SPOILERS BELOW and fair warning that this article is absolutely unhinged, me screaming about everything I loved about this film. Okay thanks, read at your own risk <3 :)

Listen guys. I know this post is late. I usually post my blogs on Mondays. BUT. There is good reason. I wanted to wait to write this blog TODAY because I actually went to see the movie a ​second time last night, and wanted get all my thoughts in order. So without further ado, let's talk about this PERFECT PIECE OF CINEMA.

I literally do not have a single bad thing to say about this movie. It is literally everything I could have asked for in a Spider-Man film. The cameos were EVERYTHING and the fact that we got live action human beings in there as well as the animation opens the door for SO MANY POSSIBILITIES?! LIKE HELLO!!!! WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE FUTURE OF THE MCU. Sorry to yell, you all just know how passionate I am about any variation of Spidey. Also not to mention the absolute love of my life, Peter Parkedcar, so glad our homie made an appearance <3 love him!

Miles' character development? Chef's kiss. The plot? Chef's kiss. The ANIMATION?! CHEFS. KISS. Everything. Everything about this. Was so good. I loved that they gave us so much into Gwen's world (her animation was? So beautiful?!) and also how they let us into some of Miles' current Spidey life before jumping us right into the action and the thick of the main plot. Also, I love how Spot's main motive was that he was hit with a bagel 😭 I'm crying, that was hilarious.

The jokes in this movie were TOO good, like the baby powder mess up that Miles had, and the "are you a cow or a Dalmatian" PLS. There are so many more I can't even think of off the top of my head writing this right now, but it was just absolutely hilarious. I could not stop laughing the entire film.

Not to mention the freaking PLOT TWIST OF AN ENDING HELLO?! Okay so as soon as Miles glitched and we realized he was in a different universe than his own, I had some feeling he was going to be evil/The Prowler in Earth-42 and I was so excited when that became true. It just makes the plot so juicy, man. So rich. Also when I did my rewatch last night I noticed there were a couple hints that he was in the wrong universe that I missed the first time around. Like, for example, Miles' mom's eyes are GREEN in Earth 42! So neat. 

Mayday was the cutest little baby I adore her and Peter's whole speech about how he loves Miles and that's why he had her. It's so great to see Peter so happy after having a movie where he was so sad. 10/10 for him, what an icon. He deserves it.

This article is just stream of consciousness today, wow. I can't LOL.

Okay but real talk though. It was so cool to see all the Spidey variants. I loved the soundtrack. I loved the weight of the plot, and how it wasn't over dramatic but wasn't under dramatic either. It sat right where it needed to. And that "Nah, imma do my own thing" line gives me CHILLS every time I watch. God. This takes the cake, you guys. This takes the cake for my favorite Spidey film. I'm telling you. It's so perfect. Everything about this. 

If this was Part 1, I can't even imagine what Part 2 is going to have. And we get our OGs BACK! SPIDER-HAM! SPIDER-MAN NOIR! PENNY! Oh I can't wait. March can't come soon enough!

And the new characters were so fun! Spider-Punk and Spider-Man India and Spider-Man 2099. God. I fell in love with their characters instantly. (Also not Miguel being the angriest LOL he was so grumpy gus the whole movie, love that for him).

An absolute 10/10 my favorite movie this year so far. I cannot wait to rewatch this a hundred thousand more times in theaters, and then a trillion more when I own it. Thank you Marvel. THANK YOU SPIDER-VERSE. I love this.

I was recently gifted a copy of the new Miles Morales: Suspended book by Simon & Schuster, and just finished reading it this past weekend! You all know how much I love Spidey (any chance to talk about how much I love any and all variations of Spider-Man is a good enough reason for me!) so let's talk about what I thought about the book! A fair warning to you all that I will be talking about the plot in detail in this article, so if you wanted to experience the book your first time without any spoilers, I recommend giving it a read before continuing on with this blog post!

There is so much to talk about in regards to this book that I loved, so let's start with general ideas before moving into details here. Jason Reynolds' writing of this story was so beautifully well done. I loved the way that it switched back and forth from written story to poem verse. And every time he switched was perfectly executed and enhanced the plot and feeling of the story very well. I think especially in the parts of the story where Miles is doing his assignments and working through the emotions he is feeling in the moment, this verse style was so powerful. And Zeke Peña's artwork was BEAUTIFUL. Anytime I saw even a hint that there was an illustration on the next page, I was so excited. I think my favorite one has to be the drawing of Miles in his full suit, standing in the street (in the scene where he is being approached to take pictures with tourists!).

