Once again obsessing over genderfluid Spidey, this time from the perspective of some cis alternate Spidermen
They’re just hanging out in this universe with this Spidey who’s a 100% like them, no question that it’s another Peter Parker under that mask
Then they find out that the photographer that follows him around is Penny Parker, and they just keep looking at the pic of Penny and back at Spidey, so cis, so confused, wondering who the hell could possibly be under the mask then ??
Meanwhile, that Spiderman can’t explain anything because they’re around other heroes and he doesn’t wanna give away his identity, so he’s just staying quiet
You can tell Pavitr is a new spiderman cause he's like "well that was easy" and everyone's immediately like "wait NO NO NO" but too late he has challenged the universe.
With great power comes Murphey's Law, and it responds to anything even vaguely resembling a dare.
Also look at this. I love this. It's just so clearly "this is my Pet Peeve and I am SO SICK of people messing this up!" Like look at their faces Pavitr's like "wtf did he just say" and Miles is "whoops mistepped" it gives me joy
Saviors, Suffering, and Isolation in Across the Spiderverse
Something that really stuck with me from Spider-Man Across the Spiderverse was the theme of suffering inherent in the hero narrative (and specifically the spiderman narrative) and how we can perpetuate suffering in our justification of it.
In the intro to the movie, Gwen gives background into how she became Spiderwoman. She explains the traumatic experience of inadvertently causing her friend Peter’s death and says that because of this she can’t have friends. We see how this has caused her to further suffer, forcing a wedge between her and her band, her and her father, and her and Miles. She is obsessed with not letting a loved one suffer at her hands in the same way again. Furthermore, she is okay letting herself suffer through isolation as long as her loved ones are safe.
Then, we meet Miguel, Spider Man 2099, who fervently defends his and his organization’s behavior as making sure some suffering occurs in order to prevent larger suffering. Miguel took over a different dimension’s Miguel, allowing him to have a daughter and live a happy life. However, this dimension fell apart because he was an anomaly and caused that dimension’s timeline to not flow as it should. After this, he forms the Spider-society, which is intent on making sure that anomalies are taken care of and, more importantly, that canon events happen.
This is where the main conflict of the plot arises, as a canon event in the timeline is the death of the police captain, who in Miles’s universe happens to be his father. Miguel insists that Miles has to let his father die, and rages that Miles has already helped another Spiderman (Pavitr) avoid that fate. This is not a surprise to Miguel’s character; he is tormented by his attempts to lead a happy life and therefore believes that suffering is necessary.
However, what is striking is that all the spider-people seemingly stand by Miguel except Miles. The characters we know, namely Peter B Parker, Jessica Drew (Spiderwoman), and Gwen all support Miguel’s perspective. This seems wildly out of character for these individuals who we’ve seen be insistent on saving people if it is in their power to do so. But it is important to note that, besides Gwen, they’ve already suffered that canon event of the police captain dying. For them, that was a necessary trauma in their lives that allowed them to be who they are today. It is in a sense a passive justification. They did all they could, but the captain had to die. But for Miles (and Gwen), the death of the captain is something they’re being forced to allow or even facilitate. They have to make the active choice to let their captains, both their fathers, die. Miles is insistent that this is wrong, and that there is another way to live.
As a story centered on characters of colors (and minority characters given Gwen is implied to be trans in the movie), this can be seen as a message about how some communities or people of color treat suffering. That is, the belief in many minority communities like mine (Hmong) is that suffering is a necessary evil to endure for the good of everyone. They suffered, so their children must suffer as well. However, this mindset moves from a coping mechanism to harm when, upon finding no or a lack of suffering, we fabricate suffering onto others like us because we believe this is necessary for success. Instead of finding help, lifting one another up, leaning on each other, we lean into the suffering, the pain, and the isolation. We are unduly harsh to our children, or we don’t try to disrupt the unjust systems that harmed us, or we just let bad situations be.
The Spider Society may be a group of spider-people, but there is surprisingly little care being given to one another’s wellbeing. Instead, they all look at each other and empathize rather than offer real care. I understand rather than let’s understand together. The coldness of this community is made clear with how harshly Jessica treats Gwen when she screws up, with how cruelly Miguel treats Peter (”I’ve had enough of you”), and most humorously with the therapy scene where the therapist spiderman rudely remarks, “Let me guess your Uncle Ben died?” The spider-people are all heavily traumatized individuals, and instead of healing they’ve worked themselves into a web of control and fatalism. By accepting that suffering as inevitable, they create the suffering of Miles.
