The following is adapted from a research paper I wrote for a college course. Originally meant to be five pages, it ended up being nineteen by the time I finished writing all my thoughts. Enjoy the blood, sweat, and tears that went into this. WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.

For the longest time, animations have tried to mimic real-life imagery through their lighting, framing, characters, and setting. But what happens when animators break that boundary? When animation becomes what it should be - an expansion of the human mind’s endless imagination? This was what the directors of Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse tried to do. And after earning $385 million and winning fifteen awards, they decided to do it again.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was a sequel created by Sony and Marvel, directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson, and released in June 2023. It was originally meant to be the second out of two movies in the Spider-Verse series but was split into two parts during the production of the movie. This led to the creation of a third movie, Beyond the Spider-Verse. Across the Spider-Verse has already grossed over $690 million, with over $120M during the opening weekend. It follows the journey of Miles Morales, a high school student living in Brooklyn, New York, as he discovers the advantages and curses that come with his powers. And with the introduction of multiple universes, we get what the creators describe as “multiple movies” in one. Today, we will contrast the storytelling of Across the Spider-Verse to the storytelling of the first movie in the trilogy, Into the Spider-Verse. By bringing in examples of successful storytelling from Into the Spider-Verse, we can analyze how Sony was able to build on that success by telling better stories.

Starting With the Screenplay

Every movie starts with a screenplay. This is where the movie's story is determined, along with anything that will be shown on screen. The screenplay of Across the Spider-Verse utilizes writing techniques from many different mediums to tell a story. We’ll be discussing how the writers of Across the Spider-Verse used specific techniques such as cold opens and storytelling frameworks to stand out from other stories.

The Cold Open

The beginning of Across the Spider-Verse can only be described as masterclass storytelling. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse started with a montage of Peter Parker introducing himself as the only Spider-Man, then used a smash right after Peter winks at Miles Morales getting ready for his first day at an “elitist” high school. The movie ended with a teaser for the next one, with a portal appearing over Miles’ head with Gwen Stacy’s voice heard in the distance.

The general assumption would be that Across the Spider-Verse would start with this scene, but instead, we’re thrown directly into Gwen’s world, Earth-65. Starting with a scene different from what’s expected uses a form of “cognitive dissonance’ to spark the curiosity of every audience member. Just like in Into the Spider-Verse, the fourth wall is broken and characters speak directly to the audience watching. We hear Gwen narrate what happened in the first movie in a way that we don’t even notice it as a recap, while visually seeing the scenes she speaks of being cut in between her drumming. She also foreshadows the rest of the movie, claiming that she “hurts” Miles. This cold open immediately captures the attention of any viewer, both new and old. The recap is crucial as it’s been five years since the first movie, therefore nobody remembers the first movie as well as they usually would have. We soon realize that the cold open is taking place during a practice in a band that Gwen is a part of, leading to the introduction of her world and backstory.

Storytelling Frameworks

Every story has a structure that it follows. There is always a beginning, a middle, and an end. But most stories follow a more complex framework. Common frameworks include the three-act structure, the Hero’s Journey, and the Dan Harmon Circle. Breaking down the Spider-Verse series using a standard three-act structure leads to some interesting observations.

The first movie, Into the Spider-Verse, follows a default three-act structure. The first act is an introduction, ending with the death of Peter Parker. The second act starts with the introduction of Peter B. Parker, confirming the concept of a multiverse. This act ends when hope is at an all-time low, with Miles stuck in a chair while the other Spider-people are stopping the collider, confirming the death of at least one of them. But with a speech from Miles’ dad, we enter the “Leap of Faith” scene, where Miles finally stops running away from his problems and starts chasing after them instead, a concept we’ll encounter later in the second movie. The third act has the Spider-people saving the multiverse from collapsing, with Miles being the hero, stopping the evil. Into the Spider-Verse follows a perfect three-act structure, and fits in well with the Hero’s Journey framework as well.

