spider man the hero's journey

15 Years Later, Sam Raimi’s ‘Spider-Man’ Is Both a Trendsetter and a Throwback

The groundbreaking superhero film is unlike any other superhero film today, but it also left its mark on the genre.

While the superhero genre as we know it today began back with Bryan Singer ’s X-Men in 2000, Sam Raimi ’s Spider-Man took it to the next level in 2002, becoming the first movie to gross over $100 million on its opening weekend and confirming that superhero movies were here to stay.

And yet looking back at the film on its 15th anniversary, Spider-Man is both a guidepost and an outlier. The state of the superhero genre today with its reliance on world-ending stakes, crossover universes, and pushing into new genres like R-rated comedy and westerns, are completely foreign to the goofy, four-color attitude present in Raimi’s film. And yet it sets the template for the superhero origin story, borrowing heavily from Richard Donner ’s Superman , but also trying to straddle the line between “realistic” and corny comic books.

You can see that from the outset where Peter ( Tobey Maguire ) gets bitten by the spider. In the comics, a radioactive spider bites Peter, but the filmmakers decided that wouldn’t be modern enough, so they went with a genetically enhanced spider, which doesn’t make things any less silly. It does allow the film to explain what kind of powers Peter will have before he gets them, but at the same time, we’re just supposed to be like, “Of course a genetically engineered spider will give you superpowers if it bites you. Also, labs lose track of their genetic experiments all the time.”

It’s clear that Raimi’s passion is being as unabashedly silly and corny as modern audiences will allow, and to his credit (and the credit of audiences), they went for it. Today, we see that superhero films try to be serious or realistic. They need to have weighty themes or challenge the notion of the hero’s journey. Spider-Man , unencumbered by all that baggage, is free to be a throwback to Donner’s Superman and even the 1960s Batman TV series, completely with all of Raimi’s flourishes.

This bizarre duality—trying to be both somewhat realistic and also ridiculously melodramatic—is perfectly represented by Raimi’s take on the Green Goblin. Norman Osborne ( Willem Dafoe ) is kind of a tragic figure. He doesn’t start out being evil, and it’s only from his rational desire to save his company that he takes the risk of dosing himself with the Goblin formula. That formula turns him insane, but he keeps wrestling with the Goblin’s actions throughout the movie. But the Goblin character is deliciously over the top, complete with a cartoonish voice and screaming at Aunt May ( Rosemary Harris ) to finish her nightly prayers. In any other film, that would feel horribly disjointed, but Raimi manages to hold it all together.

What makes Spider-Man even more unique is how much of Raimi’s personality pervades the entire movie. Most of today’s superhero movies are about hiding the filmmaker, and we celebrate if even a fraction of their personality makes it into the finished project. Instead, we celebrate the property, looking for Easter eggs and hints towards future installments. Spider-Man , by comparison, has none of that. It sets up a sequel, but only in terms of its hero’s journey, not by teasing future villains or supporting characters. Also, rather than including Easter eggs that highlight Spider-Man (other than the requisite Stan Lee cameo), the Easter eggs belong to Raimi. He features his Oldsmobile, there’s a prominent cameo from his Evil Dead star Bruce Campbell , and the director’s personality is all over the film. When we see James Gunn ’s personality in a Guardians of the Galaxy movie, it’s noteworthy that Marvel would ever let a director get “strange” even though it’s still within the confines of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

And yet for as much as Spider-Man would feel right at home in the 60s or 70s in terms of its tone, its visual effects and set pieces are what set the tone for the modern superhero film. While the movie never goes big in terms of the threat—Goblin doesn’t even seem to have a plan beyond “Kill Spider-Man”—the simple act of nailing down Spider-Man’s movements required the best VFX available at the time. While not all of those effects have aged well, most of them are still reliable, and the movie looks modern even if it feels campy and silly.

When we look at the vast difference between today's superhero movies and Spider-Man , it may be hard to see the lasting impact of Raimi's film, and yet Raimi's film is basically laying down the rules that had to be broken, similar to Singer's X-Men . Both of those films wouldn't be at home in 2017, but what they're trying to do by bringing superheroes into a modern, blockbuster framework, laid the foundation for the superhero movies we see today.  To put it another way, if Spider-Man was rejected in 2002, it's hard to imagine anyone attempting superhero movies packed with humor and color.  The tone would likely be set by X-Men 's reliance on explaining away superhero flourishes and Christopher Nolan 's desire to ground superhero tales in realism.  As it stands, X-Men , Spider-Man , and Batman Begins all shaped the superhero genre as we know it today.

Spider-Man and other superhero movies will likely never return to what Raimi attempted. It’s too gleeful, too over the top in its “Aw, shucks” attitude, and eschews the modern at every turn (its 2002 was basically the last gasp for having your hero read newspapers and talk on payphones; its most modern touch is the post-9/11 subtext as average New Yorkers fight against the Green Goblin). But all superhero movies owe a debt to Spider-Man for not only breaking through at the box office, but by showing that there was a space for superheroes to carry a blockbuster identity that was still big, bold, and distinctive.

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A Spidey Sense We Haven’t Seen Before

In Across the Spider-Verse , even more thrilling than the dazzling visuals is the hero’s bold psychological journey.

Multiverses are, at this point, familiar ground for Hollywood. Films about extra-dimensional travel and parallel versions of ourselves aren’t restricted to the realm of comic-book nerdery; the reigning Best Picture winner at the hoary Oscars is all about “verse-jumping,” after all. Yet no character is more conversant in the metaphysical and narrative implications of the multiverse than Spider-Man, who has been hopping through portals for years, both in the live-action film No Way Home and in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse , an animated delight that pushed every limit of the medium to smoosh seven very different spider-stars into one adventure.

So what possible new depths can that movie’s sequel, titled Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse , plumb? The epic picks back up with teen hero Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore), who travels across realities with five other Spideys, who are all connected through their shared insectoid prowess. The story is part two of a three-film arc—the next edition is slated for release in spring 2024—so don’t go in expecting a neatly tied-up conclusion. Instead, what’s impressive about Across the Spider-Verse is how it challenges the essential structure of a superhero narrative.

Audiences are probably painfully aware of Spider-Man’s character beats by now. This is the tenth major feature film to star the character since the director Sam Raimi’s first Spider-Man in 2002. Most of them have at least gestured at the notion of great power coming with great responsibility, and sacrificed a beloved uncle for the sake of a grander lesson. Miles dealt with renditions of these problems in Into the Spider-Verse . But the film also took pains to underline that he is a different character from Peter Parker, the usual Spider-Man, and he has endless potential to not follow the same hero’s journey.