In terms of the plot, I thought it was a super interesting story. The concept of the termites and infestation, whether physically or ideologically, was so prevalent and powerful to what is happening in life now. The termite ruining and destroying books, especially ones that had to do with the history of African American heritage and history, I think keys in to a lot of really important topics that are happening in current day news, whether that be the Black Lives Matter movement or book bans in schools, for example. And not only that, but the whole reason why Miles is in in-school suspension to begin with: that he stood up for himself and was punished for that. And I think having these important issues not only talked about in this book but also told in a way that younger audiences have a chance to learn and understand topics that are currently happening in day to day life is so incredibly important.

I will say, I think his classmate becoming a giant termite was something I was not really expecting the plot to go towards, though! That entire scene at the end when Miles ends up fighting him in the bathroom was definitely super plot-twisty. Now looking back, I feel like I should have seen that coming from a MILE away, but Miles didn't see it either and he was actively living it. So I'm not too mad at myself for not picking that up HAHHA. And poor Miles trying to read his assignments and absolutely freaking out over the words changing over and over and over, on top of being in in-school suspension, on top of his Spidey-Sense going haywire the entire time. He must have been absolutely exhausted by the end of the day.

And we can't have a Spidey story without our favorite side characters as well, which leads us to talking about Ganke. I was so glad Jason added him to the plot! He is such a sweetie and you can tell how much his relationship with Miles means to him. They've always got each other's backs, even if it is helping him with the smallest things, like giving Miles the idea to web the cuff of his shirt so that he doesn't get written up for improper uniform wear at his suspension. 

Overall, too, I think having the plot take place in a situation where Miles is unable to move, unable to do anything except the assignments he is provided, while everything seems to be crumbling around him, made the story just that bit more intense. That we as the reader can tell that there is something wrong, and we worry for Miles and what is going to happen next. It made the plot so interesting and in turn, provided such a great story along with the many other elements that added to that effect, such as the written verse and the pacing of the plot.

If you haven't read Miles Morales: Suspended yet, be sure to pick up your own copy! I highly recommend it as a great Spidey read, and it's definitely a book I am so happy to have on my shelf, and one that I for sure will re-read in the future <3.

The swing with all three of the Spideys in No Way Home gives me the chills no matter how much I watch it. The way they swing off of one another, and are all cheering as they head into their fight just gives me such an endorphin rush!
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It was so hard to pick just 5 moments for this blog post, because there are so many others I love! I can never get enough Spidey! What are some of your favorite moments?

These Spidey PS5 games truly know how to trap you in a video game web, that's for sure! A week ago today I started to play the Spider-Man: Miles Morales game and WOWOWOW was it good! So let's talk about it, yeah? And here is where I give the "if you haven't played the game and don't want spoilers stop reading now" warning. So...if you haven't played the game and don't want spoilers, stop reading now! 😋

Okay, let's get into my thoughts on the game. I want to start by saying that I thought the game was awesome! Specifically the gameplay throughout. Maybe it was because I finally have a handle on the controls since I've played the Spider-Man game, but I also think it had to do with Miles' enhanced powers as well. Getting to venom punch and camouflage was super fun and made missions so awesome! I also feel like (for the most part) it was much easier to know what to do. In the past I'd always get stuck trying to figure out where to go or what I was supposed to do next. The only thing that really tripped me up at first was the electric web connectors, but once I got the hang of it and understood what the game wanted me to do it was super enjoyable!

In terms of the storyline, I do have to say I wish it was a bit longer. Maybe it's because the original Spidey game had a bunch of DLCs where this one doesn't, but it felt so short to me! I thought the beginning was SOOO so cool, it had a super strong start and I loved that you could fight alongside Peter. Honestly, I kind of wish we had gotten more of that and had more of a mentor story with Peter as the player plays as Miles! When he was just like "yeah, I'm leaving tomorrow" I was laughing so hard, he gave poor Miles like no notice 😂 but I guess this gave Miles the leap of faith he needed to become Spider-Man, so in that sense I enjoyed him being able to learn on his own as the story continued.

