If you’ve seen a “Spider-Man” origin movie (there are plenty to choose from), you’ll know the scene. Boy meets spider. Spider bites boy. Boy becomes Spider-Man. But in the animated and Oscar-nominated hyperactive fantasia that is “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” the radioactive eight-legged creature is bouncing to a little more “Wild Style”-era hip-hop than in versions past.
The directors Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman talked about injecting a familiar sequence with new energy while paying tribute visually to the artistry and textures of comic books themselves. Look closely for “Kirby dots,” the signature design style of the comic-book artist Jack Kirby. (”Thor: Ragnarok” was influenced by Kirby as well.) Also look for moments of stylized image blur, meant to invoke the imperfect way that some comic books are printed, giving them a blurry effect. And of course, watch out for that glowing spider.