Read: Spider-Man: Far From Home satirizes the way Marvel movies are made

Across the Spider-Verse reunites Miles with his erstwhile crush, Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld), a Spider-Woman from another timeline, who’s now part of a crew that is trying to restore order to the multiple universes. Alongside Gwen is Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson), a charmingly bedraggled take on the first film’s character; Jessica Drew (Issa Rae), a pregnant and motorcycle-riding Spider-Woman; and Miguel O’Hara (Oscar Isaac), a.k.a. “Spider-Man 2099,” a grim and gritty vigilante from a dark alternate future who leads the team.

With all these heroes (and many others) come stern council meetings and endless exposition, the kind of script sludge that has stopped other cross-dimensional films (such as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ) in their tracks. But Across the Spider-Verse avoids seeming like a physics lesson because its visuals are consistently thrilling; the most static bits of dialogue still pop because of how daring the animation is. Just as important as the aesthetic creativity is the narrative intrigue. When Miles is taken to the land of Spideys and taught their ways, he keeps rubbing up against an insidious underlying notion—that they’re all inherently the same.

Yes, they each look different, as do their worlds. Some of the Spider-Men and -Women are flesh-and-blood humans, others are talking animals, and one is literally a walking Lego figure. Gwen’s universe is depicted through vivid watercolors, while Miles’s buzzes with neon energy. My favorite new character, Spider-Punk (Daniel Kaluuya), somehow looks like a zine sketch come to life; as with the last film, Across the Spider-Verse is a computer-animated film that uses the medium to depict a multitude of artistic styles.

But Miles’s growing realization as Across the Spider-Verse progresses (it clocks in at a hefty 140 minutes) is enticingly rebellious. He’s not interested in being the same tragic hero as those around him. His life is stuffed with costumed do-gooders carrying both the weight of the world and untold personal losses, and Miles (who has loving parents and a close bond to Gwen) starts to stray outside the lines in the hope of avoiding those same burdens.

My one real complaint is that Spider-Verse has only begun to explore this line of thinking when it ends on a risky, unresolved plot point. The dazzling ambition on display, both aesthetically and narratively, justifies the swing. But I won’t be ready to call the Spider-Verse series a masterpiece of the genre until I watch it stick the landing next year—even though I’m a firm believer that it will.

Spider-Man and The Hero’s Journey Essay

Spider-Man is an action movie directed by Sam Raimi. It tells the story of a teenager acquiring supernatural abilities. The following text will depict the twelve steps of the Hero’s Journey, using the scenes as examples. During the first step, Peter Parker is depicted as a schoolboy who is bullied by his classmates. The movie introduces his love interest, Mary Jane Watson, and his friend, Harry Osborn. Peter’s life changes after being bitten by a spider during a field trip to a laboratory. As a result, he acquires supernatural abilities, such as web shooting and climbing walls. At this point, Parker is overjoyed and unaware of the responsibilities that follow. The third step takes place when Peter is given a chance to catch a robber who steals money from an accountant after a wrestling match Parker has finished. The guy rejects the opportunity, letting the bandit run away. This mistake leads to said robber killing Peter’s uncle, Ben.

After the death of the boy’s uncle, he recognizes the latter as a mentor figure and follows his words. During the fifth step, Parker becomes a hero by fighting crime in New York. The multiple tests approach him when he is confronted by his new nemesis: the Green Goblin. The latter believes that humans are unreliable and offers Peter an alliance. Moreover, Peter’s love interest is dating his best friend, and the boss at his new job despises Spider-Man.

The stakes are raised when Norman (Goblin) notices a cut on the guy’s arm during a Thanksgiving dinner with May, MJ, and Harry. He realizes that Parker is Spider-Man because the injury is identical to his enemy’s. This leads to the eighth step when May is attacked by Goblin. Peter realizes what may happen if he loses his anonymity (Raimi, 2002). The Reward is represented by Mary Jane having a personal conversation, and after May overhears it and advises Peter to confess, he does it indirectly, and MJ holds his hand.

Spider-Man has his final battle with the Green Goblin, with the latter forcing the former to choose between Mary Jane’s life and saving the lives of a group of kids he is holding hostage. Peter successfully rescues both MJ and the children, having to fight the Goblin for the last time later. Norman dies, trying to kill the guy but indirectly causing his own demise. Parker acknowledges his responsibilities in the final stage and continues living as Spider-Man.

Raimi, S. (2002). Spider-Man . Columbia Pictures.

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1. IvyPanda . "Spider-Man and The Hero's Journey." July 29, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/spider-man-and-the-heros-journey/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Spider-Man and The Hero's Journey." July 29, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/spider-man-and-the-heros-journey/.

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Myth and the Hero's Journey

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Myth and the hero's journey: Big screen blockbusters

Star wars , spider-man - tell timeless tales, by chris bergeron.

After leaving his ruined home in a galaxy far, far away, Luke Skywalker began a journey taken by countless other heroes from Odysseus to Huckleberry Finn.

Along the way, the young adventurer encountered a wise knight, a charming princess and the husk of his father in a tale that began a long time ago but has come to seem as familiar as our own dreams.

Whether sending their creations across the wine dark seas or the deserts of Tatooine, storytellers from blind Homer to director George Lucas have used myths to reveal truths as old as time.

From every age and place, seekers like Odysseus and Huck Finn have set out as wanderers yet ended on profound quests to discover what it means to be human.

With the fifth installment of Lucas' intergalactic saga, Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones , primed for release on May 16, some are hailing it as the desperately needed, contemporary equivalent of the kind of myths that once inspired civilizations.

They point to Lucas' friendship with the late Joseph Campbell, the preeminent 20th-century expounder of mythology, as evidence his films were exploring far more than hyper-space.

Some, like television journalist Bill Moyers, believe Lucas has used his art to revitalize mankind's oldest story, the hero's journey, dressing it up in sci-fi duds to remind viewers if they forget it they'll be like Darth Vader - a hollow shell behind a mask.

And psychologist and author Jonathan Young describes Lucas' series as

He believes the Star Wars saga has propitiously arrived at a time when advanced technology has rendered old Gods obsolete in a secular age when individuals are estranged from nature, society and themselves.

Appearing at Harvard, Young described the film's episodes as wisdom tales that point the way to spiritual renewal and the path of right conduct in a trashy age.

He cited Lucas' treatment of the mysterious Force which Jedi knights regard as the unifying power of the universe and a potent power to be pursued and understood.

We have the Force within us just like theologians say we have the Holy Spirit , Young said. The Force is the most noble qualities a culture has to offer. It is whatever divine inspirations the religions pointed to .

He compared the experience of viewing a Lucas film in a darkened theater to the ritual very much like going to church on Sunday morning. It's kind of like religion of the psyche .

Young, who serves as Campbell's archivist, stated,

We are living in a time between the myths. The compelling narratives of times past are not holding our energies the way they once did. So, there is some hope a new mythic vision will emerge .

