What if there were other versions of ourselves out there in the universe? Personally I’m too perfect to consider such a thing, but it’s a situation that Spider-Man has to wrap his head around. Talk about an identity crisis! Our Spidey senses are tingling because Chris Van Vliet is here with the story.
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” is a superhero movie unlike any other.
It actually looks like an animated comic book, and the main Spidey protagonist here isn’t Peter Parker, but Miles Morales — in his big screen debut. We hung with the cast in L.A.
Jake Johnson (as Peter B. Parker): “You’re like me.”
Shameik Moore (as Miles Morales): “That’s impossible!”
Oh, it’s very possible in this movie.
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” follows Brooklyn teen Miles Morales as he gets on-the-job superhero training from Peter Parker.
Jake Johnson (as Peter B. Parker): “Mmm, I love this burger, so delicious. One of the best burgers I’ve ever had.”
Shameik Moore voices Miles, and get this — years ago, he actually wrote in his journal: “I am Miles Morales.”
Shameik Moore: “In my mind, it was like prophecy almost. Like — this is you, the steps it took to get here. I’m more than thankful. I feel blessed. I feel chosen. I feel like I was bitten by that radioactive spider.”
Unreal! And it turns out he had jotted down another character.
Shameik Moore: “There was one from Marvel and one from DC, and Marvel came through, ha!”
He wouldn’t say who the DC character was, but could it be Static?
So as Miles is discovering his new Spidey abilities, he’s also discovering that there are other Spider-Men from other universes, including even Spider-Ham.
John Mulaney (as Spider-Ham): “Do animals talk in this dimension? ‘Cause I don’t wanna freak him out.”
*Kid faints*
We asked Shameik and Jake Johnson — who voices Peter — how they’d react to finding clones of themselves.
Shameik Moore: “I might be a little jealous, because I like being the only me!”
Jake Johnson: “I think it depends on how the other me was doing. If I met another me and he was down and out, I would be better with that. I could give me advice and be like, ‘Look at you, you’re doing terrible, Jake! Let me show you how to do Jake!'”
Of course you can’t talk about Spider-Man without mentioning the man who created him — the late Stan Lee.
He makes a cameo in the animated movie, and according to the writer-producer duo, his fingerprints are all over it.
Chris Miller, writer/producer: “He was a real inspiration to us. His message that you don’t have to be a big, fancy, special person — you can just be an underdog, and you’re not alone was the real heart of this movie.”
“Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse” swings into theaters this weekend.
Get this — the movie has a percent 99 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Apparently one critic had to give it a negative review and ruin the fun.
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