Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the much-awaited sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, lived up to the eager anticipation that fans had been building up before its release on June 2.

High-quality visuals, high-stake fights, high-pressure situations, and the highly-engrossing plot caught viewers’ attention from the very first scene. Twist after twist and revelation after revelation kept each fan at the edge of their seat, awaiting the perfect conclusion that would tie together this epic animation. In just two weeks after its release, the movie surpassed its prequel at the worldwide box office and has become the ninth-highest-grossing film of the year. 

Across the Spider-Verse began with a focus on Spider-Man Miles Morales’s love interest, Spider-Woman Gwen Stacy. The plot then picks up its pace when Gwen fights against an Italian Renaissance universe’s version of the Vulture, which introduces her to the Spider-Society, a group of interdimensional Spider-People led by Miguel O’Hara. 

The true appeal of the movie then begins to unravel, as viewers are transported across the multiverse along with Miles and Gwen after they reunite and take on the mission of fighting Spot, a villain whose body is made up of portals that allow him to travel to other universes. As the duo ventures to different worlds and meets new Spider-Men such as Pavitr Prabhakar in Mumbattan India, they begin to discover the secrets of the multiverse, which builds up the suspenseful plot. Throughout the journey, in traditional Spider-Man fashion, the audience is swept up by clever lines and humor, with one of the most memorable moments being Pavitr’s “chai tea” moment.  

Soon after their adventures in Mumbattan, the duo is taken to the headquarters of the Spider-Society where they learn about “canon events;” these are events in every Spider-Man’s story that are so crucial, that straying from them threatens the very fabric of the multiverse, and can even cause the collapse of the universe the event is disrupted in. Fans would recognize cliché canon events as ones such as the death of Spider-Man’s uncle, as seen in Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s universes. After this revelation is made, Miles is told that the canon event in his universe would be the death of his father, a police captain, at the hands of Spot.

At this point, we see the risks at an all-time high as Miles wishes to go back to save his father and prevent his death, but Miguel refuses to let him do so at the risk of threatening the multiverse. Just as viewers thought they’d already received one of the biggest plot twists in the movie, they learn amidst a fight that breaks out when Miles attempts to escape that he is the “original anomaly,” because he was never supposed to become Spider-Man; the spider that bit him wasn’t from his universe. Feeling betrayed that Gwen had kept this from him, Miles cuts ties with her and flees on his own, evoking the personal emotional response from viewers that every Spider-Man movie has continually achieved throughout the years. 

As Miles traveled across the multiverse one more time to complete his heroic journey back home, fans watched with bated breath for the ultimate conclusion. Yet, just as Marvel did it once before with Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, fans were left with a high-tension cliffhanger after another monumental plot twist in the final scene.

Personally, as a devoted Spider-Man fan who has never missed a single movie, watching Across the Spider-Verse was an unforgettable experience that will forever hold a special place in my heart. 

The concluding movie of this film series, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, is scheduled to come out in March 2024. Although fans have less than a year to wait, it might just feel longer than the 5-year wait for the sequel, given the tantalizing ending and unexpected revelations that’ll be sure to keep fans hooked on theories for what is yet to come.