From the ashes

Does Lucas expect moviegoers to learn swordplay with light sabers or pilot the Millennium Falcon through asteroid belts?

Of course not. Like Campbell, he asks for something far simpler, yet infinitely more difficult.

They ask people to cultivate their own inner resources with discipline, restraint and faith, the lesson Skywalker learns from all his various mentors.

It is exciting what George Lucas is doing because he is such a serious student of myth and has taken the most compelling aspects of the patterns Campbell described and is presenting them back to us in the most marvelously dramatic fashion ,

Young said.

Asked whether it was possible Lucas was merely imitating or echoing Campbell's mythological theories without understanding them, Young said it was very unlikely. Young said:

From what I know of the 'Star Wars' scripts, Lucas had a very strong idea of what he wanted before bringing Campbell into it. So I do think there's a spontaneous, creative element to what Lucas has done .

Starting with his classic study, The Hero With 1,000 Faces , Campbell isolated certain mythic elements common to the legends, folklore and fairy tales of all cultures that constitute the hero's journey , a sort of psychic road trip through the major stages of life itself.

In that book, he described a Mono-myth common to all cultures in which the hero triumphs over a series of obstacles with the help of a mentor who bestows a boon , or gift, to assist him through his darkest moments.

Whether in Star Wars or The Wizard of Oz , Campbell felt the hero's adventures recapitulated the individual's progress from innocence, or psychic wholeness, to knowledge or sin - and, finally, back to a renewed wisdom.

For Young, the power of myth can also be found in comic books, like Spider-Man , which employ the standard theme of an awkward adolescent discovering he's blessed with extra-human powers.

'Spider-Man' is a classic in its own way. It's a compelling metaphor that indicates there's more to us than we might originally imagine , he said.

When comic character Peter Parker discovered his newfound talents, Young compared it to the common adolescent fantasy of wielding power. He said,

To a young person, the discovery of power is quite miraculous. But Spider-Man's message is to wisely use the powers he's been given. His new powers aren't for his own glorification or enrichment but to make some contribution to others

Tarnished heroes

To the owners of two local comic book stores, it's no surprise readers find instructive moral lessons in the adventures of Superman and Wonder Woman, Spider-Man and Captain Marvel.

Readers have always found comics to be morality plays , said Frank Urbano, owner of Paper Heroes in Holliston. I'd be lying if I said people don't want good to triumph over evil .

A former Boston housing police officer, Urbano pointed out comics are evolving in ways to match a changing world.

While DC Comics traditionally employed flawlessly good superheroes, rival Marvel relied on conflicted adolescent characters with ambiguous motives.

Decades later, new comics like Dark Horse and Image created characters, like Wolverine or the X-Men, often described as mutants who represented uneasy amalgams of good and evil.

The most extreme example of comics reflecting a malevolent world, Urbano said, might be Slave Labor Graphics which publishes Johnny the Homicidal Maniac .

Richard Roach, owner of Hudmar Paper in Marlborough, believes superhero tales appeal to the adolescent fantasy of power, which he attributed to escapism - but not mythology.

The first days

As a film scholar who founded Boston College's cinema studies department, Professor John Michalczyk believes many popular films fall short of real mythic status.

While a movie like The Scorpion King has mythic pretensions, it merely parades lifeless mythic cliches that lack the timeless gravity of moral tales.

He questioned whether Hollywood treatments of timeless mythic themes could compare in depth and universality to the original ancient models that inspired them.

The author of 10 books on film, Michalczyk dismissed wrestler-turned-actor, The Rock, as a plastic hero, a flash in the pan, that won't have the longevity of a mythic heroes like Skywalker or Huck Finn.

For him, the cinematic Spider-Man also represented a secondhand myth rather than the genuine article.

Michalczyk suggested many contemporary artists are too secularized and distracted by popular culture to make art or films with a genuine mythic resonance.

Myth is a sacred story. But these days I feel there's less of a touching of the human heart than imitating the outlines of myth itself .

As a writer and producer of contemporary comics, graduate student David Lewis, of Framingham, believes they can be appropriately sophisticated vehicles to explore complex subjects.

He characterized Spider-Man's alter ego Peter Parker as the typically conflicted hero who uses his newfound gifts to rise above his limitations to achieve self-knowledge, an echo of similar themes in Star Wars .

And while Lewis believes Spider-Man's story line fits Campbell's Mono-myth to a T , he pointed out the hero of an ongoing comic series can never come to the end of his travels, like Odysseus or Huck Finn, to share their wisdom without ending the comic line itself.

Earning a master's degree in literature at Georgetown University, Lewis speculated that comics' fixation on mutant characters reflected global nuclear fears at the height of very real Superpowers conflicts between the U.S. and the then-Soviet Union.

Following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that killed thousands, he believes story lines are again reflecting a national hunger for squeaky clean heroes like Superman of what fans call the golden age of comics.

Since the attacks, he pointed out the comic industry re-booted dormant heroes like GI Joe and Captain America as exemplars of national virtue. Lewis said:

We're seeing a return to the spirit of heroism. We need heroes again. We want to believe in heroes. We'll see a return to the spirit of heroism but not the actual military expression of it. Right now, we see enough of that in the news .

Published: Sunday, May 5, 2002 Daily News, Framingham, MA (Suburb of Boston). Section: Arts & Culture

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WHAT ARE THE STAGES OF “THE HERO’S JOURNEY”?

What is “Hero's Journey ” ?  

  “Hero’s Journey” is a structure that most of us are actually familiar with. Even if some of us haven’t noticed, mostly all heroic stories from epic mythologies to Tolkien have similar structures that Joseph Campbell calls as “Hero’s Journey”.

Basically, it can be said that there is a story structure most of us are familiar with, in which a protagonist is dragged into an adventure, makes new friends and enemies, fights the enemy and becomes a whole other person than s/he was before… 

This structure is well explained in the book called Hero’s Journey by Joseph Campbell, who coined this structure in mid 1900s. Then, Christopher Vogler turned this useful mythic structure into a comprehensive modern guideline for screenwriters with his book Writer’s Journey. In his book he divides the structure into 12 stages.

What Are The 12 Stages of “ Hero’s Journey ”?

 1. Ordinary World

The first stage of the hero’s journey is called “Ordinary World” in which the main character is seen in his/her everyday life. The spectator gets to know about the character’s life before adventure calls. The character has no idea what is waiting for him.

For example, in the first Spider-Man (Sam Raimi,2002) movie, the spectator gets to know a teenage boy, Peter Parker who lives with his uncle and aunt and likes a girl from school.

2. Call to Adventure

As understood from the name, in this stage the character is called by the adventure and the adventure begins… This stage can be formed in different ways.

