Greg, it’s yet another web of heroism that we venture into this week.

We meet Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), a teenage boy who is struggling to gain approval at his new upscale high school. He looks up to Spider-Man but his parents view the superhero as a menace. Miles seeks guidance from his Uncle Aaron (Mahershala Ali) who brings the boy to a subway station to draw graffiti. While there, Miles is bitten by a radioactive spider and begins to acquire spider-like abilities.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a lively animated production containing everything you’d ever want to see in a Spider-Man movie, including a cameo from an animated version of Stan Lee. I say “lively” but the word “frenetic” also applies. It’s clear that this film is geared toward young people and assumes that moviegoers have an attention span of about two nanoseconds. Once I adapted to the movie’s obsessive aim to produce perceptual overload, I could appreciate its emphasis on a fine hero’s journey.

First and foremost, this film is a classic coming of age story, which taps into a deep psychological archetype about a growth and development from childhood to adulthood. People love, love, love to see stories about adolescents who learn (often the hard way) about what it takes to grow up and what it means to grow up. These tales call us, bewitch us, and have deep meaning for us, largely because they tell our own stories. Superhero stories in particular are metaphorically rich, because none of us literally have superpowers but we all have gifts that await our discovery, gifts that are key to our own personal transformation and will propel us forward in life.

This movie is valuable because it extends the Spider-Man universe to include people of color. The more inclusive our pop-culture becomes, the more we all benefit. Our Spidery hero is young, naïve, and in need of good mentorship. He receives it from his father and from an older, plumper Peter Parker from another dimension. Mentorship is crucial for coming-of-age stories, as none of us make it in this life without pivotal assistance from smarter, wiser elders. The story also features a cautionary tale of the dangers of the dark mentor, i.e., the older person who appears wise but who steers us down the wrong path in life.

Greg, despite not being among this film’s target audience of young Post-Millennials, I nevertheless enjoyed Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Our hero is a likable and talented young teen who must learn how to adjust to his newfound superpowers and how to harness them and use them to save the universe. This film gives us a long overdue dose of multiculturalism, building on the trail blazed by Black Panther earlier this year. I’m not a big fan of cartoon movies yet this one worked for me, despite frenetically bombarding its audience with visual and auditory stimulation. I award the movie 3 Reel out of 5.

The hero’s journey is impressive, first separating the hero from his safe, familiar world and then throwing challenges in his way that force him to transform in order to survive. In keeping with Joseph Campbell’s stages of the hero’s journey, our hero Miles must defeat villains, seek help from mentors, and grow into the man he is meant to be. As befitting a hero, he acquires wisdom, strength, resilience, and resourcefulness. I give Miles a spidery 4 Hero points out of 5.

With regard to archetypes, we are exposed to the archetype of young foolish adolescence, the corrupt uncle, the embarrassing parents, the pure evil villain, and the high school love interest. I give these archetypes 3 Arcs out of 5.

Movie: Archetypes: Heroes: