Spider-Punk: Corporate Co-option of Anti-Capitalism
The 1st of June marked the release of the highly awaited sequel to Sony’s award winning Into the Spider-verse, with Across the Spider-Verse. Viewers are brought back into the world of the Spider-Verse after 5 years since the last film, refamiliarized with the various spider-people we have come to love such as Miles Morales, in the jaw-dropping animation style which won its predecessor the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature back in 2019. But within this fantastic spectacle for the eyes, ears, and hearts — a story about responsibility, grief, and the importance of being yourself — we also get introduced to a few new faces. One which has set the internet ablaze, and for good reason, since the film’s release was one Hobie Brown/Spider-Punk, voiced by Camden’s own Daniel Kaluuya (the star of Jordan Peele’s Get Out and more recently Nope, and who is no stranger to the world of comic book cinema, having appeared in Black Panther…and Kick-Ass 2, but I’m sure Kaluuya wishes we all forgot about that one). It goes without saying that this article will contain spoilers for Across the Spider-Verse, and though I will be critiquing it, I still recommend all readers to watch the film ASAP before reading this article.