Throughout the story plot I thought it had really awesome intense scenes that I really enjoyed to play through, but overall I wish there was a little more to it. As I was playing, I felt that the Phin storyline was pretty predictable and you kind of always had a sense of where it was going. Like, Miles ends up telling her he's Spider-Man, she gets mad, then redeems herself at the end by saving Miles, etc. It felt very formulaic to me. Still an enjoyable plot, don't get me wrong! I just wish they added some deeper side plot and more to the storyline to make it a little less obvious. I was happy to see that they included Miles' Uncle Aaron, though! I love his character and he is an AWESOME Prowler! But also totally saw that twist of him turning against Miles to "protect him" but also still being on Roxxon's side, hahaha. I will say though, the one point that I wasn't expecting was that Miles' mom would find out! I was very surprised by that section of the story and loved how they handled her reaction to it. That she was understanding while also being worried rather than being angry with him. I also adored Ganke's character! I really hope we see a little more of him in Across the Spider-Verse actually, because he is so fun! 

Speaking of other characters, I really wish we got more gameplay with some of the other characters in the story! I would have loved to have a Ganke mission, where you're helping Miles hack into something, or even getting to play as Miles' mom for a scene. That was something I definitely missed from the first Spidey game that I think would have really enhanced this one.

One difference to this game from the first one that I really enjoyed was the inclusion of the app that Ganke and Miles had made! I thought it was so much fun and an awesome creative way to see your map missions. I also think the side missions were so much more fun in this one too! Though I do gotta say, when I saw that pigeon guy was back I let out an audible groan HAHAH I really don't like pigeon guy. Those pigeons are so hard to catch! I'm still chugging away at finishing the map and getting all of the different suits, so I'm excited to keep playing this week and get it to 100%! And I loved Peter's holo missions too! Those are so much fun, and I loved hearing holo-Peter's encouragements throughout the training process.

I also adore the little easter eggs we get in this game, too. My absolute favorite was when Miles has the flashback to seeing his project in the museum, and he bumps into Peter and Octavius discussing their lab work. I stood there and listened to the whole conversation with them, I was SO excited to see them! Little head nods to past and future plots like that one absolutely make the game for me. I loved those back in the first Spidey game too, with all of Miles phone calls asking for Spidey training! And you can even see it being insinuated for the upcoming Spidey game this fall, too, with Peter talking about "having somethings he needs to catch up on" and "looking for a job". 

And last but not least, the soundtrack. Oh my god, the soundtrack was EVERYTHING in this game. It made swinging through the city SO much fun. I've been listening to the songs from the game on repeat this week, they just scratch that itch in my brain so so well. It made me miss the Spider-Verse era and is making me even more excited for when Across the Spider-Verse comes out this summer! Overall, I love both Spidey games for different reasons, because they are such different stories but with that classic Spidey feel. I'm so excited to get the new game this fall, and I can't wait to play more Miles map missions this week. These games have such a special place in my heart, and I am so glad that I got over my "I don't play video games" mentality to pick up a controller and try these. They have only enhanced my love of Spider-Man even more <3 Maybe sometime down the road I can stream some Spidey gameplays! What do you all think? 😉

NOTE: This blog contains spoilers for the Spider-Man PS4 plot line. If you have not yet played and are planning to play the game in the future, please read with caution for spoilers below.

Listen. I am not a video game person. I think a lot of it has to do with just being frustrated that I don't understand the controls of the game right off the bat, and also just not giving myself enough exposure to the video game world. The most I have played was Wii Games, Minecraft when it was made into an iPhone app, and a little bit of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. But I knew I had to try the Spidey game out because he is absolutely my favorite Marvel character, hands down, and I had heard so many wonderful things about it. So I finally sucked up my "I'm not a gamer" mentality and picked up the remote.

When I tell you this game was EVERYTHING. As soon as I got into the story mode, I could immediately understand the hype behind it. The game was SO much fun. It felt like I was playing a Spider-Man movie, which I absolutely loved. The voice actors were so perfect, especially for Peter. And I loved that they didn't just throw us right in with Peter dealing with the 6. They took their time with Doc Ock's story and Peter's relationship with him, and it made me love the story even more!

