Spiderman: Across the Spider-verse: A Multiverse finally done right

Ever since the final minutes and post-credits of Into the Spiderverse, which came out nearly five years ago, audiences have been waiting in anticipation for the next installment. Earlier this month, that most awaited sequel exploded into theatres around the world. 

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse is the fantastic continuation of a refreshing Spiderman story. 

The first film was all about a newly made Spider-Man, navigating his way through the life of being the friendly neighbourhood spiderman. It effectively opened the path to the multiverse, before any of the other Marvel productions.

With Across the Spider-Verse, everyone can now savour the multiverse's full splendour and breadth, that too with a lot more Spider people. The animation and cinematography are still stunning and creative, and the narrative is considerably broader and better. It is incredibly gorgeous to watch and packed with a lot more action and emotion.

This intricate, kaleidoscopically beautiful animation is stunning from start to finish. It constructs entire universes around the primary themes of the first movie—adolescent loneliness, communication problems, the difficult, stressful process of growing up, and finding your people. There is an overwhelming barrage of concepts and graphic allusions. It is heartfelt. Even the font is funny.

The first movie focused on the introduction of Miles Morales as the new Spider-Man and him forming a bond with Spider-people from other dimensions, while they do what they do best. Across the Spider-Verse focuses more on the growth of Miles and the rekindling of his bond with Gwen Stacy. The story also gives some new characters, who are also key figures to carry the story forward.

Across the Spider-Verse is filled with amazing graphics and intriguing concepts, much like the creation of an aspiring artist who defies the constraints of the frame. It is a clever, exciting piece of work that made me think of past outstanding 'part 2's, such as 'The Dark Knight' and 'The Empire Strikes Back.' Like the previous movie, Across the Spider-Verse leaves viewers at the edge of their seat towards the conclusion. The cliffhanger of the story is knitted through the tale of the youth defying expectations about what a hero's arc should include.

The MCU has been trying to introduce and utilise the concept of the multiverse in their post Endgame stories. Sadly, most of those depictions and portrayals have fallen short. Spider-Man: No Way Home came closest to playing the multiverse theory with distinction. However, one has to admit that most of its success was by and large owed to the returning Spider-Men portrayed by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield.

But what the MCU could not achieve through other projects to their fullest extent, Across the Spider-Verse did with a much bigger premise, and that too with a better story. And they executed it in only two hours of runtime. The movie explores the corners of the multiverse the way most of us have only imagined it before.

We've previously seen what disruption of the multiverse can do to all the other universes that exist on other planes. An entire timeline's salvation or destruction can depend on a single, seemingly insignificant choice. In the situation presented in Across the Spider-Verse, a young and bewildered Miles Morales must choose between saving one and sacrificing the other. 

One of the best things about the movie is its villain, The Spot ( Jason Schwartzman). As the saying goes, a hero is only as good as his villain. The Spot was not as ruthless as Kingpin or as menacing as the Prowler from the first movie. No, this character started out to be one of those villains someone will take very lightly. But his evolution within the first hour of the movie is what makes the story compelling.

If the first movie questioned who gets to be a hero, the second movie pushes that question even further by exploring the definition of heroism. Why must each hero's journey be unique? Why does a lot of superhero mythology emphasise the notion that only tragedy can give rise to heroism?

Across the Spider-Verse is a massive treat. So much so that I started to crave watching it again as soon as it finished. It reminds me of that one Spongebob scene where only one single burger of Spongebob was so good, a god had to spit it out, recreate it and eat it again. 

The movie ends on a cliffhanger, it makes waiting for 2024 look more punishing. One can only wonder what the multiverse and the Spider-Verse will look like, beyond what we have seen.