Into the Spider-Verse is the closest you get to experiencing a comicbook on the big screen.

For a character that’s been beaten to death with several reboots, video games adaptations and countless media tie-ins, this is a refreshingly new take. We are finally introduced to Miles Morales (long overdue!) and Spider-Gwen, Spider-Man Noir, SP//dr (Peni Parker), and Spider-Ham (er…Peter Porker) for good measure. Like the MCU, Spider-Verse thrives when it brings characters together. The camaraderie between the “spider-people” works great. I particularly liked the relationship between Miles and Peter B. Parker, which brought to mind Tony Stark mentoring a young Peter in the MCU.

From the Spider-Man rogues gallery, we see the Kingpin, Green Goblin, Doc Ock, Scorpion, and Prowler. The principal antagonist Wilson Fisk is a mountain of a man, but it’s hard not to visualize Vincent D’Onofrio instead. The movie follows the Kingpin’s attempts to open a multi-dimensional portal in New York. Despite the busy narrative involving several characters, the web never gets tangled, as we swing across a gripping, albeit cartoonish storyline.

After the chaotic Venom movie, Sony has reinvented itself to deliver the most original superhero movie since Deadpool. The film captures the essence of Spider-Man and delivers the most dazzling and inventive visuals of the year as if it were ripped straight from the pages of a comic book. There are quite a few easter eggs to savor across the movie, including meta references and throwbacks to other adaptions of the beloved character.

The movie’s parting message that “anyone can be behind the mask” is complimented nicely with an awesome quote from Stan Lee (see below). After a cacophony of colors in the graffiti-themed end credits, we take a trip down memory lane for one of the most ingenious post-credit scenes ever – the origin of the “Spider-Man pointing at Spider-Man” meme. With a dazzling visual palette, Into the Spider-Verse is the closest you get to experiencing a comicbook on the big screen.

“That person who helps others simply because it should or must be done, and because it is the right thing to do, is indeed without a doubt, a real superhero.” – Stan Lee