Spider-Man is a unique superhero in a lot of ways. He has one of the kindest hearts in all of Marvel comics. He saves people not because he wants fame. He does it because he knows that's the right thing to do. "With great power, comes great responsibility" as Uncle Ben once said.
Besides his brave soul, Peter Parker, and the many other iterations of the character, are funny. So, it should come as no surprise to longtime fans then that the latest film, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, is full of great jokes. Let’s sum up some of the funniest and overall best lines.
Warning! Spoilers ahead.
8 “Yeah, That’s Pretty Much It.”
This movie opens with one of the coolest fights. Gwen gets downtown where she comes face to face with The Vulture. The twist here is that this version is from another dimension. Stylistically he looks like how art was depicted in Leonardo da Vinci’s schematics from his time which game fans may be familiar with thanks to Assassin’s Creed 2.
In the fight, Gwen sums up The Vulture’s life pretty well and he even compliments her with this line. It’s a shame that there weren’t more classic villains in the movie for Gwen and the others to pound into the ground.
7 “Sir, Just Let Me Rob You.”
The Spot is the only other major villain in the movie and he is certainly the star. He begins like a run-of-the-mill villain, trying to steal money from a local bodega. He hasn’t quite got his powers figured out, so he is having trouble finding the money at the ATM.
In his commotion, the bodega clerk tries to scare him away with a shotgun which is when The Spot says this great line. It’s funny because The Spot is being polite about it as if robbing someone is normal in this universe.
6 “You’re Saying Tea Tea!”
There are quite a few dimensions that get visited in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. One of the cooler ones takes place in Mumbai, India wherein Miles meets Pavitr. He is India’s version of Spider-Man who has indeed existed in the comics for a while now.
Pavitr has some great rants about how Westerners butcher Indian culture such as pronouncing chai tea incorrectly. He explains to Miles that chai means tea, so chai tea literally translates to tea tea which frustrates Pavitr to a hilarious level.
5 “It’s A Metaphor For Capitalism.”
Hobie is another version of Spider-Man that gets introduced in the India-based universe. Hobie isn’t from there but is instead from an alternate version of London. His universe looks wild because his art style changes constantly like some sort of GIF with locked-in patterns.
Anyway, Hobie’s whole schtick is that he is anti-establishment and has a lot of great, drab lines like this one. When he sees a black hole open up in India, he comments that it is like capitalism swallowing up society.
4 “Spider-Verse…That Sounds Dumb.”
The coolest dimension in the movie is set in the futuristic city of Nueva York. It is here that Miguel, another Spider-Man, has set up the Spider-Society. Spider-Man characters from across multiple universes gather here to go on missions to help keep things intact.
They hunt down anomalies that could break the entire multiverse and could cause rippling effects of chaos. Miles comments that this multiverse scenario could be called a Spider-Verse which is a good pun that Miguel does appreciate that much with this line.
3 “It’s Rude To Stare.”
One of the anomalies that the Spider-Man characters of Nueva York capture in the movie is a great Easter egg. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is not shy about featuring many art styles to make each dimension look unique. It even features live-action characters like Aaron from Spider-Man: Homecoming played by Donald Glover.
He is named Aaron in the movie and hints at having a nephew he wants to do better for which is Miles. Glover never got to become The Prowler in the MCU until this movie wherein he is wearing a costume similar to the Aaron in the animated universe. When Miles stares at his holding cell, Aaron tells Miles that it isn’t polite to stare.
2 “Let Me Guess, He Died.”
There is one more great gag that takes place in Nueva York. Toward the end of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Miguel and the rest of the Spider-Man heroes give chase to Miles who is determined to save his father. In the chase, the movie slows to a halt for a couple of seconds inside a therapist’s office.
One Spider-Man is giving consultation to another who is crying about his uncle. The drab response from the doctor is great and the therapy session is quickly put on hold when hundreds of other heroes burst through the wall.
1 “I Didn’t Want To Join A Band, So I Started My Own.”
Gwen begins the movie by leaving her band in a fit of rage. The movie is bookended with her bringing it up again but in a more positive way. She is not a joiner so much as she is a leader. Gwen decides that Miguel’s ways are not great and that she needs to rescue Miles whatever it takes.
So, she goes around to alternate dimensions to recruit past characters to join her “band” to rescue Miles. Everyone is there from the first movie including the wildly hilarious Noir Spider-Man played by Nicolas Cage. The cliffhanger is a bummer but the spread of all the heroes is pretty hype too.