Again, in Spider-Man , Peter Parker’s adventure call begins when he is bitten by a genetically modified spider that gives him special powers.

3. Refusal of the Call

In this stage Hero refuses the adventure, mostly because s/he is afraid. The hero is not ready to make a major change in his/her ordinary life.

For example, in Matrix (1999), Neo refuses to obey Morpheus’s instructions and surrenders to agents.

4. Meeting the Mentor

The hero meets with his mentor who shows and teaches the hero to overcome his/her fears and pushes the hero into the adventure. Mentor does not always have to be a person; it can also be an object or an inner mentor.

5. Crossing the Threshold

If the hero has made it to this stage, it means that the hero is now committed to the journey. It is a big step into the Special World from the Ordinary World.

For example, in Matrix (1999), Neo’s threshold is the pills offered by Morpheus. When he chooses the red pills, he enters to the Special World.

6. Tests, Allies and Enemies

Crossing the threshold, the hero now copes with the tests, faces the enemies and team up with allies. Basically, in this stage the hero defines the relationships by finding out who is the enemy or who is the friend.

7. Approach to the Inmost Cave

This is the part where the hero faces a danger or a conflict that makes him/her question his/her journey. Hero needs to gain courage again in order to continue. And often failure is not an option.

8. The Ordeal

Whatever the hero is facing at the moment (such as a major conflict or a danger), the hero must overcome his/her fears and keep on. In this part, hero must not fail; s/he must fight with the conflict with all his/her powers.  It can be said that in this stage hero must reborn from his/her ashes.

After the enemy is defeated and overcoming the obstacles, the hero is rewarded for his/her accomplishments.  

For example, after the enemy is defeated in Spider Man, Peter Parker comes together with the love of his life, Mary Jane.

10. The Road Back

Hero attempts to go back to his/her hometown and ordinary life except the hero is no longer the same person we first met, and it is not that easy to return.

11. Resurrection 

This is the climax stage in which the hero must face one last conflict before returning home. This is the most dangerous conflict that the hero faces. It is a matter of life and death. Mostly the hero succeeds, and the enemy fails.

12. Return with Elixir

This is the last stage where the hero returns to his/her home. However, the hero is no longer the same person as before. The hero brings a new perspective to his/her ordinary life. 

For example, in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001) , Harry returns to his home happy because he knows that he will go back to Hogwarts.

What Are the Benefits of the Hero’s Journey Structure?

• The structure helps you as a writer to create a clear road map.
• It reveals character arcs.
• It provides a layered and strong character transformation.
• Unlike the 3-Act-Structure, it offers 12 steps to structure your story, and therefore it is easier to track the plot, character arcs and inconsistencies in your screenplay.
• The structure has become familiar to the audience.

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Gwen Stacy & The Hero’s Journey In Across The Spider-Verse

Ever since I saw Across the Spider-Verse , I’ve been really interested in the journey that Gwen Stacy undergoes in the film.  I’ve already talked about the hubris of Miles, Miguel, and even the Spot, and how this is a core thematic element of the story – but Gwen’s very much got her own thing going on.  So I figured I’d try and break it down a little here, with the help of one Joseph Campbell and a certain infamous narrative template – but I’m getting ahead of myself.

A central plot point of Across the Spider-Verse is the idea of ‘canon events’, events which shape a Spider-Person into the hero they are meant to be, regardless of the world in which they live.  Setting aside the dubious veracity of whether Miguel is even right about canon events, it’s well worth examining the very beginning of the film, as we learn more about the events that helped shape Gwen Stacy into her world’s Spider-Woman.

For seemingly every Spider-Person, one canon event seems to be the significant death of someone close to them, near the beginning of their Spider-Career.  For Miles, it is Aaron Davies, the Prowler.  For innumerable Peters, an uncle Ben.  And for Gwen herself, Peter Parker, monstrously transformed and killed in the ensuing devastation of a battle.

It’s fitting, given Gwen’s raised prominence in this film, to grant her a little more backstory, to help her assume the narrative weight that comes with being (I think) the film’s co-protagonist.  Yet it also serves a very important function – to illustrate that while Gwen may be Miles’ equal in the film, she is, in many ways, less heroically developed.

This may seem an odd claim, but consider the deaths of Aaron Davies and Peter Parker.  In many significant ways, the deaths are very similar.  Both the Prowler and the Lizard are villainous and dangerous figures, both of them die fighting Spider-(Wo)man (though through no direct fault of the hero), and both of them die in the arms of their Spider-Person.

But there’s one huge difference, too, and that difference is all the more important given the other similarities.  The last words Peter Parker ever hears are his best friend lying to him.  He knows Gwen is Spider-Woman, and says so to her – only to be met with rejection, with dishonesty, with Gwen’s mask still up (figuratively and literally).  Where Miles and Aaron share a final touching moment of reconciliation and honesty , Peter reaches out for just such a moment – only to be rejected by Gwen. The very last words Peter hears are his best friend, lying to him, even though he knows the truth.

This early character beat is important because it shows that Gwen, for all her heroic trappings, is not yet a hero.  Don’t get me wrong, she is undoubtedly heroic , as well as being skilful and practised.  But I don’t think she’s a hero…not yet, anyway.  Because for all her heroism, she has not learnt to confront true danger, dangers to herself – whenever such a challenge is presented to her, she lies.  She runs away.  She does everything she can to avoid confrontation, no matter how necessary or justified that confrontation may be. She lies to Peter to protect herself.

There’s another, much smaller moment, also towards the beginning of the film, which should clue us the audience in to just how far Gwen still has to go – when her father gets called to the Guggenheim, his last words to her are, “I’ll call later – love you!”

And Gwen doesn’t respond.  Of course, this is developing her fractious and complicated dual relationship with Captain George Stacy, father and vigilante hunter – but it’s also an incredibly clear call back to the first film, and to Miles’ relationship with his own father.  Twice, Jeff says “I love you” to Miles.  The first time it’s played for a joke, with Miles eventually (and very unwillingly) responding, but this sets up the pathos of the second time.  This time, Miles does not respond, and Jeff does not expect him to – but it is only because Miles is gagged and webbed down, unable to react at all.

Then, following the film’s climax, Miles as Spider-Man tells Jeff that he loves him – disguised, to be sure, but of his own volition, unafraid of his own emotional vulnerability.  It’s simultaneously funny and touching, and illustrates the growth of Miles…growth that Gwen, despite her seniority, has not yet experienced.  Miles has become a hero in ways that Gwen has not managed…yet. And Miles’ courage and vulnerability are demonstrated through his relationships with Aaron and Jeff in the first film; relationships that are contrasted with Gwen’s fear and dishonesty when confronted by Peter and George.

