Why Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a Champion for Diversity

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is not your typical Spider-Man film. In fact, it’s the first animated Spider-Man film released in theaters. However, it’s the fact that the film ditches the established Peter Parker in favor of a younger, more contemporary hero in the form of Miles Morales, a biracial Brooklyn teen who is more interested in his street art than his education, that makes this film truly stand out (that and the spectacular animation style).

As eloquently stated by The Hollywood Reporter’s Richard Newby, “Into the Spider-Verse isn’t just the next great leap in superhero movies because of its introduction of the comic book multiverse, but because it treats black and Latino heritage as a key piece of a superhero identity, and that’s just as important as any spider symbol.”

Though Miles is the main focus of the film, Into the Spider-Verse introduces viewers other diverse versions of the iconic character, including a female version of the character (Spider-Woman/Spider-Gwen aka Gwen Stacy), an Asian version (SP//dr aka Peni Parker) and even a pig version (Spider-Ham aka Peter Porker). The addition of these characters, their histories and origins are more than just an attempt from Sony and Marvel at capitalizing on diversity and inclusivity, they help form the deep and ever-continuing Spider-Man mythos that has captured and entertained fans for more than half a century.

From left: PENI PARKER/SP//DR, GWEN STACY/SPIDER-WOMAN, SPIDER-HAM, MILES MORALES, PETER PARKER, SPIDER-MAN NOIR

Arguably the best aspect of the entire film is the fact that the story isn’t about a black and Latino Spider-Man – it’s about Miles and his story.

“He’s an African-American-Hispanic lad from the Bronx, but that does not serve as a function to check off all the progressive check boxes. He’s a real character, with universal concerns such as fitting in, making good grades, impressing the ladies and dealing with the ups and downs of family life.”

– C.S. Johnson – “Into the Spider-Verse” – Diversity Done Right

As we’ve stated before on this site, by simply having an ethnically-diverse character in the lead role does wonders for representation in media. It also doesn’t hurt that the film is by far one of the greatest superhero film to date.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse can be streamed on Netflix today.