← Back to Directory
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Movie

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

2023 • Animation, Action, Adventure

Woke Score
6.2
out of 10

Plot

Miles Morales returns for the next chapter of the Oscar®-winning Spider-Verse saga, an epic adventure that will transport Brooklyn's full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man across the Multiverse to join forces with Gwen Stacy and a new team of Spider-People to face off with a villain more powerful than anything they have ever encountered.

Overall Series Review

"Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" is a visually stunning and fast-paced superhero narrative that centers on the struggle of Miles Morales, an Afro-Latino hero, to define his own destiny against the rigid rules of a massive, multiversal organization. The movie is built upon themes of individual choice versus external systemic expectation, but it is heavily layered with identity-focused messaging. The initial casting of an Afro-Latino lead for the Spider-Man mantle establishes a clear political statement of forced diversity, and this is amplified by the core plot positioning the hero as an 'anomaly' who was never meant to be. The primary antagonist system, the 'Spider-Society,' is a white-led, bureaucratic, dogmatic institution that demands adherence to fatalistic, tragic 'canon events,' which the non-white hero, Miles, fundamentally rejects. The narrative champions the hero's individual choice and emotional connection to his loving, stable family over the demands of the system. While the film positively portrays the hero's nuclear family (complete with a father who is a police captain and a mother who prays before meals), it includes clear, yet subtle, signaling for alternative sexual and gender ideologies, particularly in the background art of one co-lead's bedroom. The film is a complex mix: on the one hand, it pushes a narrative of universal heroism defined by immutable characteristics, and on the other, it affirms the protective role of family and masculine/feminine complementarity in its supportive characters. The final experience is one where the visual spectacle and personal story are interwoven with heavy thematic subtext that elevates race, gender, and sexual identity to a central narrative concern.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics8/10

The main protagonist is an Afro-Latino hero who inherited the mantle historically reserved for a white male, which is an explicit 'race-swapping' decision. The entire central conflict is framed around the hero being an 'anomaly' or mistake who was never supposed to exist, a theme that critics have widely interpreted as reflecting a real-world controversy regarding the replacement of a white legacy character. The narrative heavily favors the hero of color rebelling against the deterministic, authoritarian system led by a predominantly white, older, and bureaucratic Spider-Man society.

Oikophobia5/10

The protagonist's struggle is against a rigid, established system known as the 'Canon,' which operates as a secular dogma dictating that tragedy (the death of a father) is necessary for stability, a direct deconstruction of inherited belief and tradition. The hero's stable, loving home life and supportive parents, including his police captain father, are what he fights to save from this system's destructive logic. This juxtaposition prevents a complete score of 10, as a core Western institution (the nuclear family) is viewed as worth fighting for, not corrupt.

Feminism3/10

Female characters like Gwen Stacy and Jessica Drew are depicted as highly competent, strong, and proactive heroes; Gwen is a co-lead, not a sidekick. However, the film features positive portrayals of traditional parental roles, including Peter B. Parker as a loving, goofy father, and Jessica Drew as an active, pregnant hero, celebrating the vitality of motherhood. Miles' parents are shown as a stable, complementary, and protective unit. This balances the presence of a 'Girl Boss' archetype.

LGBTQ+8/10

Explicit imagery is included in the environment. A 'Protect Trans Kids' sign is visible in the private room of a main female character's home, introducing gender ideology into the media intended for a young audience. The character's emotional arc—hiding her true identity (Spider-Woman) from her police father and experiencing a fear of non-acceptance before his eventual choice to support her—functions as a clear, widely recognized allegorical narrative for a 'coming out' story.

Anti-Theism7/10

The overarching conflict is between fatalistic determinism (the 'Canon') and free will, a non-religious form of moral relativism where an established 'greater good' demands individual sacrifice. Miles' refusal to accept this fate is a moral argument for individual life over utilitarian dogma. However, Miles' family is depicted as starting a meal with a Christian-style prayer, showing a positive but brief inclusion of traditional faith. The primary villain system (Canon) is secular, representing a cold, amoral order.