Aesthetics invariably play an important part in the creation of a superhero costume. Comic book artists often create their characters by combining geometric shapes, colors, and other visual effects to imbue them with emotion and point of view that isn’t possible through traditional renderings. For example, Cubism was one of art’s responses to the rise of photography; it proved that a piece of art could capture more than just the surface of things, that it could speak to deeper aspects like emotions and perspective.
Into the Spider-Verse, then, is something of an answer to the six live-action Spider-Man movies; it skips over Peter Parker’s exposition and instead shows us Miles Morales and his own struggles with family, education, ethics, and finding his creative voice through street art. It also takes the opportunity to show us Spider-people from other dimensions, each of whom gets a crash-course in being a hero from their own version of Peter Parker (Hailee Steinfeld, Jake Johnson, and even Nicolas Cage in full Adam West homage mode).
Each of these Spider-folks is autonomous, though, and the film frames them as worthy of taking up the mantle of heroism without needing the overbearing shadow of their inspiration. Spider-Verse’s hope isn’t just that Miles achieves his destiny, but that everyone who wants to be a hero has the right and the ability to do so, regardless of their background or how they got there. It’s a bold, beautiful, and ultimately empowering vision for our times. Spider verse mask