Across the Spider-Verse, on the other hand, has a more complicated story structure. While we can break down the movie into three acts, it doesn’t follow the usual portions of a three-act structure. The first act starts with Gwen’s world, introducing her backstory and her first encounter with Miguel O’Hara. The sequence of scenes ends with Gwen leaving her world, which is a typical departure from the comfort zone; a portion of the Hero’s Journey framework. Although this feels like the end of an act, it turns out to be just the beginning. We get taken back to Miles’ world, where the Spot is introduced along with more conflict with Miles’ parents and school - a theme introduced in the first movie. The first act ends with Miles getting grounded, and the second act starts with the appearance of Gwen. The second act continues until the fight with Miguel O’Hara, where Miles escapes Spider-Society. This act ends with Gwen being sent back to her dimension as well. Act 3 starts with Miles’ swinging through the city, escaping all his problems. He finds his mother and decides it’s time to reveal that he’s Spider-Man.

While this could have been a wholesome end to the movie, since Across the Spider-Verse is split into two parts, this moment slowly starts building up for the cliffhanger. Miles realizes that he was sent to the wrong dimension, Earth-42. He starts glitching, and Uncle Aaron of Earth-42 enters the room. The conflict builds up until Earth-42’s prowler appears, turning out to be Miles G. Morales instead of Uncle Aaron. We realize that this was the Miles that the spider was originally meant to bite and that our Miles was never meant to be Spider-Man - a concept discussed throughout the movie. We leave the movie on a major cliffhanger, with our Miles stuck in the wrong dimension, his father’s death upcoming, and Gwen searching through the multiverse to find and save him along with her newly-created team of Spider-people.

This adaption of the three-act structure raises some discussions as it defies the usual rules of storytelling. Some love it, while others claim it confuses them. Another option is to interpret the story of Across the Spider-Verse through a five-act structure. The five-act structure starts with the prologue as Act 1. In Across the Spider-Verse, the prologue is Gwen’s backstory and the introduction of Miguel. This marks the end of Act 1, leading to Act 2, the conflict. The conflict is shown through the introduction of the Spot, who’s originally a “villain of the week”. The conflict with Miles’ parents is also slowly building. Act 2 ends with the conflict between Gwen and Miles, as Miles follows Gwen to find that her real motive for visiting was to capture The Spot. Act 3 begins with Miles deciding to follow Gwen into a portal, leaving his home not knowing what’s next. Throughout this act, there’s a lot of rising action, with the city of Mumbattan nearly being destroyed. Miles then finally meets up with Miguel as he enters Spider-society, only to realize the truth - that his father will die and he can’t do anything about it. This leads up to the climax, a fight between Miguel and Miles as he desperately attempts to escape Spider-society, ending with him successfully escaping.

Act 4 in the five-act structure is the falling action, and we see this with Gwen getting sent back to her dimension and talking with her dad, completely frustrated and out of any hope. We see Miles in his second leap of faith scene, a scene completely opposite from the first leap of faith scene in Into the Spider-Verse. In the first leap of faith, his father’s speech empowers him as he starts chasing after his problem, whereas in the second scene instead of encouraging dialogue, we hear negative voices. It seems like the entire world is against him, as he both visually and audibly runs away from his problems. The scene ends with Miles crashing into a car, a car originally lept over in the first movie. After reconnecting with his mother, we finally enter Act 5, realizing he’s in the wrong dimension. This is the “catastrophe”, a concept explored in many storytelling structures ending on a cliffhanger.

Using a unique storytelling framework like the five-act story structure allows for a more complex, layered narrative suitable for exploring multiple universes and character arcs. Throughout the movie, we visit many universes and experience many characters. A three-act story structure limits us to only three major plot points, but the use of five acts allows the nuanced exploration of character arcs and themes across different universes. This structural choice also mirrors the chaotic, unpredictable nature of a multiverse, further expanding upon the story of the Spider-Verse.