Gwen’s story and arc in AtSV really fascinated me, and it took me a couple of viewings to really notice just how clever it is.  Because (spoilers) Gwen does overcome her own fears and insecurities, of course, but the way in which she does so, and the story the film gives her, is really interesting, and strangely fitting.  Because Gwen has the facade of being a hero, she is also given the facade of a hero’s journey – of the hero’s journey.

Prologue: The Monomyth

The Hero with a Thousand Faces , Joseph Campbell’s 1949 work of comparative analysis in mythology, is arguably the best-known piece of narrative theory today.  Popularised by George Lucas’ conscious aping of the “hero’s adventure” in Star Wars , the idea of the monomyth, the call to adventure, and other concepts defined by Campbell are generally familiar to anyone with an interest in narrative and myth (though whether one finds Campbell’s ideas credible or useful is a very different question).

Naturally, anyone working as a writer or director is likely to be very familiar with the work – and I think that’s very apparent in AtSV , especially in how the film portrays the hero’s journey as seen through Campbell.  Because Gwen’s story is very consciously Campbellian, but in a way that is distinctly contrary to Campbell’s underpinning ideas.  Gwen, in a way, undergoes an anti hero’s journey.

Into the Spider-Verse also adheres closely to the monomyth, of course.  Miles is living a normal life, is bitten by a magic radioactive spider and drawn into an extraordinary world.  He is unwilling and nervous, but through the aid of several mentors, he is able to overcome obstacles, up to and including a ‘death’ (when he is left behind by the other Spider-people) and ‘resurrection’ (as his own spin on the heroic Spider-Man).  With his new gifts, he returns to his own world, having overcome the final tests, and is now present in both worlds at once, and to the betterment of both.

Super monomyth-ish, but that’s the point of the monomyth – there isn’t necessarily much more for me to say.  The sequel, on the other hand, also draws inspiration from the hero’s journey, in (what I think) is a much more deliberate manner, and in an actively subversive way.

Consider the opening of the film.  From the beginning, we’re being told two different things in the film’s language.  The narrative, Gwen’s narrative, is framing Miles as being the hero – yet the actual framing of the film makes it clear that this story is also Gwen’s.  The narration is hers, the film opens with her – even her words make it clear that this is no longer just Miles’ story.

Gwen: Let’s do things differently this time. So differently. His name is Miles Morales. He was bitten by a radioactive spider. And he’s not the only one. He hasn’t always had it easy. And he’s not the only one. And now he’s on his own. And he’s not the only one. You think you know the rest; you don’t. I thought I knew the rest, but I didn’t. I didn’t want to hurt him, but I did. And he’s not the only one.

Consider the first clear and inarguable monomythic moment in the film, the ‘call to adventure’ that Gwen receives from Miguel O’Hara and Jessica Drew.  The Hero with a Thousand Faces is a work that deals with symbolism and interpretation, yet here every Campbellian element is nearly as literal as possible.  There is a talisman – the wrist-worn device that allows safe passage into the beyond. There is a threshold, the multiversal portal, guarded by Miguel, that will lead to an extraordinary world.  With the aid of Jessica, Gwen is granted passage, and steps through the threshold into adventure.

This all fits the monomyth incredibly clearly – yet it does not tell the whole story, either.  Because the film frames this moment not as a triumph, but as a tragedy.  The music is ominous, throbbing, doom-laden – it has a bombastic veneer, yet is clearly tragic.  Gwen isn’t embracing the call to adventure, she is fleeing her responsibility as a superhero and as a daughter.  And as we later learn, the narrative logic of the film emphasises that this is the wrong choice on Gwen’s part, because Miguel’s organisation is not at all heroic.  Gwen isn’t even making the right choice for the wrong reasons here, she’s also making the wrong choice.

Gwen’s acceptance of the call in this moment isn’t a moment of excitement, because Gwen’s not starting on her hero’s journey – she’s running away, rejecting the responsibility that is entailed by being a hero.  The threshold may meet the definition of Campbell’s structure, but it does not in any way match the spirit of his theory.  Gwen doesn’t want to travel the multiverse for the sake of adventure, or because it is right – she wants to do so because it would be easier than her real world, which goes against the core of Campbell’s template.

So Gwen steps through on her “hero’s journey”, having been granted a multiverse-watch by Miguel (as mentioned above, a clear talisman in Campbellian language), and then…vanishes.  Right at the moment when she enters the new world, when she crosses the first threshold, the film leaves her, instead focusing on Miles.  At this point in Campbell’s monomyth, we ought to be in the “Belly of the Whale”, to see Gwen undergoing her first trials.  But this isn’t really Gwen’s hero’s journey at all, and so we cut away from her, undercutting her threshold crossing (and, arguably, foreshadowing that Miles himself is a key element in Gwen’s trials ahead).

Gwen, though, is blissfully unaware for the moment, she seems to truly believe that she is on a heroic path.  When she reappears in the film and is chatting with Miles, she enthusiastically talks about Miguel and Jess, outright saying that she’s “learned so much” from the senior Spider-Woman.  Jessica Drew is, in this twisted hero’s journey, Gwen’s mentor.

But what exactly has Gwen learnt from Jessica?  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t doubt that from a literalist perspective, Gwen is telling the truth, that she has learnt lots of cool little tricks and ideas from Jessica.  But from a narrative perspective, we never see any evidence of this, explicit or implicit.  Gwen does not show herself to have developed greatly as a superhero in any aspect, whether mental, physical or even moral.  She does not pull off some amazing Jessica-style move to save the day, she doesn’t call upon Jessica’s influence to solve a crisis.  From a story-logic perspective, Gwen has not developed in the slightest through Jessica’s mentoring.

Further, when Jessica herself reenters the film, as a hologram call while Gwen is investigating the Spot’s apartment, we see no evidence of warmth or camaraderie from her.  Indeed, Jessica’s appearance is framed as being something threatening, looming suddenly over Gwen from behind, and scolding her for her failures.  Jessica isn’t shown as being a figure who cares for Gwen, or is trying to help her – she’s scary, dispassionate, judgemental.

Jessica is framed as being Gwen’s mentor, yet she does a spectacularly bad job at it – nominally she is indeed a mentor, but narratively she does nothing to earn it (and, as will be seen later, actively fails to live up to the tag).

So Gwen runs away, again, ostensibly living up to her duty by chasing the Spot, whilst failing in her duty to Miles.  And in a way, I think Gwen is aware that she is turning her back on a friend without just cause, as she looks out over Miles’ New York and farewells him, unaware that he’s right there.

Gwen : Goodbye, Miles.

