Into the Spider-Verse is here: what to know about the animated Spider-Man film

The internet is abuzz about Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. In addition to stunning visuals and a wonderful cast of characters, the latest iteration of Spider-Man film (and perhaps its most innovative) also boasts a very inspirational message at its core: Anyone can be Spider-Man.

Last week, artists across Twitter decided to put this mantra in action, taking to their pens and tablets to create original characters — sometimes based on themselves, but not always! — as Spider-heroes. These characters have been dubbed Spidersonas, and with the hashtag trending, everyone wants to create their unique Spidersona.

The name Miles Morales is just about everywhere these days. With a new starring role in Sony’s animated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and a brand-new ongoing comic book series by Saladin Ahmed and Javier Garron, it seems like everyone’s been bitten by a radioactive spider.

That made us wonder: If there’s a Peter Parker from Miles’ world, does that mean there would be a Miles Morales from Peter’s?

How do you surprise an audience that has seen a particular villain in countless comics and adaptations that stretch across movies, television and video games? Can you keep people guessing when they already know, or think they know, the whole story behind a villain due to the ceaseless repetition of introductions and battles?

The creative teams behind Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Marvel’s Spider-Man for PS4 have pulled off something that feels like it should have been impossible: One of Spider-Man’s best-known enemies appears in both the game and the movie, but the character is written and introduced in such a way that it’s a surprise both times.

You can probably guess that the movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is based on Spider-Man comics. But Spider-Man comics also exist within the world of Spider-Verse; the movie uses comics as a valuable tool for exposition about its various spider characters, and Miles’ roommate can even be seen reading them.

“How could there be Spider-Man comics in a universe in which Spider-Man is a real superhero?” I can hear you saying. “Did he license his likeness? To a company called Marvel Comics? To print adaptations of his true adventures?”

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is finally out in movie theaters — and right on cue, Miles Morales’ new ongoing comic series hit shelves everywhere this week.

Miles Morales: Spider-Man is the character’s first new series since his co-creator, Brian Michael Bendis, exited Marvel to start work at DC Comics, and the new creative team has started strong. Saladin Ahmed and Javier Garrón’s first issue retells Miles’ origin, reintroduces his family and friends and restates Miles’ particular relationship to the maxim of every Spider-Man: With great power comes great responsibility.

There was no way for the makers of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse to know that their Stan Lee cameo — out of the dozens and dozens the celebrated comics creator made — would be the first (in a Marvel film, at least) to hit screens after his death.

So it’s pure coincidence, then, that the cameo they crafted for a dimension-spanning movie about how anyone can be Spider-Man is perhaps the best one-scene encapsulation of Stan Lee’s legacy ever put to screen.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is out in theaters, and with the reviews as good as they are, and box office booming, we expect people to finally know the name Miles Morales. And after the credits roll, for the gears of sequelization to crank forward.

Like any good superhero movie, Spider-Verse comes with an end-credits scene that teases at where the franchise might go next — and makes us laugh in the process. With reported plans for both a second Into the Spider-Verse and a Spider-Gwen spinoff, Sony’s wasting no time with building a parallel, animated universe for Miles Morales. We may not see the evil Miles of Earth-616, but the world’s expanding.

In a crowded year of Spider-Man news, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse has stood out from the animated pack since its first teaser images dropped. Ahead of the film’s official release on Thursday, Spider-Verse is already scooping up awards and positive critical reception for its fresh, eye-popping visual take on the familiar superhero story. But how did the filmmakers push technology and design to pull off the movie?

How does Spider-Verse look so dang... cool? According to Patrick O’Keefe, one of the film’s two art directors, it was all about basic principles: Appreciation of the printed comic book form itself, the graphic simplification of animation, and admiration of live action cinematography. And then, stretching the boundaries of the design as far as possible without breaking the whole thing.

In 2018, you could barely sling a web without hitting some kind of major Spider-Man thing. This was the year that Venom became bigger than Deadpool. In September, Insomniac Games’ Spider-Man for the PlayStation 4 reminded everyone why he’s one of the only superheroes who can boast a good video game adaptation. This past spring, Tom Holland’s tearful gasp of “Mr. Stark, I don’t feel so good” instantly entered the memetic lexicon thanks to Avengers: Infinity War.

With this glut of Spider-Content, it could be tempting to see Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse — a movie that technically doesn’t even have a Regular Peter Parker in it — as an extraneous afterthought. But if you did that, you’d be missing out on one of the best action comedies of the year.

A new trailer for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse has arrived in anticipation of New York Comic Con 2018, and with it our first look at three new spider-powered cast members: Spider-Man Noir, SP//dr and, of course, Spider-Ham.

The three were revealed at San Diego Comic-Con 2018 in July, but this is first time anybody outside of Hall H has seen the characters, each of which has his or her own slightly different animation style. Spider-Ham and SP//dr are nearly flat, the better to reference their respective Tex Avery and anime-inspired looks, while Spider-Man Noir is entirely black-and-white and lit in stark contrast.