One of the most potent themes of “Into the Spider-Verse” is that nobody can do it alone. The film begins with Chris Pine’s Spidey delivering a rapid-fire monologue about how he’s the one and only Spider-Man around. By the end, Miles is the one swinging around the city and specifically thinking about the friends he made along the way. “Anyone can wear the mask,” as the film perfectly puts it. And that ideal is embodied by Gwen and Peter B., both of whom are returning for the sequel.
Although it seems every version of Spidey is marked by tragedy, each and every one of their backgrounds are unique. At one point in “Into the Spider-Verse,” Gwen sadly alludes to losing her version of Peter in her universe, in a stark reversal of her typically being the one who ends up dead at the hands of the Green Goblin while Peter must live with the loneliness. As for Peter B., he’s an older and much more worn-down iteration of the hero. He’s exhausted by the Spider-Man burden at this point in his life after 20+ years on the job, suffering from the most extreme version of burnout possible. He and his beloved Mary Jane (Zoë Kravitz) were once the biggest superhero power couple, but life tore them apart and ultimately led to their divorce. As Miles soon finds out, life as Spidey isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
But Miles isn’t the only one to go through a progression, of sorts. Gwen and Miles’ friendship (and, at times, flirtation) becomes a boon for both of them. Peter B. rediscovers his spark through Miles, learns to take his own leap of faith, and gets back together with MJ. Expect the sequel to pick up on all of this.