As a daughter of a refugee, I grew up hearing the message that suffering made us strong, that it allowed them to be successful. Children who didn’t suffer were spoiled and grew up to be ungrateful wastes to society. I heard stories in my LGBTQ+ community about how young queers take things for granted and don’t understand how hard it once was. And when I suffered myself, I felt a similar urge to say that this suffering made me a better person. And this is so hard to fight because if you acknowledge the suffering wasn’t needed, that means you shouldn’t have had to go through it, that it was unjustified, that it was a random cruelty of the universe. And that is a tough truth to accept, because that means it didn’t have to be that way. Uncle Ben didn’t have to die for Spiderman to live.
In order to let our stories continue, instead of repeating the past, as well as help our communities Across the Spiderverse asks us to let go of the suffering and the belief we needed it. It is not what makes us heroes. It is not what makes us good. Instead, like Miles and Gwen (by the end of the movie), our heroism is in our love and our loved ones, and in the belief that there is a better way.
Miguel O' Hara (Across the Spider Verse) - Oneshot
Miguel has had his share of dysfunctional and annoying spider-men and women. So he’s always willing to admit when he meets a dependable one.
Your work ethic was commendable. You’d been recruited by Jessica who raved about how you helped her in a bind apprehending one of the anomalies. You were trained, efficient, ambitious both in the field as well as your personal life as a coach. On paper, you were the perfect worker. The only problem seemed to be…him.
Whenever you were on a mission with all of them, you were hyper-focus. Your attention never strayed until the work was done and the villain was caught. Like most assignments, they reported back to headquarters to log their most recent anomaly. Miguel gave a brief and further expectations. One by one the room would clear out. For a moment you would just stand there. The second you realized that it was just you and him, he prepared for it, the excuse that followed. You’d suddenly become tense and yell..
“I-I have to feed my cat!!”
Just like that you were out the door faster than a bullet.
As far as he knew, you didn’t have a cat. Not that he would call you on it.
Yes, you were an exceptional worker. You just apparently detested him.
“What did you do to her?” Lyla's judgmental tone called.
“I didn’t do anything.” Miguel growled. He was just as puzzled as her. It’s true that he’s not the most friendly person, but he was that way with everyone. Most of them had just gotten used to it. He couldn't recall ever yelling at you. You hadn’t even done anything that even warranted a lecture from him. He racked his brain for an explanation but all he came up with was the many excuses you’d presented to escape his presence.
Like,
“I-I forgot my laundry in the machine!”
“M-My goldfish is sick!”
“I-I left the stove on!”
“I-I have to go!!”
The crease in his brow deepened. Because he felt like it was just a matter of time before you decided that you didn’t want to work for him anymore. It’s not like he had a scarcity of spider people, but he valued your skills. Especially the fact that he didn’t have to yell behind you like a child. It was nice to have an adult who actually acted like one.
Unlike Parker.
“Hey Miguel!!”
Speak of the devil.
Peter walked in with Mayday in tow who immediately jumped onto Miguel’s shoulders the second she was within reach. His scowl stayed planted, even when she started messing with his cheeks, her giggles following.
“Heh, he’s not so scary right Mayday.”
She nodded with a tooth grin and Miguel just turned back to the platform.
“If I ignore him he’ll go away.”
One could hope.
The week proceeded and he’d gotten back to his analysis, scanning through any more potential threats. Lyla was doing her own little research, hovering over his shoulder as he flipped back and forth through reports and unusual activity. The door opening behind him alerted that his crew had arrived.
“We have a new sighting on Earth 234.”
Miguel turned.
Gwen, Hobie, You and Jessica.
He felt comfortable with the crew.
“I’ll be coming with you on this one. Lyla said there might be two this time.”
“Sounds like a challenge.” Gwen cheered. Hobie just leaned against the wall.
Miguel closed the current tab, eyes moving to his watch as he typed in the necessary coordinates to head out. They all filed in the second it was present, ready for anything. Miguel’s instructions had been to split up into groups.
“(Y/N), you’re with me. Gwen, Hobie, head to the South. Jessica, North.”
Everyone nodded, taking off in their instructed directions. Your eyes were fixated ahead as you jumped from building to building right beside Miguel.
“How bad is the damage so far?” You questioned.
“The third floor of a building was struck. We’ll need to prepare for a collapse.”
“Alright.”
You’d already shifted into battle mode. Miguel couldn’t help but steal a glance. As far as he could see, there was no issue. It was still eating at him. He decided at that moment that after this trip he needed to confront you. Figure out the problem and solve it.
The screams ahead pulled his focus.
“(Y/N).”
“On it!”
You swung around the building, spotting what looked like a mutant lizard. It hissed the second it saw you and you fired a kick, knocking it right off its feet and harshly against the pavement. You landed easily in front of it and Miguel took the opportunity to grab the woman who’d been cornered by the beast. He made his way over to the police vehicle, landing and placing her on her feet. She looked up, grateful and still a bit shaken as an officer guided her away.