The Characters

Every story has characters. Usually, the main characters include a protagonist, our main character with a goal; and an antagonist, our villain stopping the protagonist from achieving his goal. These characters go through transformations known as “character arcs”, showing their change from the beginning until the end. One of the major character arcs in Across the Spider-Verse is the story of The Spot. The Spot is originally a character described as a “villain of the week”, and is intentionally made to look weak and comedic. In his first encounter with Miles, we see The Spot trying to steal an ATM from a store. While Miles attempts to stop him, he’s preoccupied with messaging his dad and introducing himself to the audience. Everything about The Spot is laughable, from his looks to his origin story of being hit by a bagel. But as the movie progresses, The Spot slowly starts becoming more and more of an issue. As Miles fails to catch him, Gwen is sent from Spider-Society, and as she also fails to catch him, the city of Mumbattan is nearly destroyed. The Spot continuously becomes more and more powerful, and this is shown visually through his spots growing in size, leading towards the ending of him shown as a fully dark object composed of only dark matter. He has no purpose left in life other than to seek revenge against Miles.

Another one of the main characters in Across the Spider-Verse is Miguel O’Hara. Miguel is the Spider-Man from Earth 2099, and, along with his artificial intelligence assistant LYLA, was the first to create a device that can travel between dimensions. After the near-collapse of the multiverse in Into the Spider-Verse, Miguel created Spider-Society, a way to unite the Spider-people from all the different dimensions to fight against evil and help keep the multiverse from re-collapsing. At first, we don’t realize who Miguel truly is, but then we learn about his story. He found a universe in which he had a family, with a daughter that he loved. He died in that universe, so he decided to try swapping that universe with his. This led to the first canon event, and his daughter disappeared from his own hands as he tried to save her. This grief led Miguel to be the “evil” Miguel he’s portrayed as in the movie, and is what led to him trying his hardest to stop Miles from escaping.

Miles himself also has an interesting character arc in Across the Spider-Verse. Once he meets Gwen and is told where she’s been, he wants nothing more than to join Spider-Society. He continuously pursues this goal throughout the movie, until he’s called to the headquarters for a meeting with Miguel. Everything goes wrong here though as he realizes the truth about being Spider-Man. Miguel and the rest of the Spider-Society are expecting him to stay and willingly let his father pass away. This is obviously not a choice that Miles would willingly make, and thus he escapes Spider-Society. His escape is made possible through the introduction of Hobie Brown, a British Spider-Man.

Hobie is another interesting character, as he’s originally introduced as Gwen’s “friend”, making Miles somewhat jealous. But soon we realize that his role is that of a mentor to Miles. While in Into the Spider-Verse Miles’ mentor was Peter B. Parker, in Across the Spider-Verse Peter is a member of Spider-Society and can’t be that mentor figure anymore. Hobie takes the role of the mentor but in a more subtle way. As we’re first introduced to Hobie, it seems as if he’s just there to cause chaos. We eventually realize that he’s always looking out for Gwen and Miles, and is even the one who shows Miles how he can use his power to escape Spider-Society. Hobie quits Spider-Society while everyone is chasing after Miles, and drops his watch off in Gwen’s world, who later on discovers it and uses it to save Miles.

Use of Rhetorical Devices

One of the major rhetorical devices that Across the Spider-Verse makes use of is irony. Throughout the stories of the different characters, irony is used to better engage the audience. The main villain of the film, the Spot, is ironic because while described as a “villain of the week” he is the sole reason why Miles’ father is about to die. Miguel O’Hara is supposed to be the one person keeping the multiverse intact and secure, and is positioned to be the ultimate“good guy”. But as the film progresses and Miles decides to not follow in his path and do his “own thing”, Miguel turns into an antagonist, a force in the path of Miles attempting to stop him from reaching his goal. This contrast between who he's supposed to be and who he is is what makes him stand out as a character.

Another use of irony throughout the film is the mixing of characters with opposite personalities in scenes. In a scene with Miles and his parents in a school office, Miles tries describing his ambitions for studying Physics to travel to multiple dimensions. The irony of the scene is while Miles’ dad is trying his best to be supportive, his expertise are in law enforcement and he has no knowledge of physics. While Gwen fights off the Vulture that's attacking the Guggenheim museum, she’s aided by Miguel, a serious character that contrasts Gwen’s personality. In another memorable scene, Miguel is educating Miles on the fate of the multiverse while Peter B. Parker is showing him baby pictures. The contrast between Peter’s lighthearted character and Miguel attempting to hold a serious conversation brings humor to the scene through irony.

