Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse is the best superhero animated film I’ve ever seen.
It’s the best film I’ve seen this year.
It may be the greatest Spider-Man film of all time.
If all of those seem like exaggerations to you, then you haven’t seen the movie for yourself yet. And I’m sorry.
In Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse, the Sony/Marvel universe is an explosion of styles, colors, story, ethnicities, genders, and heroism that is fun for all ages. As I write this, I’ve just returned from the theater where my two sons and I joined intergenerational families and quite a few adult fans who laughed, cried (?), and cheered their way through a movie spanning different universes of Spider-Man fandom.


Ultimately, we’ve seen the launch of a new thing here, a new Spider-story that we will now be hyped to follow. It’s made me run out for Brian Michael Bendis’ (producer credits here) Ultimate Collection on Miles Morales, because there’s something endearing about the story and the possibilities. Spider-Man is the least-cynical of our heroes, someone who lives to serve, to save lives, and to love. But in the Spider-Verse, we also see that Spider-Man is not alone because there are others who understand his story and who recognize the call on their hearts to be heroic. Whether we’re talking about the communion of saints watching over and caring for each other, or the understanding that the Holy Spirit gives us the same power that Jesus does, there are some metanarratives that connect the heroic worldview of the Spider-Verse to our own. And it’s powerful stuff to consider for ourselves and to share with our children.
Spider-Man is back and better than ever before. The only question that remains is this: will you be Spider-Man?
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