Spider-man into the Spider-verse classroom resource

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

• Do you agree with this definition of a superhero?
• What is another way to define a superhero?
• Is there anyone you know or have heard of who you think is (or was) a superhero? What makes (or made) this person heroic?

Think about superhero films you know.

• What makes a film fit into the superhero genre?
• Why do you think superhero films are so popular?

Representation in films, television and games refers to how groups of people and communities are portrayed, and whether they are included at all. There are a number of groups who are under-represented or are given only a narrow range of roles. They include women, people of colour, LBGTQA+ people and differently-abled people.

• With this idea of representation in mind, think about the characters who are portrayed in popular superhero films, and how they are portrayed.
• What have you noticed about the portrayal of: women, people of colour, LBGTQA+ people and differently-abled people?

Watch the interview (below) with Ms Marvel’s star Iman Vellani and then answer the following questions:

• How did working on Ms. Marvel help Vellani connect with her culture?
• Why are shows like Ms. Marvel important?

Look at these posters showing different characters from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse.

• What clues do you get about each character from how the character is posed and how they are dressed?
• What colours are used?
• What else is included in the scene that might reveal information about the character?

Think about genre

• What sorts of comics/films does each of these characters come from?

- Miles Morales

- Peter B Parker

- Spider-Woman/SpiderGwen

- Spider-Man Noir

- Peni Parker and SP//dr

- Peter Porker

• What are heroes typically like in action films? teen films? noir films? anime films? humorous cartoony films?
• For more activities on genre, check out ACMI’s Genre filmmaking resource.

Consider

“It might be a cliché, but you need to look outside the box, before throwing that box away and pushing the story to a place no one expects. Think about perspective, setting, plot, character, conflict, and theme. Tell a different point-of-view. Raise the stakes. Do what you can to make it stand out.” Daron James

• How is Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse a typical superhero film?
• How is it different to other superhero films you know?

Themes

We are stronger together/relationships

“[Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse] is a reminder that we are not on our own and that we need each other; we are stronger together. It reminds us of the importance of connection, relationships and asking for help.” Nikki Martyn (Find out more about this discussion here.)

"When I feel alone, like no one understands what I'm going through, I remember my friends who get it. I never thought I'd be able to do any of this stuff, but I can. Anyone can wear the mask. You could wear the mask." Miles Morales

• How do Miles’ friends support him?
• How does his family support him?

Grief/loss

"The real Spider-man couldn't even beat me. You're nothing! You took my family. And now I'm gonna make sure you never see yours again." Kingpin

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse explores a negative side to family connection when Kingpin’s grief at losing his family drives him to threaten the safety of others. Miles suffers from grief too.

• How do Kingpin and Miles deal with grief differently?
• Watch the following scenes and pay attention to how the filmmakers use lighting, framing and mise-en-scene to communicate how Kingpin and Miles respond to loss.
• Choose four key moments from the scenes featuring Kingpin (below) that reveal how he responds to the death of his family. Take a screenshot of these moments.
• Show the screenshots you took to a classmate and explain what these moments reveal about Kingpin.

Kingpin's back story

Killing Spider-man

• Choose four key moments from the scenes featuring Miles (below) that reveal how he responds to the death of his family. Take a screenshot of the moments you chose.
• Show the screenshots you took to a classmate and explain what these moments reveal about Miles.

The Prowler's death

Miles becomes Spider-man

Resilience

“No matter how many hits I take, I always find a way to come back.” Peter Parker

“Our family doesn’t run from things.” Rio Morales

“Above all, no matter how many times you get hit, can you get back up?” Gwen Stacy

• What does resilience mean? Write your own definition.
• How does Miles show resilience in the film?
• What about your own life? When have you had to be resilient?
• Think of a time when you or someone you know was resilient. Write the movie script that would make that moment into a film scene. To find out how to write a script like a pro, have a look at the ACMI screenwriting resource.
• You can also check out the screenplay of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse here

Responsibility /making good choices

“With great power comes great responsibility.” Uncle Ben

“Our universe is in fact one of many parallel universes happening at the exact same time … Every choice that we make, would create countless other possibilities...” Dr Olivia Octavius

Choose a character from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse. Make a flowchart that documents the choices this character makes in the story and what other options they could have taken. Check out this example to help you get started:

Going Meta

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse is a self-conscious comic adaptation.

• Think of three humorous moments in the film.
• How many of these moments were funny because the film is self-consciously a superhero comic book adaptation?
• What elements did you notice that refer to the story’s comic book origins?

Watch the video here about some of the special effects used in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse and then answer these questions:

• How did the animators use frame rate to create style and show character development?
• What did they use the smear technique for? Why?
• What is the impact of the hand-drawn still images that pop up in some shots?
• How did the animators use the misprint “look” from old print certain comics in the film?
• What is “half-toning” and what is “hatching”? How are they used by the animation team in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse?
• How are abstract dots used in the film? Which comic book artist are these dots a reference to?
• How do the animators often show montages?

Think of an everyday scene at school or home that would be funny or interesting if it included comic book text pop ups of the main character’s internal dialogue.

• Film this scene and then add in the text.
• You can use the After Effects tutorial (below) to find out how.

Design

Choose one of the universes from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse, and describe the style of that universe.

• Imagine it is your job to create another character from that universe (another side-kick, spider-ally or villain).
• Draw an annotated design of your character and explain what makes them fit into the particular universe you chose.
• Watch the quick cartoon drawing tutorial (below) to get you started.

Choose a graphic artist based in Australia and research their work. Here are some suggestions:

- Nikki Greenburg: https://www.nickigreenberg.com/

- Brenton Mckenna: https://www.brentonmckenna.com/

- Trace Balla: https://traceballa.com/

- Mirranda Burton: http://mirrandaburton.com/

• If this artist were to design a Spider, describe or draw what they might look like.
• What would their universe be like?
• What superpowers or hobbies would this character have?