Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Is a Must-See

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is my new favorite Spider-Man movie of all time.

Yes, I’m counting Spider-Man Homecoming. 

Into the Spider-Verse is an animated feature which serves as the origin story for Miles Morales, an Afro-Latino high school student who is born in the same universe as Peter Parker and is also bitten by a radioactive spider.  Miles must learn to navigate his new superpowers, his hormones, his moral compass, and his relationship with his family during a universe-threatening challenge that accidentally summons alternative Spider-heroes into his universe, including Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy), Spider-Man Noir, and even Spider-Ham.

I would say more but…SPOILERS. Just know that if you love Spider-Man or Spider-Man or superheroes, you want to see this.

Into the Spider-Verse features great storytelling with classic Spider-Man snarky commentary. The animation is smartly stylized to look like a comic book and avoid any problems with the uncanny valley that can plague 3-D animated characters.

The effect is surprisingly fun and fresh. It captures the childhood joy of watching Saturday morning cartoons and reading Spidey comics while updating the story for a modern and wider audience. They even include fights with still-shots that include sound-effect words.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is enjoyable for the whole family, provided that any children are mature enough to handle violence and (mild spoiler: death.)  It’s worth seeing in the theater. Stay until the very end. There is a post-credit scene.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse opens on December 14th.