Into the Spider-Verse is, undoubtedly, a Miles Morales movie, yet I canât help but feel sympathy for Peter B. Parker and relate to him more than to Miles as the twenty something kid that I am. The moral of the story the movie presents is there, and itâs Milesâ moral, but Peterâs character story and arc is also there and itâs maybe sadder than you think in that funny, light movie, but so important to me.
Gen Z and Millennials can definitely relate to the older Peter, even if heâs 38 years old. Heâs tired, heâs done, he just wants some rest, he resents his responsibilities, heâs screwed up more times than he remembers, heâs not much of a fan of kids, he doesnât even care about proper spelling (âThereâs always a bypass key, a virus key, a who-cares key, I can never remember so I just call it a goober.â). Honestly, mood. And Iâm only in college, people.
See, there is this moment in the movie that is supposed to serve as a comedic moment: Miles tries to say âwith great power comes great responsibilityâ but Peter abruptly cuts him off, almost screaming âdonât you dare finish that sentence, donât do it!â. Then he follows with âIâm sick of it.â And then he says âMy advice? Go back to being a regular kid.â
Peter still tries to live by the words of his uncle, but where at the beginning they were his motivation and something that gave his life meaning, now theyâre a resented responsibility drawing a circle he canât break out from. Heâs been slowly losing his passion for being Spider-Man, just putting the suit on because he feels like he has to. He even says that Mary Jane scared him by her wanting kids. Heâs scared to move on and to be something else, something more than just Spider-Man.
When you get a close up of his face
you can see the determination on his face, but there are also a broken nose, bags under his eyes, the hair he doesnât even care to pull back, the gray skin, the scruff, a few wrinkles even, and⊠sadness. Heâs genuinely sad, heâs depressed, and so done with everything. But heâs not one to quit. Heâs still living by Benâs words.
Those words have become his curse because he lost his way somewhere along his life, because he overdid it with understanding the words. Itâs like with Titanic where they were supposed to have women on the lifeboats first, and then men, but they just let the women step into the lifeboats because they didnât understand the command. That being said, instead of being just a motivation and inspiration, Benâs words became something he canât let go of, almost like a drug, like a sick addiction, and maybe he does see it, maybe he doesnât, but itâs there, and itâs determining his life. He canât help but loathe them. He doesnât allow himself to be something else but these words. He is those words, nothing else.
Things happen, movie ends, and while Milesâ moral of the story is that everyone can wear a mask and nobodyâs ever ready to be a hero, that they just grow into it, and all you need is that little spark, Peter B. Parker learns that the words heâs lived by arenât what should make his life sad, broken, and resentful. He learns that heâs just a person like any other, not just words. Thanks to the little journey with Miles he learns over again that being Spider-Man is supposed to be fun and a responsibility among other things, not only a responsibility determining his day-to-day life 24/7. Peter learns that being a hero does require a lot of sacrifice, but itâs just a part of who he is, and that he has the right to be happy.
I donât know what you got out of the movie, but in my opinion, Peter B. Parker teaches you in this movie that you have the right to be happy. You have the right to live a good life despite one or more responsibilities that set up your daily basis, whether itâs a job or a problem youâve had for a while. You can still be happy.
I stepped out of the movie theater thinking, âgoddammit, why donât people remember that you can still be happy nowadays? Why do people determine their lives by only the bad things? Why are we like this? Why am I like this?â And honestly? Despite all the bullsh*t, all the crap, and all the small or big problems, I deserve some happiness, man. And so do you.
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