Dramatic irony is another rhetorical device employed in Across the Spider-Verse, allowing for a richer narrative experience. This technique thrives on the uneven distribution of knowledge among characters, often leading to heightened emotional or humorous scenes. YouTube creator “Filmento” acknowledges dramatic irony as a mechanism to enhance the sum of a scene’s individual parts, and Across the Spider-Verse leverages this tool effectively in numerous instances.

For example, before Miles’ parents are introduced to Gwen, they catch a glimpse of her with Miles, sparking intrigue. They aren’t impressed, and when they meet her a few minutes later, her use of Miles’ mother’s first name further enhances this displeasure. As an audience, we understand that she was already unimpressed, but neither Miles nor Gwen know that. Similarly, when Spider-Man speaks with his father Officer Morales following a chase with the Spot, the undisclosed reality that Spider-Man is indeed Miles adds a layer of complexity to their conversation. One of the emotionally charged instances of dramatic irony occurs early on with Gwen and her father. We know that Gwen didn’t cause Peter-65’s death, but her father, unaware, accuses Spider-Woman, unknowingly blaming his daughter and adding emotional weight to their interaction.

The scene where Gwen mentions never seeing Miles again, while he’s within earshot unbeknownst to her, is another powerful use of dramatic irony. This scene is heart-wrenching as Gwen is unaware of Miles' presence, and Miles is clueless about Gwen's genuine concern for him, portraying the depth of their unspoken bond. The narrative continues to utilize dramatic irony as Gwen withholds information from Miles to protect him throughout the movie, though he perceives this later on as betrayal. The audience, knowing the full context, experiences the emotional turmoil alongside the characters.

Dramatic irony also finds its place in humor within the movie. Gwen’s unawareness about the collectible value of Miles’ action figure, and her casual unboxing of it, adds a comedic touch to the scene as Miles grimaces. Miles' initial jealousy towards Hobie, who later becomes a mentor figure, also serves as a humorous instance, lightening the narrative tone. Through these examples, Across the Spider-Verse effectively employs dramatic irony to amplify emotional undertones, enriching the storytelling and audience engagement.

With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility

The storyline of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse unfolds significantly through the choices its characters are compelled to make, echoing the age-old saying "With great power comes great responsibility." The essence of a good plot often lies in the difficulty of the choices at hand. Using the example earlier of Gwen’s decision to keep Miles in the dark about the Spider-Verse reflects her protective nature, we realize how this choice creates a divide between them, adding a layer of complexity to the narrative.

At the center of it all tough choices is Miles, who faces tough decisions like opposing Miguel to save his parents, and withholding his Spider-Man identity from them. These choices not only drive the story forward but reveal more about Miles’ character to the audience. The narrative further emphasizes that hard choices lead to consequences. When Miles wants to save his father, he finds himself in a universe where his father doesn’t recognize him, displaying the harsh reality of his choices. Likewise, Gwen’s decision to defend Miles, although right, gets her ousted from Spider-Society, showcasing that good intentions can sometimes lead to unfavorable outcomes.

As mentioned by YouTube creator Filmento, "Choices are your best way to define the truth about your characters in the eyes of the audience." This is exemplified when Spider-Byte allows Miles to escape Spider-Society, going against Miguel for Miles’ sake. Similarly, when Hobie leaves Spider-Society and hands over his watch to Gwen’s father for Gwen to later discover, it’s a clear sign to the audience that he is in fact a protagonist. Gwen’s attempt to reconcile with her father towards the end of the movie is one of the hardest choices made in the movie, and it not only brings a resolution but adds a meaningful dimension to her character.

Filmento also mentions that "each major action of choice a character makes should be tougher than the last," a concept that keeps the audience engaged. If the choices are too easy, the plot loses its grip. Miles is a standout character as he is forced to make negative choices that no other Spider-Man has to make, which not only differentiates him but also makes the narrative more engaging and relatable. Through the lens of these decisions, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse delves into the intricate dynamics of responsibility, choice, and the resulting consequences, crafting a narrative that resonates well with the audience and keeps them on the edge of their seat.

