Tumbling down Wythe Ave. in his Bred Jordan 1’s, a fan of Chance The Rapper and a dope graffiti artist; Miles Morales is the Spiderman we need right now. Coming shortly after the recent passing of Spider-Man creator and comic book legend, Stan Lee, Miles Morales swings in just in time.
At just 13-years old and of Black and Puerto Rican descent, Morales was created in 2011 by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Sara Pichelli. Bendis and then-editor-in-chief of Marvel Axel Alonso drew up their inspiration from both then-U.S. President Barack Obama and Childish Gambino.
A few of us here at The Source had the privilege of attending a private screening of the film Spider-man: Into the Spiderverse before it hits theaters this Friday. I’ll be honest, I’m not a huge comic book fan, let alone a fan of Spider-man, but this movie changed my opinion entirely. The cultural references alone immediately resonated with me. The movie opens up with Miles at his desk in his room. half singing the words to a song he’s really into (which we’ve all done) and the theater immediately breaks out its first good laugh and we’re not even 30 seconds in. It’s before his first day at a new private boarding school that he got into all the way on the other side of Brooklyn. His father drops him off, but not before making a scene about his big first day over the patrol car speaker, maybe not to this extent, but many of us know what it’s like growing up to be embarrassed by our parents in public. I’m all smiles the first 10 minutes in and it’s all gravy from there.
Fast forward to after young Miles gets bitten by a radioactive spider, to where he meets Peter Parker as Spider-Man for the first time. At what looks to be an abandoned warehouse in Brooklyn; Spider-Man is fighting the Green Goblin and getting his ass kicked for most of the scene. Parker first notices Miles watching high in a corner and swings up to him while he gets some breathing room during the fight. Parker immediately senses that Morales is “like him” and tells him “You should probably tie your shoes..” then realizing that they are Jordan 1’s, a sneaker that has become a cultural icon. Parker says “Oh, they’re the 1’s, never-mind… I get that.” That reference alone was pure dopeness paired with the Chance The Rapper posters in Miles room, the precise details of an NYC subway and the incredible use of all types of levels of animation. This movie had theatergoers lit from the jump, not to mention the soundtrack is fire with unreleased songs from Vince Staples, Post Malone, Lil Wayne, Juice WRLD, Ty Dolla Sign and Nicki Minaj.
Obviously, I can’t tell you too much about the film because it isn’t out yet, and I don’t have the bankroll to eat that case. I will tell you this, it’s definitely a go from me dawg (Randy Jackson Voice). The animation is fire on so many levels, comic strip feel meets new generation CGI and an aesthetic realism you feel like you can touch. There’s even some Japanese Anime’ out of nowhere. Also, as much as it’s great for the whole family and you would assume this is a film for kids, it’s actually funny as hell… The theater, full of adults, was screaming at some parts of the Spiderman “cartoon”. This Marvel film is packed with millennial comedic references. Go see it for yourself, for me, it’s one of the best movies I’ve seen all year and Miles Morales became my favorite Spiderman of all-time basically overnight.
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