A pig, a spider and a noir detective walk into a trans-dimensional reactor
Everyone knows that one, right? It's a classic.
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Manhattan’s population doubles on a typical weekday from 2 million to 4 million people. Literally anybody and everybody is among those 4 million people, from fresh faced kids just off the train from Illinois to billionaire hedge fund managers to heads of state to panhandlers on the corner. At any given moment, you could meet your greatest hero, the love of your life or your arch nemesis within the space of a city block. It’s a place of happenstance and serendipity.
One of my favorite sections of the city runs from Union Square, south along Broadway to Cooper’s Union, then west to Washington Square Park and into the Village. You start out with the chess hustlers, protestors and Hare Krishnas, pass by the Strand bookstore, Forbidden Planet comic book shop, and The Bean coffee shop. Enjoy the arts college kids trying to be cool and keep and eye our for crusty New Yorkers shopping the dollar book carts. Jag over to Washington Square Park and finish the day with kati rolls, a stand-up set at the Comedy Cellar, and if you’re really lucky, standing room at the bar in the Blue Note jazz club. Grab a nightcap nearby at MacDougal Street Ale House, head south to Fanelli’s, or—my personal favorite—loop back around to Union Square for the subway and stop in to Old Town Bar.
That was the basic plan a few years ago, when I had one of those uniquely New York encounters. On my way down Broadway, I stopped in to Lonely Planet. I wasn’t after anything in particular—just browsing—although I seem to remember I left with a few comic book issues, as usual. There’s a reason why I remember this particular day so vividly—it was hot outside, a little humid, and very sunny. Out of the corner of my eye, I glimpsed an old man in sunglasses and a jacket come up from the employees only section downstairs. He mounted the stairs, and he must have noticed me looking. He flashed me a grin.
It was Stan Lee, the creator of the most iconic Marvel superheroes—Spider-Man, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Black Panther, X-Men, Doctor Strange, Ant-Man, among many, many others. Modern popular culture arguably owes a greater debt to Stan than any other single person. I recognized him instantly, but I played it cool. A grin, a nod. Don’t say anything. Never say anything to celebs in New York. You don’t want to blow up his spot and trap him in a sea of fans in a comic book store. That look was it.
That’s the beauty of New York, though. You never know when you’ll have a brush with genius. The most ordinary of days can instantly transform into something memorable. The city might try and crush you in a thousand ways, literally and figuratively, but every so often it serves up a gift that makes it all worth it. Most of Stan Lee’s characters came from this mold: They didn’t ask for their powers, and while they each might have a particular talent or unique trait—whether it’s super smarts or just a whole lot of money—New York City was always the forge that shaped them into superheroes.
Today’s Film: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
There have been A LOT of cinematic takes on Spider-Man since Toby Maguire first played the role in 2002. A couple have been good, most have been just okay, and a few of them were real stinkers. None were really great films. That changed with 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, the first animated theatrical feature in the franchise. Into the Spider-Verse is a radically different take on the character, and it pushes Spider-Man way beyond his breaking point.
There’s a lot to love about the movie. The animation is aesthetically radical—it feels like a comic book in motion that’s been infused with graffiti and an anime sensibility—and the camera work and cinematography is as good as any live-action film can dish-up. Most incredibly, the animation is so-deft and sound designed so-tailored that it actually feels like a film that was shot on location in New York, not drawn on computers. The pace and rhythm of the storytelling and action feel like jazz or hip-hop, rather than timpani the blaring horns of an orchestra. The soundtrack mimics this, relying primarily on hip-hop and jazz and the sounds of New York City. All of this wouldn’t matter, of course, if the story was just another boring version of kid-from-Queens-is-bitten-by-a-spider-gains-powers-then-fights-a-megalomaniac. To its benefit, Into the Spider-Verse doesn’t follow this roadmap.
Yes, technically New York City is in danger of destruction, so that is the same, but the focal point is gentrifying Brooklyn, rather than the Empire State Building. And Spider-Man is Miles Morales, a teenager on a scholarship at a fancy private school. Spider-Man is also a pig, a black-and-white noir detective, an anime girl with a robot, and a couple of versions of standard Peter Parker. It’ll all make sense when you watch it, but trust me, the more versions of the S-Man are on the screen, the more lit the action. And you can’t beat the voice talent: Mahershala Ali, Lily Tomlin, Zoë Kravitz, John Mulaney, Nicolas Cage, Liev Schreiber, Chris Pine, Oscar Isaac, and the list just goes on.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse won the Oscar in 2019 for Best Animated Feature, as well as a stack of Annie awards (the animation industry’s awards). The film is utterly unusual; it’s a superhero movie that’s stretches beyond its source material, and it’s an animated picture that feels real. It’s worth watching once, just for the joy of the thing, and a second time as a work of art.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is streaming on Netflix.
Care for a drink?
This weekend’s issue is all about New York, in a way, so how about a Manhattan?
2 oz. Rye Whiskey (I’ve been enjoying the Albany Distilling Company’s Ironweed Rye lately. They’re also doing cocktails and hand sanitizer to-go right now.)
1 oz. Italian Vermouth
2 Dashes of Angostura Bitters
Combine and stir with crushed ice—give it 30 seconds to 1 minute—garnish with a twist of lemon or a cocktail cherry.
Reading List:
The American Chestnut disappeared from the landscape almost 100 years ago. Now a team of scientists are on the brink of bringing it back.
Gothamist has the info on the New York Public Library’s new album of New York City sounds. Give it a listen.
I am a massive Frank Sinatra fan, but I didn’t know the history behind how “New York, New York” became his song. Turns out Robert De Niro had a role in it.
Why Sinatra Matters by Pete Hamill is a wonderfully written, poignant biography of Frank Sinatra and the Northeastern city’s that birthed him. Pete Hamill knew Sinatra as well as anyone, and it shows. Order it from the Greenlight Bookstore.
Benjamin Reeves is an award-winning screenwriter, journalist and media consultant based in Brooklyn, New York. Follow him on Twitter @bpreeves or write to him at breeves.writer@gmail.com.