At this point, Gwen is on her Road of Trials, and, well…she doesn’t do a very good job with any of those trials, to be honest.  Having run away from Miles, she continues to mislead Miles on what she has been told about him.  When Captain Singh is in danger, Gwen upholds Miguel’s status quo instead of saving him, and is clearly conflicted after Miles manages to save him.  Hobie outright tells Gwen that Miles needs to be enlightened, and still Gwen refuses to act.  In short, despite being a protagonist overall, Gwen does very little (arguably nothing) in this act of the film – she is impotent, unwilling, afraid.  Far from learning and growing, from seizing her own fate and confronting danger, Gwen is repeating the mistakes she has made since the beginning of the film.

Tellingly, Gwen makes it clear that she has not returned to her home in months, remaining either with the Spider-Society, or ‘crashing’ in various alternative dimensions, including Hobie’s.  The film does not make it clear how exactly the Spider-Society functions, though given that Peter B Parker seems to view it as being ‘work’, as a day job, I am sure that members are somewhat free to come and go as they will.  Nonetheless, given the rhetoric around how Miguel and the Society have lost sight of their goals, there is a very real implication that the Spider-Society is inadvertently preventing Spider-People from realising their own heroic destinies in their own universes.

The five months that Gwen spends with the Society are five long months that her own home is unprotected by Spider-Woman…and even in the cases of Peter B and Pavitr, who clearly still live and are active in their home dimensions, they cannot be present in the Society, in their civilian lives, and as their home’s hero all at the same time.  The Spider-Society may be doing ‘the greater good’ (an infamously problematic phrase), but it does so at the cost of thousands of ‘friendly neighbourhood Spider-People’.  But this is an issue not fully dealt with in the film, though it would not surprise me if the sequel returns to it.

Though the story centres around Miles and Miguel during the central act centring around the Spider-Society, there’s one little moment from Gwen that I want to highlight while she (acting alongside the literally faceless and seemingly unthinking horde of Spider-People) chases Miles.  Gwen, as she leaps and swings after Miles, finally begins to express her doubts:

Gwen: But my gut says… Jessica: Then use your head!

Again, Jessica is nominally Gwen’s mentor – but she’s actively holding Gwen back, and preventing Gwen from pursuing the right course of action.  And, of course, this results in catastrophe – Miles escapes, and as he does so, he turns his back on Gwen, finally confirming the words she said to him just a few hours earlier, and (to drive the point home) turning invisible immediately after, just as he was when Gwen herself left him behind:

Miles: Goodbye, Gwen.

So Miles escapes into another universe, and now the film’s attention swings back to Gwen, as she faces the consequences and sum of everything she’s done wrong.  There’s a bitter irony, too, in that the figure judging her – Miguel – is not only complicit, but arguably bears even more responsibility than Gwen.  Miguel told Gwen to hide the truth from Miles, and assigned her to deal with the Spot; and even at the last, Miguel failed to apprehend Miles (which is the actual excuse Miguel uses for expelling Gwen).  Miguel is at least as responsible, if not more so, for all of this – his vicious judgement of Gwen is thus completely unfair.

But that doesn’t make it untrue, and I think Gwen is aware of both these things in this moment.  So she looks to her mentor, to Jessica Drew, for any sort of support or guidance – and Jessica rejects her, fails her.  In the moment when Gwen most needed a mentor and an advocate, Jessica proves herself to be neither – and so Gwen dies.

Well, she doesn’t die die, of course, she’s still alive.  But she is dead to the Spider-Society, dead to Miguel, executed and banished from the supernatural world.  Spiritually and symbolically, this is Gwen’s death, and it is every bit as meaningful as if she had actually been killed.

So Gwen dies, and in dying is returned to the real world – and yet, in this strange and twisted Hero’s Journey, this proves to be one of the most meaningful subversions yet.

Refusal of the Call

In the Departure stage of the monomyth, a very typical element is the Refusal of the Call – a moment when the hero is reluctant, unwilling, even resistant to being swept up into the story.  The hero would rather stay in comfort and security than face the unknown, and so must be encouraged or even forced to step into danger.  This, of course, underlines the great heroism the hero will then demonstrate through the story, and also serves to create value in the hero’s ordinary world – if the hero cares about their world, we will care about it as well.

Now, Gwen never refused the call – she was desperate to hop in to the portal, to leave her world behind.  But in doing so, and triggering her topsy-turvy hero’s journey, she also turned her back on an actual challenge, she ran away from her real hero’s call – the confrontation with her father.  This entire film has been a giant Refusal of the Call on Gwen’s part – and now, she’s finally being forced to accept it.

This might all sound terribly dissatisfying, but I think it really works, and really helps to sell Gwen’s personal journey and growth.  Further, while the subverted hero’s journey that Gwen has been on may not have been ‘real’, it has nonetheless forced her to confront her own personal demons.  Gwen has suffered consequences that she did not intend, and has learnt from her mistakes.

Further, Gwen has never lost sight of her larger goal – she truly does wish to be a hero.  She may not have been hero ic in fleeing from her father, and in failing to question Miguel, and in concealing the truth from Miles, but that does not mean that she is not striving to be a hero.  But it is only now that Gwen can realise her insufficiencies, and confront her own inner demons – and in doing so, she can finally live up to the hero she wants to be.  For while Gwen initially chased after the veneer of adventure and heroism by joining the Spider-Society, she has now finally confronted her own dragon, and accepted the call of her own much more domestic adventure.  But the domesticity of it does not lessen the heroism Gwen finally shows in reaching out to her father, in becoming vulnerable with him.

And through her reconciliation with George, Gwen is also finally able to understand why she herself has failed to live up to her heroic potential – and in doing so, is able to renew her heroic commitment with a greater clarity. At long last, Gwen is able to confront her greatest challenge – her own inadequacies.

Gwen: You’re a good cop, Dad. You know, you put on that badge because you know if you don’t, someone who shouldn’t will. But you have to understand, this mask is my badge. And I’m trying to be good, too. I was trying so hard to wear this thing the way you would want. And I didn’t. I didn’t. I can do all these things, but I can’t help the people I love the most.

Despite her twisty, subversive hero’s journey, Gwen has nonetheless grown, has achieved mastery within and without.  It has taken the entire film for her to Accept the Call, but in the process, she has nonetheless discovered the internal strength to not only accept, but to excel.  Gwen’s reconciliation with her father is the catharsis Gwen herself needed to realise her heroic calling, and to not only gain the strength to realise that calling, but to also gain the wisdom that being a hero isn’t simply about swinging around and saving people.  It’s about confronting your own fears and demons, and overcoming them – and her newfound relationship with her father is proof that this heroic philosophy bears fruit.

