You Can Never Have Too Much Spider-Man (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, 2018)

A few years ago, after the big Sony hack, Sony and Marvel resumed the failed talks about Spider-Man films. It resulted in the very fun Spider-Man: Homecoming, pretty much run by Marvel. But Sony still holds the rights to do with the Spider-Man characters what they want. And so…that gives us this animated feature.

Miles Morales lives with his mom and dad, but is starting life at a new school. After a frustrating week, he goes to see his uncle Aaron, who takes him to a hidden place where he can do some street art. Miles gets bit by a Spider-Man. When he witnesses a tragedy and finds himself having to make a promise to Spider-Man moments before he is killed…with no idea how to do it. Until he stumbles across Peter Parker…Spider-Man???

They discover that whatever the Spider-Man of Mile’s Morales’ world was trying to thwart has actually brought several Spider People into Miles’ world. But the world may end and so they have to team up to send everyone home and stop the destruction of the Spider-Verse.

And you know what? This only sounds confusing. Because the movie manages to make everything pretty darn simple. Our focus is on Miles, and even the Spider-Man we meet in the beginning is a celebrity. We don’t get to know him. We just get glimpses, enough to know he was a real hero.

The film also gives us intros to each character that are a whole lot of fun. Each Spider-Man has a unique look and artistic style. And it even impacts how they interact with the world they are in. Spider-Man Noir speaks in dark pulpy fashion and is always in black and white. And he is perplexed by color.

Jake Johnson’s Spider-Man is one whose life went a bit off track compared to the Spider-Man of Mile’s world. Spider-Gwen is keeping the world at bay, avoiding really connecting to people. And Spider-Ham is just hilarious.

This movie has a lot of heart, there are genuinely touching moments. Moments between Miles and his father, Peter and the life he has left in his universe (wondering if it is even worth going back to). Miles and Gwen, Miles and Peter….

But the film is also ridiculously funny. I mean, seriously funny. And part of that is in how the movie makes use of its medium. I cannot recall another animated film that took such grand opportunity to put it’s possibilities on full display.

In my book? This has been the best of all the Spider-Man movies. I want more with these characters. I want more movies with this version of Miles and his family and all the other Spider-People. This was a genuinely fun movie and I recommend checking it out. Sony raised the bar here…And I did not expect that. But Marvel better pay attention.

December 13, 2018 0

Lost to An Alternate Universe?

So, the day Sony and Disney drop the new Spider-Man: Homecoming trailer (which was met with a pretty positive response) producer Amy Pascal drops the bomb.

One of the things that I think is so amazing about this experience is that you don’t have studios deciding to work together to make a film very often.

In fact, it may never happen again–after we do the sequel.

It appears Sony is hoping to pull Peter back into their fold-out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We probably should have seen this coming, after Sony announced plans for their own Spider-Verse, starting with an ‘R’ rated Venom movie. Sony and Pascal seem to be misreading this situation.

Sony had some success in 2002 and 2004 with the Spider-Man franchise when it was headed by Sam Raimi. But after the mess of Spider-Man 3 and then a somewhat lackluster reboot…Sony was floundering. They made the deal with Disney after the big hack two years ago humiliated the studio.

Marvel Studios, on the other hand, won praise for Peter Parker’s appearance in Captain America: Civil War. The previous incarnations of Spider-Man tended to get aspects right, but Marvel’s team pretty much got it all right.

And I suspect that everything that looks so good about Spider-Man: Homecoming is from the Marvel Studio’s side. Backing out and taking him out after the next sequel and Avengers: Infinity War would be a mistake. Sony will, no doubt, mess up their progress. To remove him from the MCU just to start their own Marvel Universe? Not a wise decision.

If Sony insists on starting their own Spider-Verse. I propose the following…

Leave Peter Parker in the Marvel Cinematic Universe proper. Let Marvel continue to handle him. Instead, create your Sony MCU around Miles Morales from Ultimate Spider-Man. Sony can double their money and have their alternate Spider-Man themed MCU. And fans get to see Spider-Man remain in the MCU.

March 29, 2017 0

The Second Most Amazing Spider-Man (the Amazing Spider-Man 2, 2014)

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was pretty much greenlit before the previous film was released. Sony has been trying to make their Spider-Verse work…and to date they just cannot seem to find the footing. Spider-Man 2 was not just a sequel, it was meant to set up other films, such as a Sinister Six film.Which means the film is packed with villains.

We meet the Rhino, though he is only in the film for a few minutes, setting him up for a Sinister Six film. We also meet the Green Goblin and Electro. The film wastes Chris Cooper, who plays Norman Osborne. In the previous film we barely met Osborne. We were told he had a debilitating disease, and was eager for Dr. Conner’s work to have results. The disease apparently gnarls the body and turns flesh a greenish tint. Harry is brought home to see his father. His father tells him about the disease and how it is genetic. This sets up Harry to become obsessed with a cure as well. And he believes Spider-Man’s blood contains that cure. He and Peter re-kindle their friendship and when he finds out Peter “knows” Spider-Man, he begs him for help.

