screen Your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man!

Lisette Reed, Comment Editor, expresses her hopes for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

RELEASED on 1st June, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse will follow Miles Morales as he’s launched across the multiverse on a mission to protect the Spider-Man name itself. He will encounter an abundance of Spider-Man variants, featured across the Marvel Comic franchise, including Spider-Punk, SpiderWoman, and reunite with Peter B. Parker, just to name a few featured in the trailer. However, with these new characters being introduced, it has brought out a feeling of anticipation amongst avid fans of the Spider-Man franchise, and original comics.

Whilst the film is set to feature characters like Spider-Men, Miles Morales and Peter Parker, from Sony’s PlayStation 4 games, it will also explore an extensive collection of iconic Spider-People. Known for its intricately detailed character design, the first 2018 film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse made character creation the forefront of its film, with strong incorporations into the animation style. The character of Miles Morales, with his constant energetic mindset, as well as his anxieties, were depicted perfectly in the animation style of the film. In scenes where Miles is still coming to terms with being the new Spider-Man, he moves at 12 frames per second, which gives Miles more frantic, untrusting movements. However, once he accepts his new title and pow- ers, he returns to moving at 24 frames per second, like the other Spider-People. Furthermore, the combination of portraying Peter Parker as a worn-down, heart-broken hero and voiced by Jake Johnson, an actor most well-known for his character, the slovenly hopeless romantic Nick on New Girl emphasised his constant feelings of amotivation. With both of these aspects of character design in mind, it leaves fans questioning whether the second film will continue to maintain the complexity of the first film.

A newly introduced character, who I hope will maintain these standards, is Spider-Punk. Voiced by British actor Daniel Kaluuya, Spider-Punk is an anti-establishment activist, musician and artist, who by far has the best character design, as seen in trailers. Though Daniel Kaluuya is most known for his on-screen work, including Get Out and Nope , his voice acting is due to be captivating. Moreover, most of Kaluuya’s most famous works feature him with an American accent and therefore, a project in his own British accent will be refreshing. The actor has said himself that he has incor- porated aspects of both the cockney accent and a typical London “road” accent into the character of Spider-Punk. Casting an actor from Camden, the birthplace of Punk, as the anti-establishment Spider-Punk is another reason why the casting directors for the Spider-Verse film series go above and beyond to create the most authentic, captivating characters. Whilst the casting of Spider-Punk is iconic, his animation style is too. Unlike other Spider-People, Spider-Punk will use other items for his powers, including his electric guitar, another aspect of Punk added to the character. It seems that his animation style may be similar to aspects of The Mitchells vs. The Machines , a film which came out after Into the Spider-Verse , with strong similarities and inspirations drawing from the first film. With Spider-Punk being another new, strong addition to the franchise, many fan favourites are due to return, including Spider-Gwen. In the last film, she became a love interest for Miles, whilst maintaining her powerful and strong-minded self; unlike some other versions of Spider-Man’s love interests (I’m looking at you Mary Jane in Spiderman (2002)), Gwen isn’t solely dependent on Spider-Man — she defines herself.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3

Emily Sara Rizzo discusses the new Guardians film in Marvel’s phase five

IN a world where the name of Marvel creates a wince on the face of many a faithful cinema-goer, it seems strange to remember when this universe (or rather, multiverse) of heroes ruled the global stage. After the questionable reception of the studio’s recent films, it would seem that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 might just allow for redemption.

I’m sure I speak for most Marvel fans when I say that new releases are not greeted with anticipation anymore, but rather a sense of dread and almost embarrassment at the mindless churning out of mediocre films that have been hitting the cinemas recently. But, as I’ve said, James Gunn’s new Guardians film seems to break the rut of bad luck, leaving audiences pleasantly surprised and hopeful for a return to Marvel’s golden days. Perhaps the key to turning around the studio’s luck was going back to the basics with a simple story that wasn’t trying too hard, unlike the number of films and TV series which appeared after Avengers: Endgame , and which seemed to suffer from a kind of multiverse-mania. Gunn’s film is more than an awkwardly placed puzzle-piece in the hypernarrative of the MCU, opting rather for a good-old-fashioned story where the good guys get together to defeat the bad guy and save the world, whilst making a handful of friends along the way. With its playful atmosphere, the Guardians trilogy seems the best place for Marvel to go back to its roots and rely on witty characters going on epic adventures, backed in this case by a nostalgic soundtrack that has been drawing fans in ever since the first Guardians of the Galaxy Of course, following the same formula that has propelled many superhero films to success can also mean falling into the same patterns and clichés that haunt the genre, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is not safe from some soppy tropes. While delving into Rocket’s past was a welcome bit of character development, it’s hard to not cringe at the excessive attempts at tugging on our heartstrings, and some scenes almost seemed out of place in the dry humour of the Guardians ’ heroes — or maybe age has made this particular reviewer more cynical. Nevertheless, the final instalment in this particular trilogy managed to balance the softer moments with more hardcore sections, not hesitating to decorate the narrative with a sprinkle of intense violence and

...WITH A SPRINKLE OF INTENSE VIOLENCE AND A DOLLOP OF REVISITED TRAUMA a dollop of revisited trauma. In addition to this, we were given a villain of almost biblical grandeur, a bad guy who really lived up to the role, deserving of all the hatred the audience directed at him after seeing the part he played in Rocket’s storyline. It’s not all sob-stories and fight scenes, though, and the third element which boosted the film’s appreciation was the light-hearted humour that countered any overly serious scenes; after all, what the MCU does best is funny adventures with a side of fighting evil, and no on-screen entourage benefits from as many laughs as the Guardians. This time round, they were helped by Will Poulter’s newly-introduced character, who’d been a popular meme well before the film’s release, and served almost purely as comic relief.

This successful finale to the Guardians series has, then, rightfully relit a global hope in Marvel and has reminded us all of the reason we held it so dear in the first place. It may not be to everyone’s taste, but it’s worth watching if only as a nostalgia trip to the golden age of the MCU, or, if nothing else, to enjoy the catchy soundtrack.

EDITORS: Annabelle Law and Madison Sohngen