The story is confusing however entertaining with a great plot and thematic ideas. The contrast between a traditional white, middle-aged Spider-Man to a black, teenage Spider-Man shows how “anyone can wear the mask,” as Morales says.

Morales is able to meet brand new characters, each coming from different walks of life, proving yet again the lesson of responsibility and heroism from every individual can be earned. The movie comprehensively touches on the fact that different environments can breed different people, but in the end, it is up to the individual to be a hero.

The audience may also see Spot’s conflict with Morales as a depressing topic, as Spot’s main argument is to be taken seriously by his protagonist, yet is still undermined until he gains real power. This idea of ignoring the problem is touched upon multiple times throughout Morales’ conflict between him and his parents, to the distraction of balance between school and helping the city.

In the end, Spider-Man’s newest movie shows the complicated lives of teenagers and the conflict between kid-like action and realistic coming-to-age responsibility. The plot receives a five out of five for its masterfully drawn and written characters and hard-to-grasp life lessons.