Issa Rae's Spider-Woman Looks Freaking Cool In Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse
When Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) made the jump to the big screen in "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse," it was kind of a big deal. Not only was this Marvel's first animated film, but it was also the first time Morales had appeared in any movie (he made his first TV appearance in the third season of "Ultimate Spider-Man"), and as the main character no less. Fans of the "Spider-Man" comics were most likely familiar with this specific iteration of the extremely popular web-slinger — his particular storyline has been ongoing since 2011 — but to see the film franchise move away from the always-reliable Peter Parker in order to explore another Spider-Man's origin story was truly an exciting thing, especially the first Black web-slinger.
"Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" was a huge success. Its unique animation style was praised fervently by critics and fans alike, and its script was unbelievably charming and funny while also managing to maintain heart. The film follows Morales on his journey to becoming Spider-Man while taking care to introduce viewers to the wide array of all the various Spider-People in its multiverse (shout out to Spider-Ham, a true icon). Together, Miles and his fellow Spidey variants band together to battle Kingpin (Liev Schrieber) as he tries to, you know, do what villains do.
Because Morales is of Puerto Rican and African-American descent, "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" becomes all the more poignant for choosing to hinge its story on the existence of multiple Spider-People. The film is a celebration of differences, and so it is no surprise then that the upcoming sequel, "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse," continues to honor this choice. The sequel's official trailer is overflowing with details begging for further analysis, yet there's one thing that stands out (perhaps above all else): Spider-Woman looks cool as hell.
Racing onto the screen in style
The full-length trailer for "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" is filled with all sorts of visual goodies. There's a lot to unpack in its short run time, and part of the fun of the whole thing is picking out all the different Spider-People set to make an appearance in this new film. But one particular wall-crawler really stands out, and that is none other than the marvelous Spider-Woman (real name Jessica Drew).
In the trailer, Jessica bursts onto the screen atop a fiery motorcycle, crashing through the barrier between universes to battle Vulture in all his Leonardo da Vinci-inspired glory. She's dressed in what can only be described as a supremely sharp-looking red and black motorcycle suit, complete with triangulated goggles that shine with golden lenses. Her moto-boots appear as if they can totally take you down in one swift kick, and her afro hair is pulled back with a bright red headwrap. Her coolness factor only increases — as if this is even possible at this point — when it becomes glaringly obvious that she is also pregnant.
Spider-Woman, who will be voiced by the talented Issa Rae, has a long comic book history that dates all the way back to the '70s, but one of the major things to know about her character is that, in the comics, she has long been depicted as white. However, the creators of "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" have chosen to depict this version of Spider-Woman as Black, and I for one cannot think of anything more empowering than a pregnant superhero who is also a person of color.
"Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" opens in theaters on June 2, 2023.