Master of the Two Worlds

And in a final and fitting twist, this revelation on Gwen’s part is accompanied by her fulfilling the final stage of her monomythic journey.  Gwen is resurrected through Hobie’s gift (a gift that she could not receive until she met her father – and Hobie knows that Gwen has not been home for months), and is granted mastery over her ‘ordinary’ world, and over the supernatural world that is the multiverse.  Gwen has, at long last, realised her heroic sacrifice, and is granted a heroic boon as a reward.  Through her self-actualisation, Gwen is at long last able to wander between the natural and the supernatural world at will, bestowing her own gifts and boons upon others.

At the end of the film, Gwen has become Miguel as he should have been, a captain of willing followers rather than a director of minions.  She has also become her father, worthy of the badge that he wore and to which she aspires.  And, of course, she has overcome the selfishness and fear that caused her to let down Miles – and before him, her best friend.

Gwen : I always wanted to be in a band. I guess I never just found the right one. In this line of work, you always wind up a solo act. Before Miles, there was Peter.

Come the end of AtSV , Gwen has overcome her failings, has failed and suffered and triumphed, and is bettered as a result – she is a solo act no longer.  And her overcoming of these failings has been through a compelling hero’s journey – not a classic one, perhaps, but I think that works to the advantage of the film as a whole, and her own story.

I’ve gotta confess, I don’t necessarily ascribe to all of Campbell’s theories and concepts – there’s a lot of psychology and pseudopsychology in The Hero with a Thousand Faces that I don’t find compelling, and the very idea of a ‘monomyth’ is (I think) so overly broad as to be either inaccurate or unhelpful ( Bonini’s paradox is at full effect here).

On the other hand, though, Campbell’s monomyth both clearly has merit, and has (more importantly) been highly influential.  It is, perhaps, a chicken and egg scenario in AtSV – does Gwen’s journey mirror and subvert the hero’s journey so carefully because of the monomyth, or because the screenwriters and directors are keenly aware of the monomyth?  My inclination is toward the latter, given how straight the monomyth structure is in ItSV .  AtSV is thus a deconstruction and reconstruction of the monomyth, through Gwen Stacy as the hero.  It’s a very clever reworking of a classic and well-known structure, making it fresh and inventive whilst staying true to the core of Campbell’s theories.

There’s a delightfully unironic tendency in Hollywood to describe any and every sequel to a moderately successful film as being ‘the Empire Strikes Back of the franchise’.  But in this case, I do genuinely think there’s a good claim to that parallel with AtSV .  Both are sequels to a very classic Campbellian story.  Both are more disquieting, less morally clear, and end with a genuine cliffhanger whilst feeling like compelling and satisfying stories in their own right.  And both of them interrogate that monomythic structure in a genuinely novel and narratively logical manner.

I’ve also seen some criticism and dissatisfaction with the character of Gwen in AtSV , which I think rather misses the point of her story.  Gwen’s on a different (though convergent) journey to Miles, and needs to have those self-inflicted setbacks and losses in order to better herself, in order to realise her heroic potential.  I honestly think her arc and development through the film might be my favourite element of the story, and considering how much I liked the film, that is high praise!  The film is laser-focused on showing how and why Gwen grows beyond her initial flaws, and uses this twisted and reworked version of the hero’s journey to support that development.  And, by the end of the film, Gwen is a genuinely matured character – just as Miles did in the first film, she has achieved her heroic aspirations, and in overcoming her flaws, has been rewarded.

Gwen: I never found the right band to join. So I started my own. With a few old friends. You want in?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for reading – feel free to check out anything else you may be interested in on the blog, there’s plenty more to discover! Follow me on Facebook and on Twitter to stay up to date with The Blog of Mazarbul, and if you want to join in the discussion, write a comment below or send an email . Finally, if you really enjoyed the post above, you can support the blog via Paypal . Thanks for reading, and may your beards never grow thin!

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The hero's journey, a monomyth for the ages..

• Course Length: 3 weeks
• Course Type: Short Course
• High School

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Description

Remember when you realized that Avatar was a little too much like Pocahontas ? Or that The Matrix was eerily similar to Star Wars ? Well, you weren't the first person to think so.

In the late 1940s, folklorist Joseph Campbell drove a gravy train right through the American Consciousness, introducing a concept that people couldn't wait to drop at parties. His idea? The Monomyth.

Introduced in his book The Hero With A Thousand Faces , the idea suggests that all myths, folktales, legends, and bizarre gossip about Kanye's baby bringing about the salvation of mankind share the same general pattern and structure. This pattern, a.k.a. the Hero's Journey, has been found in everything from 3,000-year-old Polynesian myths to Harry Potter.

This course will walk you through the fundamentals: the three main stages of the monomyth, the 17 substages, how they function in great works of literature and pop culture, and how accurately the monomyth applies to...well, everything.

Unit Breakdown

1 the hero's journey - one myth to rule them all.

These fifteen lessons will walk you through the stages of the Hero's Journey, using a boatload of different texts (literature, TV shows, movies...the list goes on) to analyze the function and validity of the monomyth.

Sample Lesson - Introduction

Lesson 1.03: i could be your hero, baby.

Last time on a very special lesson... Joseph Campbell and Carl Jung held hands and rode off into the sunset as soul mates. Jung's Collective Unconscious was the missing piece needed to explain why all these shared, passed-down stories were so similar. Answer: because our brains are designed take human experiences, like love or the embarrassment of farting in public, and use them to frame stories teaching future generations.

(Yeah, it's a lot of heady stuff. Don't worry: it's almost over—you can go watch a movie in a bit. Just bear with us for a bit longer.)

Next on the docket, Campbell flexed his inner Bill Nye and applied some science to his monomyth framework. Why? Well, he had to see if there were data to support his conclusions.

What he found was that all myths have the same steps in common. They may not look the same on the surface, but they have more or less the same plot elements.

First step? The hero has to enter the picture.

No one exits the womb with revenge and dragon-slaying on their mind; heroes are made . But first they have go to leave the 'burbs and go to Hogwarts, get unjacked from the Matrix, or leave the moisture farm on Tatooine and hang out with convicted space-felons.

This phase—the one where the hero starts the journey and accepts his heroic destiny—is what Campbell calls the departure phase.

Your goal for this lesson is two-fold:

• Get to know the departure phase of the Hero's Journey to use later.
• Be able to explain the mad science Campbell subjected all those poor myths to in order to create the departure phase in the first place.

Put on both your science and literature thinking caps because you're about to pull a double.

Sample Lesson - Reading

Reading 1.1.03: the hero with a thousand faces.

Here's where it all comes together, like the Megazord from Power Rangers. All the talk around the water cooler and on the street has been about how dope the Hero's Journey is and how your brain works—without ever actually seeing the Hero's J.

For your first savory, succulent taste, read the section called Departure from The Hero with a Thousand Faces . It includes the following sections:

• Refusal of the Call
• Supernatural Aid
• Crossing of the First Threshold
• Belly of the Whale

In these sections, Campbell lays down all the steps in the departure phase after the Call to Adventure (which you already read), where the hero more or less "wakes up" to his destiny.