I will admit, I play the entire game on "Friendly Neighborhood" mode, because even that feels hard for me, hahah! But I was mostly in it for the story and the fun of it, so I wasn't super concerned with scoring up my XP and grabbing all the suits. Well, at first, that is. Once I finished the main story mode I was all about the suits and the special moves! But the story just really got me. It was so well written and so thought out. It always kept me on my toes, and it made it so hard to put down the remote when it was getting too late and I had to go to bed. I also really liked how you weren't trapped in the story though, and were able to swing off to do some friendly neighborhood crime fighting and searching for backpacks if you needed the break. I really enjoyed being able to play as the different characters, as well. The scenes when you get to sneak around as MJ and Miles were fun little pockets in the story that I was so glad they added! I have to admit, I did kind of expect Martin Li to be Mr. Negative. I just kind of got that vibe from him after a while. But I was convinced that Doc Ock was the main villain until they started going more into the plot with the Demons. Also, having Kingpin in the beginning of the game was SO much fun! Kingpin is one of my favorite villains (if you've been watching Daredevil with me, you know how much I've grown to love his character arc) and it was so awesome to see his interactions with Spidey, as I haven't had much exposure to his stories with Kingpin through the bit of comics I have read yet.

I was absolutely DEVASTATED when they killed off Aunt May. I knew it was coming, because I remembered seeing a spoiler about it when the game first came out, but I didn't know how and/or why she died in the game. So having the whole picture made me so sad. And Peter's grief when he realizes it's his aunt's life versus the safety of the rest of the world was absolutely heart wrenching. Though I will say, it's nice to know that this version of Peter isn't COMPLETELY alone. He still has MJ and Miles as his support system. Our poor MCU Spidey doesn't have a single person left 😢

In terms of game logistics, one of my favorite things to do in the game is the stealth missions. They are so difficult sometimes, but I love being able to sneak attack and get them when they least expect it. I also loved searching for the backpacks because you really got to explore around the city and enjoy the ambience of the game. Literally I am listening to a Spidey PS4 game ambient as I write this blog! It's just so relaxing. Minus JJJ's news updates, but those never fail to make me laugh. I will say, the only thing that really bothered me about the game was not being able to go into certain buildings. I would have loved for them to allow the more popular buildings to be inside-accessible, such as Peter's apartment or the Empire State Building, or Avengers Tower. Even if it was just the building lobby's and Peter's room, I feel like it would have made the game that much better for me!

Last but not least, I want to talk about the DLC's. I just finished the last DLC on Saturday night, and it was so much fun. I think my favorite storyline DLC was the Black Cat storyline. It was awesome being able to fight alongside her, and it kept me on my toes as well (when they really made us think that Black Cat might have Peter's kid? That was wild!). But in terms of Peter's character, I thought they did an AMAZING job with Silver Sable's DLC. They just got Peter's charm and wit in such a different and funny way in that DLC that never failed to make me laugh. Don't get me wrong, his quips and puns throughout the rest of the game were also just as amazing! But this one just was funny in a way that I felt they hit the mark so well on.

Overall, this game is absolutely phenomenal. I still need to finish up some of the map and snagging some extra suit power and XP, but I cannot wait to start the Miles Morales Spider-Man game (currently planning on maybe starting it tonight? Who knows!). I loved every second, and I'm so glad I have another game to keep me occupied until we get the third one coming out this fall. Also, maybe I'm finally learning that I am​ a video game person! Perhaps story-mode games are just the way I need to go ;)

This week I’ve got something a little fun and different to talk about! I recently picked up Preeti Chhibber’s book “Spider-Man’s Social Dilemma!” and absolutely loved it! You may know of Preeti’s work from “Peter and Ned’s Ultimate Travel Journal”, a book written as if Peter and Ned (and MJ!) had kept a journal during their trip to Europe during Spider-Man: Far From Home. So when I had found out about this book, I knew I had to read it right away.

The story takes place with more of a comic-rendition of the characters versus in-MCU type writing like Preeti wrote for “Peter and Ned’s Ultimate Travel Journal”, though I still loved it all the same. I felt that Preeti got Peter’s characterization down SO so well, and there were so many twists and turns that I wasn’t expecting! The plot always had another element added to it that furthered the mystery on who/what Peter was fighting, and I absolutely loved it. It was also so much fun to dive back into a plot where quite literally no one knows that Peter is Spider-Man except for himself and the reader. Getting to watch him try to lead his triple life fighting crime and being a full time student while also working for the Bugle as an intern was certainly a treat.

