Welcome diversity in mesmerizing, heartwarming ‘Spider-Verse’ saga

The heroes of “Into the Spider-Verse”

One of the year’s most unexpected superhero movies can easily be counted among the genre’s best. The animated movie “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” gives a fresh take on heroics and representation, while it adds thrilling new layers to the web-slinger’s mythology.

In fact, there’s more than one wall-crawler in this fast-paced but heartwarming saga. First off, there’s Miles Morales, a biracial kid (with an African-American dad and Puerto Rican mom) who’s a talented graffiti artist.

Miles (voiced by Shameik Moore) accidentally gains spider-powers and later meets Spider-Man (Jake Johnson) during the latter’s fight with the ruthless Kingpin (Liev Schreiber) and his minions. The teenager witnesses the hero’s ultimate defeat, deciding to use his own powers for good, as a result.

But, he eventually meets another Spider-Man—an older, out-of-shape and jaded Peter Parker from another reality.

This is followed by the introduction of other heroes, also from different dimensions: teenager Gwen Stacy, secretly Spider-Woman (Hailee Steinfeld); the mysterious Nazi-pummeling Spider-Man Noir (Nicolas Cage); the porcine crimefighter Spider-Ham (John Mulaney); and young Peni Parker (Kimiko Glenn), who shares a psychic bond with an armored spider.

Teaming up with the quirky assortment of do-gooders, Miles finds himself face-to-face with some of his world’s vilest villains—which could lead to a devastating discovery.

“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” codirected by Bob Persichetti, Rodney Rothman and Peter Ramsey, merges a cool, CGI look with a more 2D, comic-book style, giving the heroes’ intertwined stories a more classic, “page-turning” feel.

From the “ink” outlines to screens splitting into comic panels, to words appearing onscreen, it’s a superb visual experimentation, overall.

Just as interesting is Miles Morales’ story. The character coexists in the comic books with the Spidey we know and are familiar with. Miles’ big-screen debut gives something akin to Black Panther’s live-action solo debut.

The nonwhite protagonist offers young viewers with similar ethnicities and backgrounds their long-awaited representation—and this set of heroes a welcome diversity, in general.

The “Spider-Verse” bunch is also a nice mingling of spider-guardians sharing the impetus of loss and guilt, all burdened with “great responsibility.” The film embraces all that affecting drama, but keeps a steady barrage of mesmerizing and frenetic fisticuffs, as well.