As you know, Campbell's writing isn't the easiest thing in the world. Don't feel bad if you need to reread or—gasp!—skip a few paragraphs here and there.

Sample Lesson - Activity

Activity 1.03a: science and literature: bffs.

Campbell has a pretty bonkers way of writing, doesn't he?

But The Hero with a Thousand Faces wouldn't have achieved its importance if it weren't seriously well-researched. We mean, how many of you can name twelve Siberian myths?

Campbell's writing might be scattered, but his process is methodical.

We want you to tell us how methodical.

Step 1: Read our introduction to the scientific method .

Step 2: Describe Campbell's scientific process—by writing a lab report. (Or "lab report," since it's not quite what you'll see in science class.)

Your field report should include the following sections:

• Purpose. An open-ended question or statement of what Campbell was trying to find out.
• Hypothesis. A 1-2 sentence statement that describes what Campbell expected to happen.
• Procedures. What did Campbell do specifically? What were the exact steps of the process he completed to test his theory?
• Results. What did Campbell find?
• Analysis. Explain the results. Detail Campbell's theory, as he sees it, in about one paragraph.
• Conclusion. Answer the question from the Purpose section and pose 3-4 additional questions that you feel Campbell's theory didn't answer.

We're looking for about 300-500 words here; the most important thing is that you complete each step with specific answers—toss vagueness out the window. And yes, this activity requires you to read between the lines: Campbell doesn't tell you his process; he shows you. Read carefully.

Step 3: When you're done, upload your shiny new report below.

Creative Written Representation Rubric - 40 Points

What are the three stages of the Hero's Journey?

Call to Adventure, Adventure, and Return

Separation, Trauma, and Reconciliation

Beginning, Middle, and End

Initiation, Return, and Departure

What does Campbell say is the purpose of hero stories?

To create personal transformations

To solve personal problems

To make us functioning members of society

To entertain us

What did Carl Jung look at to determine that there are symbols shared by all mankind?

Primitive cultures

What is the Collective Unconscious?

The unconscious way a story is retold by a culture throughout history

The behaviors all humans have that they don't think directly about

Desires we aren't always aware of

Universal symbols expressed in every human mind

Which of the following is the best definition of the Call to Adventure?

A hero is pulled out of a mundane situation by an unexpected event.

A hero decides he's destined for greater things.

A hero accepts his destiny.

A hero hears the voice of God to begin his journey.

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W hy's T his F unny?

Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse Release Date Claim From Composer Increases Hope Miles Morales Returns Soon

• Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse may be released in 2025.
• The delay could be due to reported behind-the-scenes issues, leading to potential benefits for workers.
• 2025 is packed with superhero movie releases, causing potential competition for the Spider-Verse finale.

Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse gets its most positive release date update since the movie was indefinitely delayed. Miles Morales' animated adventures in the Spider-Verse movie franchise have gotten increasingly more exciting, with Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse setting up the perfect story for Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse . With an original release date of March 2024, the Sony film based on Marvel characters was indefinitely delayed, though Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse 's new release window might have just been revealed .

On TikTok (via The Direct ), singer @d4vdd teased that Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse could be released in 2025 .

As noted by user JuggerClutch on Reddit, while reacting on Twitch to his song, "Feel It," from Invincible , d4vd responded to a fan who said the song reminded them of Miles and Gwen from the Spider-Verse movies, to which the musician replied, " I got news for you buddy. Beyond the Spider-Verse. That’s all I‘m gonna say. " Being the trilogy finale, Beyond the Spider-Verse could even beat the number of characters in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse .

All Marvel Movies Releasing In 2024

Spider-man: beyond the spider-verse’s delay & possible release date explained, the movie concludes miles morales' animated trilogy.

Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse was originally set to be released on March 29, 2024 . However, it was taken off Sony's release schedule in July 2023, with no new release date in sight. The move came just a month after the release of the second film in the animated franchise — Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse . As the film ended on a massive cliffhanger, it made sense for Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse to be released less than a year after it; however, the delay made the wait for the franchise's finale longer than expected.

No reason was given for Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse 's delay; however, it could have something to do with the previous movie's reported behind-the-scenes issues. A damning report claimed Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse 's working conditions were far from ideal . According to the report, over 100 people working on the film decided to leave because they could not continue working 11 hours a day, seven days a week , with changes being made constantly. Phil Lord, the producer at the center of the accusations, responded, saying, "We’re really proud of how hard everybody worked, and it was very demanding.

By potentially delaying the movie to 2025, workers should have enough time to make sure Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse looks the best it can without having to be pushed to work long hours. Voice recording on the movie was paused due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike and was reportedly resumed in November. For the moment, there are no official updates about the movie's new release date, though 2025 would make sense for Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse .

Beyond The Spider-Verse's Rumored Release Date Would Make 2025 A Packed Year For Superhero Movie Fans

Marvel and dc have major releases next year.

Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse 's original release date would have seen the movie stand out more , as 2024 is not nearly as packed with anticipated superhero movie releases as 2025. If the movie is truly released next year, then the animated film's delay could see the finale of Miles Morales' saga across the Spider-Verse face stiff competition from both Marvel and DC movies, depending on when it releases.

Check out all of 2025's superhero movies below:

There are five confirmed superhero movies releasing in 2025 . DC recently delayed The Batman - Part II to 2026; however, the studio will still have a major 2025 project, with James Gunn's Superman — the first DCU movie — releasing in July. That month will be packed, with Marvel Studios' highly-anticipated The Fantastic Four set to arrive only two weeks after Superman is released. With those two films in July, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse releasing in June, like Across the Spider-Verse did, is unlikely, as the movie's theatrical legs could be hurt.

Instead, two other options emerge as potential candidates for when the Spider-Verse finale could be released in 2025 . Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse was initially set to arrive in March 2024, and that month does not have a superhero movie attached to it for next year, which could mean a one-year delay is in the cards. A December release to get a boost from the holidays would also be possible for Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse , with the date working for the original movie in the animated franchise and there not being a superhero film scheduled for December 2025.

Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse

Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse is the direct continuation of 2023's Across the Spider-Verse, and is the third film in the Miles Morales animated Spider-Man franchise. Miles continues his interdimensional journey to change the fates of those he loves while finding his own path to become a Spider-Man.

Director Justin K. Thompson, Kemp Powers, Joaquim Dos Santos

Writers Christopher Miller, Dave Callaham, Phil Lord

Cast Shameik Moore

Genres Animation, Action, Adventure

prequel(s) Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Source: @d4vdd/TikTok (via The Direct ) & JuggerClutch /Reddit

Key Release Dates

Kraven the hunter, venom: the last dance.