I'm Not Scared of the Dark

Spoilers ahead! If you haven’t watched the movie Spiderman: Into the Spider-verse, I can’t recommend enough that you watch it and completely ignore this post or read it later.

The scene in Into the Spider-verse where the world learns of Peter's death is absolutely beautiful and intense and evocative with the sounds, visuals and emotions. I can’t get it out of my head, so of course what do I do when that happens? Analyze exactly why it’s so wonderful. Why does the mixture of scenes and voices and music mesh so perfectly to create feelings that are hard to explain?

Click here the scene to watch along with the screenshots, as neither screenshots nor gifs really do justice to the scene alone.

The first piano chord hits perfectly on note with the news announcement of Spiderman’s death as Miles' parents watch the news. The paino starts the song out with intense emotion in just this single chord. Both parents shocked to see the news, Miles' dad isn't quite sure what to feel, his face shifting emotions as his eyes look at his wife, down and back at the TV.

And then Miles’ eyes open right on another piano chord. He comes to the door and listens to the news report as the vocals of the song begin. Miles clearly knew Spiderman had died since he watched it happen, but hearing the newscast makes it even more real and terrifying for Miles.

“I’m not scared of the dark. I’m not running running running.” This line plays just as Miles is clearly terrified and running away from his problems. He just recently watched Kingpin murder Spider-man, and spider-man is revealed to be just a normal person, a kid only about 10 years older than himself. He is running from this terrifying realization, and the fact that he’s a spider-man now too. The part of the song that says, “No I’m not afraid of the fall,” happens just as miles lets go of his windowsill and falls down to the ground. This demonstrates that while he is running away and is truly scared, he is still willing to take the fall. It beautifully alludes to his falls throughout the movie, beginning as failed attempts to be spider man but turning into his leap of faith later in the movie where he faces danger head on. In that scene later, he may be scared, but scared or not, he faces danger and loves it. However, in this scene, Miles is still terrified and not yet ready for that large of a leap of faith.

Everyone looking at their phones as this realization spreads across New York City in mere moments at the time of the announcement. It shakes the city as their hero is pronounced dead and is unmasked. The news announcer says, “Our hero spider-man is gone.” The news spreads just as it does in our world, everyone finding out a chilling, horrible, ground-shaking news all at once over media. Many of us have been there during some natural disaster or catastrophe, and this scene matches with the song as it picks up in intensity, the tone of the music creating an uncontrollable, visceral feeling.

Miles looking at himself in the reflection of the news announcement. He’s literally between spider-man and Peter. He’s between a hero and just a regular person, but also looking at the reflection of a choice on what he wants to become. The corresponding lyrics are "I'm not scared, even from the start," but again, when seen through Miles' point of view, it's pure denial. He's terrified, realizing this is the start of something huge for him.
 

This part of the costume store scene overlaid with Mary Jane’s speech. “My husband Peter Parker was an ordinary person. He always said it could have been anyone behind the mask. He was just the kid who happened to get bit.” Miles is buying the costume, still deciding if he’s an ordinary person or going to be a hero, but getting the costume anyway. Like Peter, he was just the kid who happened to get bit. Now the legacy is passing down. He's putting the mask on. As he says at the finale in the movie, anyone can wear the mask. Here, he wears the mask but has not yet made the decision to wear the mask and live up to the responsibility of it. Plus, the obligatory and wonderful Stan Lee cameo adds even more feels.

 Stan telling Miles “It always fits… eventually.” Not only does this add a wonderful piece of humor to a very intense scene, it has more meaning too. Miles can’t return his powers, and it shows that if someone tries, they can always grow into that power and grow into the costume, becoming the hero to fit the powers and the responsibility. With great power comes… well, you know. 

 

Mary Jane’s speech continues. “He didn’t ask for his powers, but he chose to be spider-man.” As Miles puts on the mask, he is choosing, or at least starting his choice, to become spider-man. He could have kept running, but as the song continues repeating "I'm not scared. I'm not scared," Miles is still terrified. Yet he isn’t running as much, starting to become what he will grow into throughout the movie.

“My favorite thing about Peter is that he made us each feel powerful. We all have powers of one kind or another. But in our own way, we are all spider-man.” This beautiful metaphor and speech occurs in a scene where everyone is being spider-man, or at least wearing the mask in his honor. Not only does Miles choose to be spider-man, but everyone else around him wearing the mask could have chosen to be spider-man if the opportunity arose. Anyone can wear the mask and grow into it if they are given the opportunity and have the will.

  

MJ finishes the speech with, “And we’re all counting on you.” to which Miles responds, “They’re counting on me.” He realizes how much he has to do, knows the full weight of his promise to Peter when he took the goober and made the promise to shut down the machine. The end of this scene finishes after so many intense feelings, for both Miles and the audience. Even as Miles' realizes his responsibility, the scene adds another wonderful way to break the tension again as a man responds, “probably not you specifically, I think it’s a metaphor.” This is much needed, good humor, but it also demonstrates that along with the heart wrenching scenes and powerful music, this scene and movie  is overall a metaphor. There are no real spider people out there in our world, but the message remains: we can all wear the mask and be the hero. We're all afraid of the dark in different ways, but if we choose to fight it, the responsibility and power always fit eventually. All we have to do is to choose to wear the mask.