My friend and I were planning to see The Flash together, until he read some less savory reviews of it. I might still check it out, but for now, we chose this instead. Incidentally, the only other movie we attended at this theater together was Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Now that the other spider-themed heroes he knows have returned to their proper alternate worlds, Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is lonely, especially missing Spider-Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld). He doesn't dare tell his mom (Luna Lauren Velez) or dad (Brian Tyree Henry) that he's Spider-Man, but they know he keeps secrets and never shows up on time, so they lock horns with him over it. Then Gwen proves she can pay a visit after all, thanks to the technology of an interdimensional society of hundreds of arachnoid heroes led by Miguel O'Hara (Oscar Isaac). But she's not here just for pleasure. The network's primary objective is to send "anomalies" back where they came from or, if dangerous enough, keep them captive at a base. Presently, the Spot (Jason Schwartzman), a criminal covered in portable space-time holes, has discovered how to hop dimensions.
You may well wonder why Miles is hearing about this society only now. Well, Gwen had barely been accepted herself at first, and most members agree with Miguel that certain events ought to pass in a Spider-Man's life before he's ready to enroll. It's not a question of competence; Miles has come a long way there. They worry that he'll prevent a formative personal tragedy and thereby precipitate doom on his world, as has happened at least once before. (Yep, it's one of those meta-stories about predictable destiny.) In his dark demeanor and adamant adherence to the code, Miguel comes across as an antihero at best, more likely an antivillain.
I won't go so far as to call him the main antagonist, tho. The Spot starts out as a gawky goofball with little fighting prowess and no higher ambition than petty theft to stay alive, since his condition makes him too much of a pariah for an honest job. But he's almost impossible to restrain with all his portals. What's worse, he identifies Miles as the unwitting author of all his pain, and he plans to make Miles suffer just as much. Once he truly gets the hang of his powers, it might just take a whole bunch of supers to stop him.
If you're itching for more Spider-Man Noir, Peni Parker, or Spider-Ham, I'm afraid they barely appear at all. Even Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson), Miles' mentor, doesn't show up until the second half, with the partial excuse of being a new parent. On the plus side, Gwen's become prominent enough to dominate the opener, and we meet several more heroes who are no less interesting. Motorcyclist Jessica Drew (Issa Rae), Spider-Woman, is sort of a second-in-command and the first pregnant superhero I've seen this side of the fictitious manga in Juno. Hobie Brown (Daniel Kaluuya), Spider-Punk, has a highly distinctive animation style to fit his rebel nature. Pavitr Prabhakar (Karan Soni), Spider-Man India, might be the coolest of all. This is about as diverse as the cast of Big Hero 6.
My friend was surprised at how much he liked the results. I too enjoyed it better than Into the Spider-Verse, tho I'm not sure whether it's truly better on its own merits or I've just gotten more accustomed to the style. I think it's a little slower, particularly for the serious moments, which can be quite heartwarming or harrowing. On the flip side, it might be less funny.
AtSV ends with no more resolution than The Empire Strikes Back. I will surely see Beyond the Spider-Verse when it arrives, even if I wish the series had more than prepositions to distinguish the titles.
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