The Worlds of Animation

The animation of the Spider-Verse series is described as having changed animation forever. Until its creation, animators would aim to mimic real life, but Into the Spider-Verse tried to use animation to expand the imagination as far as possible, to tell the best possible story. Using techniques like animating characters every two frames and combining 3D and hand-drawn animation, the Spider-Verse series receives its uniqueness mainly from its animation. These animation techniques are not only used to visually enhance the movie, but also to tell a better story.

Creating the Multiverse

In Into the Spider-Verse, we are introduced to characters from five other universes from Miles. Each one of these characters has a unique animation style, but all are only shown in Miles’ world. Miles himself never travels to any other universes. But in Across the Spider-Verse, we’re truly introduced to the concept of a multiverse. Throughout the movie, we see different universes in all sorts of animation styles, from watercolor worlds to worlds made out of Lego bricks. Once Miles enters Spider-Society, we see hundreds if not thousands of Spider-People of all sorts, all working with Miguel in Nueva York, Earth 2099. Each character has a unique backstory, with their own universe. And each universe has its own animation style.

Use of Animation to Tell a Story

The world with by far the most unique animation style is the world of Gwen, known as Earth-65. Gwen’s world has a watercolor animation style, with dripping paint strokes. The colors of Gwen’s world are described as part of a mood ring. The emotions of each character shine brightly around them, painting the background, the objects around them, and even their body colors. When there’s tension, the world around Gwen turns blue; when she hugs her father, an orange glow resonates between the two. This introduction of visual emotions helps take the story of Gwen to another level, enhancing it in a way that would never be possible in what we describe as our reality.

Another use of visual storytelling is within Earth 42, the final universe shown in the movie. When Miles originally enters Earth 42, we don’t notice much of a difference. It’s similar to the earth that he’s from, Earth 1510. But as we look closer, the differences are quite obvious. Earth 42 has dark shadows around every object, with black ink outlining everything. Earth 1510 has the distinct colors of purple and yellow, two contrasting colors. Earth 42, on the other hand, has red and green as the primary colors. The use of a difference in colors allows us as viewers to understand how Miles is in the wrong dimension, and pushes forward the fact that there is something wrong.

Post-Production

We've explored the distinctive narrative and animation aspects of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, however, the post-production is another aspect that elevates the movie’s uniqueness. From using recurring leitmotifs throughout the movie, to intentionally leaving in easter eggs throughout, post-production plays a heavy role in the successful outcome of the movie. The pre-production, screenwriting, and animation are all important, but the post-production determines what the viewer sees in the end.

The Sound of the Spider-Verse

Sound is described as half of a video. One can have the best video in the world, but if the audio is low quality, the video is ruined. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse utilizes sound to enhance the story of the movie in ways impossible without sound. Each character in Across the Spider-Verse has their own leitmotif, a theme that plays when they’re on screen. Each leitmotif is inspired by the character's backstory, all to enhance the cinematic storytelling of the movie.

While as most Marvel movies have themes that are not unique and are described as “safe”, the Spider-Verse series stands out for its use of experimentation. The scores of both Into the Spider-Verse and Across the Spider-Verse are composed by Daniel Pemberton. In Into the Spider-Verse, he experimented with using unique sounds such as elephant noises in his score and even reversed certain tracks to enhance the story. For example, a score used for the conclusion of the movie titled “Shoulder Touch’ uses reversed sounds from the theme assigned to the Prowler, the villain of the movie. After the success of Pemberton’s experimentation in the first movie, he doubled down on these techniques. In an episode with the ReelBlend podcast, Pemberton describes creating the theme for Miles in the second movie based on the actions happening in the actual scene. While Miles is sketching in his notebook, we hear the sound of a pen squeaking. While Miles is fighting the Spot and there’s a goose that gets caught in the fight, we hear the sound of a goose squawking baked into the track. Pemberton utilizes standard composing methods and enhances them drastically by adding his imagination to them, further enhancing the story on screen.

