This past weekend I saw two comicbook movies: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Once Upon a Deadpool. Both of these films offer a different take on things. Spider-Verse introduces us to a new Spider-Man in a very cool animation style. And OUaD is a PG-13 edit of Deadpool 2. But what makes these two really stand out? 

Let’s start with Spider-Verse. Comic fans have been waiting to see Miles Morales on the big screen for some time and this movie doesn’t disappoint. It’s a great introduction to the most recent incarnation of Spider-Man and a really well-plotted origin story. We all know about the radioactive spider bite, but this movie goes so far beyond that. We see Spider-Folk from various dimensions each helping Miles learn how to be the hero he needs to be, but not doing too much handholding. And the usual references and Easter eggs are completely meta because Spider-Man is a celebrity superhero in Miles’ world!

Plus, the animation style is just so cool. It’s a mix of old and new, with literally fractured images throughout. It’s a great means of depicting all the action involved. But because the story flows so well and you feel for the characters, you forget at times that it’s all animated. There is already talk of sequels and considering the multiverse plot, there are so many characters they could use (there are currently two dozen versions of Spider-Man in Marvel comics!). Personally, I’m looking forward to a female-centric Spider movie that’s bound to show up in a couple of years.

Now onto the PG-13 edit that so many fanboys bitched about! Trust me when I say, whether or not you’ve seen Deadpool 2, OUaD is worth seeing. Yes, they cut some blood and gore, and edited a bit of language to make the film more “family friendly”. But it didn’t affect the plot, nor did it lessen the smart ass craziness of Deadpool himself. Plus, the added scenes that recreate the storytelling sequences from Princess Bride are fantastic! One in particular cracked me up more than anything I’ve seen in months. Releasing an edited version like this wasn’t just some money grab, hack job to water down a more adult character. They really thought out how to make the film stand on its own and it works.

Both of these movies, being in the Marvel universe, have Stan Lee cameos. If you saw Deadpool 2, you know the cameo was actually Stan’s portrait on the side of a building. Yes, they’ve kept that in OUaD, but they added RIP to it, which was a bit of a jolt. The cameo in Spider-Verse is a speaking role… and oh, the feels! There’s also a tribute at the end of the movie, during which the entire theater was silent. But for OUaD, the tribute comes after all of the credits and it’s amazingly touching. After all the laughs during the movie (and the end credit scenes), it’s definitely heart wrenching. But for Marvel fans, it’s the memorial we need… and it’s worth the tears.