When Spider-Man was announced to be coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there were some fans who were wanting Miles Morales to be used instead of Peter Parker. While I think Miles' story could be reworked to where he was first, it works better to introduce Peter and then bring in Miles later down the line. However, since Sony was also making plans for an animated Spider-Man movie, it was the perfect place for Miles, making fans of both Spider-Men happy.
After the first trailer came out though, I was a little worried. For one, the animation style wasn't what I was expecting, and it took awhile for it to grow on me. The second issue though was that it was announced to be a "Spider-Verse" storyline, meaning Miles wouldn't have been the only spider-person involved. I wasn't a fan of this because it seemed like Miles wasn't getting the solo movie fans were wanting. Still, even if Miles had to share the spotlight, it did look like a fun Spidey movie. Now it's the best reviewed of all the Spider-Man movies, and it won the Academy Award for best animated feature. So yeah, I was worried for nothing.
Despite the other spider-people featured, Miles is still the star. Before and after he gets his powers, Miles' life and relationships are well established, and out of all the Spider-Man movies, this one is the best one to perfectly capture how it is to be an awkward teen in high school. The scene when he's walking down the hall after an embarrassing moment with his anxious thoughts going through his head brought back a lot of high school memories for me. His journey to becoming a new Spider-Man is full of emotional twists as he tries to find the courage, skills, and control he needs to become a hero (and yes, the climax comes down to him alone to save the day). The "leap of faith" scene downright gave me goosebumps.
While I was initially not a fan of the movie's animation style, it turned out to be one of the best aspects of the film. It's so unique to anything that's come before that it was really like a comic book coming to life panel by panel, even down to thought boxes, sound effects and instances of speech bubbles. Comparing it to the 2003 Hulk film, the use of multiple panels on screen to either show multiple situations going on or for a transition is much less distracting, though that may be easier to do in animation than live action. The action and fight scenes are also pretty damn amazing and some of the best I've ever seen in animation. Then you have even the most simple scenes where they're just fun to watch, like Peter and Miles having a conversation while casually walking up and down the sides of buildings.
The voice acting in the film is also perfection, working very well with the character designs, and playing off each other to make the relationships feel real natural. While Peter's had a number of voice actors that fans claim are definitive, like Christopher Daniel Barnes, Josh Keaton, or Yuri Lowenthal, it's really hard to picture any of their voices coming from the Peter in this movie.
Now for the other spider-people.
* We actually get two versions of Peter Parker in this film: a young adult one who made it to being a big time superhero as Spider-Man, and a middle aged version whose life has kind of fallen apart. The former even has a kind of "Spider-Cave" where there are tons of easter eggs for comic fans, from the Spider-Mobile to long row of cases featuring many costumes. With the latter, he has as much of a journey as Miles. Much like how Miles is learning how to be Spider-Man, this Peter is actually trying to find the spark himself to be Spider-Man again. He's grown tired of Uncle Ben's mantra and even willing to sacrifice himself since he feels he has nothing to go back to. If we see him again in a sequel, here's hoping we get to see his attempt to fix things pay off.
* The Spider-Woman version of Gwen Stacy has more of a "blink and you miss it" emotional journey, as she learns to let people get close to her again after the Peter Parker of her world became the Lizard and died (which lines up with her comic origin). Along with Peter, Gwen is the other spider-person Miles becomes close with, planting the seeds of a possible relationship we could see in a sequel. I also consider it a nice touch that the score focusing on her has a punk rock feel to it, working well with her background as drummer.
The other three spider-people don't have as much focus compared to the main three, but they're still entertaining.* Nicolas Cage has a lot of fun as Spider-Man Noir of the 1930's. The character is more of a private eye of the time compared to how complex he is in the comics, but when you have so many characters in a film, sometimes a simple approach is fine. He does look normal like the main three besides being in black and white; there's also a funny touch in that he's color blind.
* The last two spider-people really stand out because their animation styles are vastly different, retaining the appearance from their own universe rather than changing them to fit with Miles'. First you have Peni Parker and SP//dr, who has a blatant anime influence and is definitely the most chipper of the group. Then of course, we have Spider-Ham, whose Looney Tunes influence and voice provided by John Mulaney helps steal the show in almost every scene he's in.
The main villain of the movie is Kingpin, whose motivation makes him as sympathetic as Mr. Freeze. You understand why he's doing what he's doing, but you have to wonder if his actions will bear the results he truly wants.
While there are other villains present, the one who surprised me was Kathryn Hahn as Olivia Octavius, the Doctor Octopus of Miles' world. Hahn is more well known for comedic roles, so her portraying a mad scientist without going over the top was quite a shock when I realized it was her as the character.
Overall, "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" isn't just a good movie, but I consider it to be among the greatest in both the superhero and animated genres. Any lingering issues I have are quite minor in the grand scheme of the film. This may not be Miles' first appearance outside the comics, but "Spider-Verse" cements his place in the mainstream pop culture for years to come.
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