“It’s good to see you again.” The Chief called.
Miguel nodded, turning back when he saw you tying the lizard up.
“Is it just one?”
The Chief nods.
“As far as we saw. But you need to be careful. He had some kind of device. My officers disabled it, but he’d already released some kind of suction. It took a few items into the air. We’re still getting some falling objects. We’ve blocked off this part of the city. There was activity in the North and South part of town.”
Miguel felt better knowing he’d already sent reinforcements. The others could handle that. He glanced over when he saw a portal close at your side. You were next to him in seconds.
“Peter just took in our lizard guy, but I just barely dodged getting hit by a metal pole.”
He saw said pole standing upright, wedged into the concrete.
“Get all your men to a secure area, we’ll handle this.”
“You got it, we’ll shelter at the center.”
He gestured to the officers, yelling for them to fall back. Miguel turned back to you once they cleared the area.
For the next half hour, you and Miguel spent it using your webs to catch any fallen debris that was present. Jessica, Gwen and Hobie had returned some time after.
“All clear boss!” Gwen saluted.
Miguel seemed content with the result. There were no casualties to speak of and the capture of the latest anomaly had gone by very smoothly. He felt confident to call it a day. He turned to do just that, you were not much further behind him. Gwen and the others had already started walking away when he gave the word. Jessica opened a portal and they were about to step in when they all seemed to flinch, turning to him.
“Watch out!!”
Miguel was confused about the cause for their alarm. When he looked up, the car that was falling bumper first confirmed their panic. He didn’t have a chance to even brace for impact. He didn’t have to, because two thick streams of web stuck to either end of the car as you forced it in your direction. You grabbed it when it was within reach, holding the weight. They all stared, a bit relieved as you slowly placed the vehicle to the floor.
The metal creaked at the dropped weight, and you straightened. Gwen rushed over to you with a big smile.
“That was awesome!!”
You returned her smile. Hobie trailed over with a smirk of his own.
“Good catch.”
You flushed, rubbing the back of your head.
“I-It was nothing.”
They continued to flock to you and Miguel simply stared. You’d quite literally saved him from possibly a week’s worth of pain. Lyla popped up with a hum.
“I guess she doesn’t completely hate you. She could have just let it squash you like a bug.”
“Thank you for the imagery.”
He was careful to do an additional scan before they finally left that earth. As he stepped into the lab, he did his usual debrief. With a few words exchanged, the room began to clear. You waited attentively for him to give you any additional comments. With your mask removed you just looked curious. But the minute you took in the lack of other personnel, he saw the change on your face and he could already predict an excuse coming.
“I-I need to water my plants!!”
You tried to make a dash for it, but he jumped from the platform, landed right in front of you. You backed away from the door, eyes a bit shaky. Hand clutching your mask.
“I think we need to have a word.”
“D-Did I do something wrong?”
He shook his head.
“Your work is exceptional. You're a great help to the team.”
Lyla appeared with a nod of confirmation.
“T-Then what’s the problem?”
You were shifting in your spot and Miguel tracked each action, hoping that by some miracle he could figure out why you were now anxious when you’d caught a car not even twenty minutes earlier without so much as a sweat.
“Do you have a problem working with me?”
If that was the case he could easily put you in a different area where your meetings would be limited. It would be a bit discouraging to lose you on his main team, but it was better than you leaving completely. He waited patiently for you to speak, but your cheeks turned red and you just started fidgeting with the mask.
“I-I don’t have a problem working with you..”
It was said so softly and you refused to look directly at him. Now he was even more perplexed. Lyla tilted her head, and after a second she cooed.
“Oh! How cute!”
She was gushing, and he turned, a little annoyed that Lyla seemed to figure it out when he was still lost.
“What is it?” He growled, impatient.
“She has a crush on you!”
Lyla said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. The color brightened on your cheeks and Miguel looked at you for some kind of denial, but when you looked up at him, his eyes widened. Your gaze held such an innocent adoration that almost made him think he was hallucinating. He’d never really seen you look at him with anything other than respect and professionalism. Your feelings were written all over your face now and he wondered how he could have missed it. After a few moments it finally became too much. You closed your eyes.
“I-I should go!!”
You ran around his body, out the door.
Miguel was left standing there in a state of shock.
i like that most of the spider-people are like "it's a onesie" but gwen's like "are you insane? i live in new york, of course i'm wearing shoes with the suit. idiot." it's a very neat character detail, i like it. the same energy as a teenage girl showing up to a fancy event wearing a nice dress and trainers because she draws the line at heels. and it matches nicely with how often miles ends up wandering around with his normal clothes on over the spider-suit too, makes it feel like a very teenage thing