I also loved how this version of Spider-Man was very relevant to the current time period we are living in. It touches upon current issues and lifestyles through the use of social media and how people portray themselves online versus what we are actually like in real life. Though, it wasn’t the whole plot, which I enjoyed. There were multiple strings of the story that eventually all came together at the end of the day for a great storyline! But that’s all I’m going to say on that side of things without giving away spoilers ;)
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There are going to be two more books of this series and I am definitely looking forward to them! I believe the next one comes out in September and I can’t wait to read more of Preeti’s amazing storytelling of characters that we are all so near-and-dear too. Definitely recommend this for anyone looking for a fun, lighthearted read with some of our favorite Spidey characters.

It's about time for a Spider-Man blog post, don't you think? 😉

A few hours ago I got back from seeing the "More Fun Stuff Version" of Spider-Man: No Way Home in theaters. Before diving into any of my thoughts on the movie, I just want to start out by saying that Spider-Man: No Way Home is my absolute favorite Marvel Cinematic Universe film that we have thus far. I have seen it multiple times since its first release in December 2021 and it never fails to disappoint.

Before the movie even began, there was an awesome clip of Tom, Tobey and Andrew all together on a Zoom call in which Tom and Tobey tell Andrew that they love him, and share a little joke about how they have been holding on to that since they filmed the "I love you guys" scene for the original release. It was such a sweet moment, and great to see the three of them chatting all together! Tom's thanks on behalf of all of the people who worked on the movie seemed so genuine and heartfelt. I wonder if the three of them knew how much of an impact this movie would have on so many peoples' lives. Also, I have to admit that for a solid thirty seconds I was in excited-panic mode, because I really thought they were going to announce The Amazing Spider-Man 3. I got played 😭

The "extended" scenes in the movie were scattered throughout the plot, but I can definitely see why they left certain scenes or dialogue pieces out of the final cut of the film. While they were fun, a lot of the scenes didn't add much to the rolling story line, and it definitely felt a bit jarring in certain sections. There were a bunch of fun clips of Peter at the police station trying to explain why he was always at different monuments, and the diagrams were cracking me up.

I loved getting to see more of the stress that Peter was feeling at school, like the scene of Flash selling his book in the hallway and doing a book singing. Betty's news cast was cute, but I can understand why they ended up cutting it from the movie, too. It was a huge chunk of footage that just kind of felt like a halting stop to the story line. But it was so fun to see that while it wasn't in the original release in 2021, they managed to still utilize some of the clips by putting them on the Daily Bugle TikTok account! The only scene that really kind of bugged me was the scene of Peter's gym class asking him to scale the wall. They kept cheering for him to climb it and then as soon as he started to it was just dead silence. I don't know, it just felt so awkward. Like there was all this hype leading up to it and then no cheering or anything? It was just strange to me.

I think my favorite added scene, though, had to be the little montage they had of Doctor Strange's basement. The scale model of the Sanctum that MJ was looking at was so cool, and I loved the added detail of Strange's shadow! Makes me wonder if that was a real-time reflection of him hanging out in the window? Or just a little loop that Wong added for visual effect 😝 and also Ned just knocking over ever table in existence kept cracking me up as well!

I love love LOVED seeing that there was a second Matt Murdock scene, and that he was Happy's lawyer! I'm still learning a lot about Daredevil and his character, but it made me so happy to see him again! And Happy actively watching the security camera footage was so funny. I'm going to miss him hanging out with Peter so much 😭

The added Andrew and Tobey interactions as well were so fun, too! I literally would watch a full length movie of just the three Spideys talking and getting to share experiences with one another. It was just hilarious to hear a more in depth conversation that we didn't originally have.

As the end credits rolled, I was curious if they would even have a second end credit scene, especially where the first time they released the movie it was just the trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Not going to lie, it made me so emotional! First of all, seeing that none of the clips they used for Betty's little "graduation" send off had Peter in them made it that much more real that everyone forgot about who he was. It was bittersweet watching all those clips from them during Far From Home. I wonder if they were actual video footage that the actors had shared for the film after their trip? Regardless, Betty saying her "one last time" sentence made me so sad. It really settled in how little we know about what is going to happen next with MCU Spidey. I hope we learn more soon! Here's to hoping we learn a little bit more at D23 Expo next week 🤭

No She-Hulk episode review just yet, because I have been waiting to watch with my family and today has been a crazy day! I'll be posting as soon as I watch sometime tomorrow (Friday, 09/02/22) and let you all know when it's up! But until then, I'm signing off.

​-FPP