Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, & Justin K. Thompson, 6/2/23) Movie • Page 33

Is this a reference to something?

 

I think death and tragedy is integral to who Spider-Man is, whether it’s Peter, Miles, Gwen, Miguel, etc.

But maybe I’m putting too much into my personal view based on my life experience.

I never read comics growing up. So my view on this is based far more in the 90’s animated show and the movies. I loved the show growing up, but only got way into Spider-Man after the first movie. Which happened to be just 3 years after my dad died. Peter losing his father figure was super relatable to me. Spider-Man dealing with death in this way is what sets him apart. His life is challenging and he has this deep grief over a loved one. It’s part of being Spider-Man to me.

Although, in this case, they could stick with his loss being Uncle Aaron and not have to kill a parent. I don’t know. I’m sure I’ll like it either way.

 

Haha no, just a dumb joke title

 

I just struggle with the idea that Spider-man needs to find himself in a conundrum to make the choice to drive his character. If there’s a way to have the spider people grow as a character with a different path, AND he has a chance to change it, shouldn’t we as fan be open to exploring that option? Limiting that loss to the script makes it feel like it can stunt creativity of how the character can be portrayed. He can lose his father figure of natural causes or the like, and still deal with that loss and grief. It seems like the “torture-porn” nature of the character beats of death and grief is one of the main criticisms people have of the current runs, but I’m not familiar enough with the comic iterations to make a definitive statement either way.

 

Toby saved MJ and the kids in the cable car. Guess that’s just cause he’s the GOAT spoder

 

"One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it" - Master Oogway

Don't care if someone else said it first

 

I mean, there are good stories about not being able to do everything, but with the way this story has gone so far… Miles not being able to save his dad would suck. Like, to the point of retroactively making this film worse.

“Canon events” are explicitly framed as a bad thing to be triumphed over (which is a great critique of fandom’s worst storytelling impulses). Thematically, with what’s been established so far, the lesson here needs to be that “canon” can be rewritten, and that better things are possible.

 

I don't really care which direction they go with it tbh. I trust them to nail it either way

 

The piece that feels important to the story being told here isn't that Spider-Man needs to suffer loss as a part of his character growth/journey, but a refutation the idea that such loss is inevitable, and should be passively accepted.

IE Miles is rejecting the idea that, just because it may be "canon" that his father will die that he should just allow it to happen. I think that ultimately the message of these movies will be something about what makes Spider-Man who he/she/they is/are, across dimensions, isn't the canon events they all share, that they accept they "can't save everyone" - but that they still always try to do just that.

 

I’m not talking exclusively about a character dying. You can have major irreversible consequences without it being a death.

I just hope beyond doesn’t consist of Miles saving his dad and defeating Spot without any major consequences for Miles choosing to “do his own thing”

 

Thinking it would be a cool character arc if Miguel is the one who ultimately “breaks canon” and saves Miles’ dad.

 

Sorry if I'm getting heated, this kind of conversation triggers me a bit, cause I'm 100% a fan of happy endings and it feels like deaths are 9 times out of 10 what people reach for when they talk about "stakes".

I don't know that a trade off needs to happen as I think this is going to be more about Miguel's grief and paranoia than Miles needing to learn sacrifice, but for sake of argument, I don't really know what the trade off would be.

Maybe never seeing Gwen again? Like, where else do you go for Miles to "learn his lesson" unless you take something away from him?

 

I just do not understand, on a storytelling level, why Miles needs to have “consequences” to do his thing. The whole point of the story so far is him being told he can’t be himself, and him proving that he can. (This also lines up with him struggling to tell his parents his deal, and with the whole Gwen subplot here that I continue to see as queer-coded.)

 

I think killing people for instant dramatic effect is a huge narrative crutch and I'm rooting for Miles to go "fuck that shit"

Like just the fact that it's dehumanizing clockwork (alright kill a person here, one more here and bam Spider-Man) is such a deserved slam on superhero books, oh this human being we just met has to perish. We never get to know them or care about them but look at the main character cry about it. Chief Inspector Singh has one scene AFTER he's saved and he already has more personality than thousands of comic book characters with grimdark origins

Spider-Man's most defining moments are when he SAVES people, like in the Master Planner arc when he has the debris on him and gets the medicine to Aunt May on time

 

Yeah, like Miles doesn't need to learn he can't save everyone. Miguel needs to learn he can't just let people die. The onus of the lesson is on him, and that's the direction the story is clearly heading.

 

It's also why I think the story in the new playstation games is mostly gunk

Miles' dad AND Aunt May

 

The best multiverse comic with Miles is Secret Wars, which brings his mom back to life (thanks to an old pocket cheeseburger) & ends with the words “everything lives.” Just saying.

 

Hickman Secret Wars miniseries is great. Absolutely recommend the TPB to anyone who wants to read actually good comics

"I owe you one"

 

didn’t anyone hear

it’s miles story and he’ll do what he wants

everyone is surviving and the spot is going to be a good guy at the end of the day duh

 

oh man. what a fantastic thumbnail

 

Woke and great?!? I know, I can’t believe it either, but if you click the thumbnail I’ll explain. Remember to hit like and subscribe.