Certain individual scores are highly thought out and stand out in expanding the storytelling of the movie. The beginning track seems insignificant at first, but as we reach the end of the film we hear the familiar intro sounds again. Both the beginning and ending tracks integrate the superhero theme used throughout the film, along with Miles’ own theme and Gwen’s drums. The track titled “Guggenheim Assemble” utilizes many leitmotifs throughout, prioritizing the sounds of characters on screen. Leitmotifs such as Miguel’s are blended in with themes for Gwen and the Vulture that they’re fighting off. The music of Across the Spider-Verse is further enhanced by bringing in producer Metro Boomin. Metro was given certain scenes where the directors felt that soundtracks could be used, and created multiple soundtracks that enhanced the music of Across the Spider-Verse to another level.

Techniques Used in Editing

Across the Spider-Verse utilized techniques in the editing of the movie that, while not necessarily new, drove the story forward in subtle ways. The first technique is retention editing. The editors cut between scenes in the movie constantly to keep the attention of viewers. In my studies, I found that the longest scene with subtle movement was 35 seconds, while the second longest I could find was 8 seconds. Scenes that were slightly longer at around 25 seconds had constant camera movement, with characters glitching and colors changing, all attaching the viewer to the scene shown on screen.

Another editing technique that Across the Spider-Verse utilized was never focusing on a specific emotion for too long. The first example of this is using a technique that some describe as the “Pope in the Pool” method. Instead of exposition being dumped on the viewer, exposition was only given during action. While Gwen is drumming, we get the backstory of who she is. While Miguel and her are trying to stop the Vulture, we learn about who Miguel is and why he’s even in her universe in the first place. When the Spot is first introduced, he explains his entire backstory while robbing a convenience store. We don’t notice it because the scene is filled with action. When Gwen meets Miles for the first time in the movie, we learn about where she’s been and what Spider-Society is, while they’re swinging through the city. Instead of learning all of that information in a boring format, Across the Spider-Verse gives us the same information while keeping us as viewers entertained.

The second example to describe this is the use of comedy. Throughout the movie, comedy is intercut with tension. While Gwen and Miguel are stopping the Vulture in an intense scene, the editors cut to an art piece exploding with an onlooker remarking “That’s cool”. In the first movie, we have a scene where Miles is preparing to jump off of a building for the first time as Spider-Man. The music builds up as he stares down upon the city with determination. He takes a deep breath, then the editors cut to him running down a flight of steps, too scared. This same scene is repeated in Across the Spider-Verse, this time with Miles’ father as he tries to help his son catch the Spot. Perhaps the best use case of comedy in Across the Spider-Verse is during the scene where every Spider-person in Spider-Society is chasing after Miles. The music is intense, Miles is running away, and hundreds of people are running after him. Just as the scene gets intense, we cut to a clock ticking. We’re in a quiet room, where a therapist is talking with a Spider-Man. Everything is still until the wall behind them explodes, with every single Spider-person flying through the wall to chase Miles. These small moments of comedy also help build character, and overall lead to a more enjoyable experience for the audience.

Story Over Everything

The success of Across the Spider-Verse relies heavily on its storytelling. From creating memorable characters, to using unique storytelling frameworks, to utilizing animation to build different worlds, the story is at the heart of the movie. But more importantly, Across the Spider-Verse utilized storytelling as a means of bringing out the emotions of the viewers. The success of the storytelling in both Into the Spider-Verse and Across the Spider-Verse relies on the emotions it brings out. From emotions of sadness and anger to emotions of happiness and joy, Across the Spider-Verse never fails to emotionally impact its viewers through its storytelling.

Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse were both cinematic masterpieces, and as viewers eagerly await Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, we can only ponder on how the directors and producers plan on making the movie even better than the previous two. But what we do know is that the success of Into the Spider-Verse and Across the Spider-Verse rely heavily on storytelling, with techniques used that can be adapted to any form of media. While some of the techniques may not be revolutionary, the combination of classical techniques with modern creativity and imagination leads to storytelling unlike any other.

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