By Drew Dietsch
| Published
Spider-Punk is easily the highlight of Spider-Man: Across the Universe. Played with righteous indignation by Daniel Kaluuya, the openly political and aggressive superhero stole the show in that movie. It’s no surprise to find out that his reception was so beloved that Sony Pictures Animation is planning a standalone Spider-Punk movie with Daniel Kaluuya returning to the role as well as co-writing the movie.
That’s all the news that’s fit to print at this point as far as this Spider-Punk movie is concerned. So, the rest of this article is just going to be me talking about the potential of the project and why that’s exciting. Part of that involves a character that’s very existence is unavoidably political. Yes, “punk” is not just a category of music or a fashion style. Punk has philosophies and is directly related to political activism and retaliation against specifically aligned beliefs.
So, if you’re marshmallow soft with amoral political beliefs and can’t stand hearing about that in regards to a Spider-Man movie, it’s probably a good time to stop reading this article about a Spider-Punk movie because you’re going to get burned.
Superheroes Are Inherently Political
The idea that superheroes are not drivers of sociopolitical ideas is not only inherently flawed, it’s categorically and demonstrably idiotic. Superheroes were born from the need for figures who represented the kind of actions not being taken by real world leaders. Spider-Punk himself was created in the comics as a revolutionary and a freedom fighter against a tyrannical President Norman Osbourne. His film counterpart certainly didn’t shy away from this admission of politics when he made an observation in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse that a dangerous void was “a metaphor for capitalism.”
The idea that Sony might actually let Daniel Kaluuya explore this kind of commentary in a Spider-Punk movie is the real reason to get hyped for this potential project. We’ve seen from the success of James Gunn’s Superman that being directly political with superheroes is not a barrier to financial or critical success. Yes, vapid grifters with the art appreciation of salted slugs will tell you otherwise, but they can keep grinding out their trails of slime while Superman’s $551 million worldwide box office continues to grow.
So, the idea that a Spider-Punk movie won’t be afraid to tackle sociopolitical issues is cause for excitement to anyone who isn’t a monster or a coward, because Spider-Punk is the kind of hero who stands for what is right without fail. At least, that’s the version we’ve seen in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and there is no reason we won’t continue to see that in this new film.
Animation Is The Destination
The other big reason to get excited for a Spider-Punk movie is that it’s another assertion that superheroes are best suited for illustrated mediums. I know everyone wants to see their favorite actor embody a superhero in live-action, but these are characters and concepts that came from the world of visual art where their execution makes more artistic sense.
I love superhero stories and plenty of live-action superhero movies, but the optimal outlet for the entire genre is either in illustration or animation. Spider-Punk was thankfully introduced to most viewers through Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, so there isn’t an expectation of a live-action version of the character. Daniel Kaluuya defined the character in his initial feature film appearance, and keeping him in the realm of animation is the right choice. Sorry, Spider-Man: Noir, I’m not holding out high hopes for you.
A Spider-Punk movie sounds like the most creatively fresh Spider-Man movie in a long time. Here’s hoping it can avoid the pitfalls of Hollywood and give us a Spider-Man with something to say. It also should rock the house down.