Meanwhile, Peter is constantly dating and then breaking up with Gwen. He is haunted by the “ghost” of Captain Stacy. So, they are together, then he gets emo and pushes Gwen away. It becomes frustrating.

Peter and Spider-Man deny Harry’s request causing a strain in the friendship. Jamie Fox plays Max Dillon as a nebbish but smart electrician. He fancies himself as Spider-Man’s friend after Spider-Man saves him and calls him his buddy. After a freak accident with a tank of electric eels, Max is given the power to generate and manipulate electricity. When Spider-Man cannot quite recognize him he becomes enraged. After Spider-Man takes him down, his anger only grows.

Of course, Harry becomes Green Goblin to gain revenge on Spider-Man and teams up with Electro to take Spidey down. In some ways, the Amazing Spider-Man 2 is better than the previous film. Spider-Man is a bit more Spider-Man. But they still have him mopey about his dad. In a flashback, we see where he and Peter’s mother went after dropping Peter off with Aunt May and Uncle Ben. The problem with this is that Uncle Ben is the catalyst for Peter Becoming Spider-Man and yet he seems to not spend much time dwelling on Ben, he is more driven to find out more about his dad.

The film recreates one of the comic books most tragic moments for Peter. And this results in Spider-Man disappearing for awhile. But, of course he comes back. The sequence where he returns to action is nicely done, involving a kid in a Spider-Man costume standing up to Rhino.

The biggest problem with this film is that it feels like a massive setup for other films. We even see a sequence where different costumes of future villains are on display cases. Tying all of Spider-Man’s rogues gallery makes for some lazy storytelling. The film is still entertaining, but not in a way that it would ever be seen as a classic. A third Amazing Spider-Man had been announced, but it was put on the back-burner. Eventually, it was scrapped all together and Sony partnered with Marvel Studios to bring Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

September 7, 2016 0

But Can You Relate?!

I’ve seen a trend over the past several years in some fans of Spider-Man. They prize a certain aspect of the character among all others. And that is “relate-able”. In fact, they thrive and push for this to such an extreme that it suggests they do not understand the fundamental core of the character.

Spider-Man, and by extension Peter Parker, is not really about how relate-ability he is. It isn’t his girl problems, struggles to make ends meet or whatever. And what’s worse, some fans push for Peter to engage in behavior that… well, might be normal for the rest of us…but for Spidey? Not accurate at all. A few years ago, a neighbor showed me a letter in an issue of Spider-Man in which a young woman called for Peter to get tipsy and hook-up “like we all do”. First of all, “we” don’t “all do that”. But, hey, the point is, Spidey should be care free and not burdened with commitments and stuff.

This young woman is not alone. Apparently, the folks at Marvel felt the same way. A few years back, the did a story-line that undid the 20 year Spider-Marriage. Aunt May was on her death bed and to save her life, Peter and MJ made a deal with Marvel’s version of the Devil (Mephisto). He demanded they give up their happy marriage to save the life of Aunt May. The end result was nobody remembered the marriage of Peter and MJ. Joe Quesada and others would lament how they missed the Spidey with money trouble, girl problems…his steady job and marriage were an impediment to that. So Marvel got rid of those things. Peter’s marriage was erased. He was no longer a high school teacher. Because he had to be “relate-able”.

It blows my mind that people who supposedly know Spider-Man so well forgot a little something. The absolute core of the character of Spider-Man is this: With great power comes great responsibility. But Marvel and some of it’s fans want Peter Parker to have as few responsibilities as possible. Peter learns from his mistakes, even if sometimes the mantle of responsibility seem overwhelming. Sometime Peter wants to run away. But in the end, he makes the choices he has to, not always the ones he wants to.

Peter is not the type of hero that gets drunk or tipsy. He knows he has to be ready at all times, that he may have to step up to the plate as Spider-Man at anytime. Frankly, if your Spider-Man story features Peter Parker getting drunk and he doesn’t have a lesson to learn from it? You are writing the wrong character. That’s not Spider-Man. Period. He has to learn lessons, and avoid making repeat mistakes. And for a super hero? Getting tipsy or light headed is rarely a sensible option.

Peter may have struggled with job and relationships, but that is due to the interference of his alternate identity of Spider-Man. Peter Parker is, above all else, about responsibility and lessons learned. Not being a failure in relationships and jobs…those are situations where he ought to struggle to meet his high standards of responsibility. Peter Parker is not about “relate-ability”… he is about great responsibility.

September 3, 2016 0