'Into the Spiderverse' is a Fantastic Improvement on the Source Material

Welcome back to another edition of Comic Relief! where we talk about all the goings on in the world of nerd!

When it comes down to beloved characters in comics, you'll be hardpressed not to find Spider-Man amongst the top of many lists. Created by Stan Lee in the '60s, the story of Spider-Man has been one that has connected to so many people due to the sheer relatability of Peter Parker as our Friendly Neighborhood Wall-Crawler. As times have changed, so too has Peter for the sake of his continued appeal to such a large audience. In recent years, however, in an attempt to reach an even broader audience, they have allowed for more than one person to hold the mantle of Spider-Man. Miles Morales was initially introduced in 2011 in the Ultimate brand books after Brian Michael Bendis killed that Universe's Peter Parker in the conclusion of the Ultimate Fallout story. While the character may have sparked controversy, he has gathered a fairly decent following in the comic community, and for years, there have been talks on shifting the focus from Peter to Miles on the big screen. Sony's Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse realizes that goal, and not only was it successful, but it also modifies the original story in a way that makes Miles a much better character and one that everyone can enjoy.

What really makes this movie shine was intertwining Miles' story with the acclaimed Spider-verse story that ran through 2014 and 2015. By doing this Miles gets exposed to very different mantle holders of Spider-Man as he struggles with finding his own way of fitting in the mantle. These are large shoes, or spandex, to fill in and the weight of that is something that Miles deals with throughout the film. However, the movie shines its brightest is in the shaping of a new Spider-Man story. The point of the film is to establish Miles as THE Spider-Man of this universe and by the end of the film, he more than earns the title.  Honestly, I feel that the way this was made possible was by integrating Miles' origin with the Spider-verse crossover.

While Miles' origin is intriguing, that story strongly is only enhanced by the addition of Spider-verse. This additional plot allows for the bit that actively carries the movie, the very strong dynamic between Miles and his reluctant mentor, Peter Benjamin Parker. Peter B. Parker, is both very familiar and different from the Spider-Man we've come to know and love. He's a Spider-Man that has grown up, and in a spectacularly Peter Parker way, has rather made a mess of his life. He's recently lost Aunt May, and his fears toward being a father led to the end of his marriage with Mary Jane. His relationship with Miles allows for not only a chance to mentor him and show Miles how to be Spider-Man but to also put his own mistakes into perspective and consequently grow and rediscover what it means to be Spider-Man. When you pair this with Miles' own personal struggles of identity within his own family and city, you get quite an engaging story that everyone can enjoy.

As far as the film's flaws, I am not sure I can pick any out. It's a damn near perfect movie. I guess if I was splitting hairs I could say that some of the footage from the trailers I was looking forward to were not included in the film and that some of the character designs for villains didn't do it for me, but those are just very minor nitpicks. It's honestly crazy that Sony could put out a product THIS good and at the same time, within just a few months, have also released the train wreck of a film called Venom. I give Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse a solid 9.5.  PS. Stan Lee's Cameo was so beautifully fitting, and it will make you cry.

This has been another edition of Comic Relief! I hope you enjoyed and we will see you again next time!