Religion in the Marvel cartoon. [Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse]

Let's talk about politics, religion, modern man and the vector of his development, and in general about society as a whole... within the framework of... a cartoon.

Actually, why not.

Children, after all, are far from stupid people... and they are able to highlight high-quality and good content for themselves.

I will speak based on the plot of the cartoon Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

Original picture: open source

Why this particular cartoon... I will explain below... but I want to warn you in advance that I will in one way or another touch on the plot and moments of the cartoon, which may turn out to be spoilers for someone. Well, I hope that you have already watched this cartoon. If not... then I will prove that this plot has long been known to everyone, since it is nothing more than a biblical motif wrapped in the concept of a new society.

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You can look and return to reading this post..

Well... as they say, let's go.

It’s worth starting with the fact that this is a cartoon for modern children. Children who were born in ~ 2010-2012. New people, if you will.

Original picture: open source

And besides the superficial plot: stories about how the past cannot be returned... and the mistakes of the past cannot be corrected. The main villain is trying to use DNA to find his family (wife and child) in a parallel dimension and transfer it to the current one, where allegedly through his fault a tragedy occurred in which they died.

It is clear to everyone in advance that this is impossible... and the secondary characters in the film talk about this from the first minutes, and the audience understands everything. The main plot is clear. But we will return to it later. But then the dance of universes begins...

I watched this cartoon in hopes of seeing a quality story that would open me up to something new. And I was not mistaken.

Original picture: open source

Now let's follow the course of further events.

During the fight, at the time of the first battle, Spider-Man falls into the reactor beam... thereby provoking the opening of other universes, from where other Spider-Mans enter the current world.

One spider-man acquires a retinue. Of course, we don’t get 12 apostles and there is no traitor among them (we’re still talking about something else), but still... we get like-minded people. Those who fight evil and protect people. Meanwhile, our Spider-Man dies safely, having previously given the life-saving flash drive and given instructions to his only student.

Beautiful? I WOULD. And this is just the beginning. This is of course not a biblical story about the suicide of God.. but at least we have apostles whose existence cannot be proven, since they are literally from other worlds. We get religion and get a receiver. Notice that I didn't say anything new. I'm just retelling the events of the film.

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Then we observe a very juicy, tearful, cute road to becoming a HERO.

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Here, I wanted to stop and allow myself some reasoning and analogies.

We can clearly see that Spider-Man is dead... our hero Miles is, well, not a spider in the sense in which we are used to seeing him. He reads comics, where the entire path of becoming Spider-Man is described (!) - this is another brilliant moment that can be interpreted as a reference to the Bible.

We don't yet see Miles as a full-fledged hero... however, his beloved uncle turns out to be a villain... this scene can be analyzed separately...

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However, the climax of this is death. Uncle's death. Not Uncle Stan. And uncles... well, that uncle...

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And we kind of know that all the Spider-Men have had some kind of loss in their worlds. Without this ingredient, becoming a hero is supposedly impossible. This fact is rubbed into the viewer’s gums like a greasy stain.

- Hello, baby. Are you okay? We are familiar with this, for example, when my uncle died.

— I, too.. Uncle Benjamin died.

- Well, I... buried my father.

- And I am my best friend.

— Miles, the worst thing about our job is that we can’t always save everyone.

— It’s all my fault. You don't understand.

A very dubious argument, but if you look at it from the point of view of the religiosity of the plot, it is quite understandable. You can't argue here anymore.

But as we see further, our hero despairs and, despite very good attempts, still remains tied in the chair. And here, lo and behold! A conversation takes place with his father, he (the hero) understands that there is some kind of personal “spark” in him, explodes the web that binds him and goes to attack the villain.

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Not everyone eventually understood what happened in the end.

Or rather, we were given a problem and an answer... and what served as the solution... everyone had to figure it out for themselves. The father influenced his son and strengthened his self-confidence. Or it was Miles himself who realized something and discovered new powers in himself. Or revenge for the death of an uncle. Or is it a script miracle. Or maybe the spider bite had completely changed our hero by that time... they don’t explain to us. All these versions can be called appropriate to one degree or another.

Well, then the battle happens... everything is as it should be.

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The support of his father, who tells him to stand up at the most difficult moment..

Marvel is Disney, and Disney is all about family. That’s why there are so many, in my opinion, unnecessary sources of motivation) but oh well.

Victory, laurels and all that.

At the end we get a final replica that sounds something like this:

“Anyone can wear a mask, as long as you do the right thing.”

This is what the quote after the credits actually tells us.

That's it.

Now this is exactly what I promised.

We... in 2019, live in very scary times. Terrible in terms of allegory. I just told you Spider-Man based on religious texts. Whether this is right or wrong is of course up to you to judge. But on one point you and I will agree. Spider-Man is not an evil hero. He will protect the inhabitants of his city and is driven by some kind of spark. Where does this spark come from and who placed it there... this is an eternal question.

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The a priori nature of evil and good, deals with devils, loss of loved ones... these are all things that influence the development of a hero. But undoubtedly there is a beginning within us that develops under the influence of external circumstances and events.

It is very important to trace this parallel.

Kingpin, trying to bring his family back (with a relatively good idea)... during the final battle with Miles, he is caught in the reactor beam and his wife and child from many universes once again see the same scene that they observed during life. Miles was able to change and overcome fear and uncertainty, but the main villain did not change or evolve.

It is important to separate true evolution from false...

There was another moment... when, seemingly as a joke... the heroes laughed at the world-famous phrase “The greater the power, the greater the responsibility.” Like everyone already knows this... But show me a person who would live guided by this rule. Smoking weed live, declaring a blood feud, challenging someone to a duel... it’s not that funny if you figure out who makes such statements and actions and from what position.

Watch good films and don’t be afraid to look beyond the superficial plot) screenwriters don’t eat their bread for nothing either.

I never thought Spider-Man would become a global icon. Back then I just hoped that all the comics would sell and I wouldn't lose my job.