Coming Out the Spider-Verse

(WARNING: Contains spoilers for "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse")

(This may be fleshed out further and become the topic for a future video once the movie is released digitally)

If you’ve been following my work since at least June of 2022, then you probably already know how I feel about heteronormativity, and how it forces a lot of people to prioritize it when viewing and interpreting media. As I stated in my video essay on the matter, the subconscious prioritization of heteronormativity allows those who are caught up in its norms the privilege of not having to immediately consider queer views and interpretations of a lot of media genres. And sometimes, despite us finally scrubbing said conditioning off our skin, even we queer folk tend to miss a few spots after our first wash cycle.

That being said, as a lifelong fan of superhero media who is also an out bisexual, I found my 34 year-old self a bit embarrassed that it took me watching “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” to realize that the concept of secret identities can serve as an allegory to coming out.

While I’m not making excuses for myself, part of the reason why I believe it took me so long to do so was because of how blatant the writing for “Across” made the allegory in comparison to other superhero media that I grew up with. Heteronormativity forces those who’ve been conditioned to certain interpretations of the trope to not have to read so into it. And when there is a bit of digging required to reveal a form of subtext, it’s mostly on the side of heteronormativity.

DC’s Batman, despite being one of my favorite superheroes, is a victim of this. Despite there being complex reasonings tying both his Bruce and Batman identities to his trauma and using the former to help his latter be more efficient in his work, the way his struggles with duality forces his romantic ventures with women to never really work out when he feels he’s ready to juggle the two -- y’know, unless said women are either Selina Kyle or Talia Al Ghul since the concept of duality is the initial attraction -- always tend to lean to a more heteronormative interpretation of how difficult it is for superheroes to reveal their secret identities to people they care about, thus becoming the norm.

Spider-Man, on the other hand, tends to go the route of using secret identities as a form of protection. Before The Dark Knight Rises associated it with Batman, wearing a mask “to protect the people you care about” was always one of Peter Parker’s main shticks. And for the longest time, a lot of us never really took a closer look past that interpretation of what it means for Spider-Man to have a secret identity, even with Miles Morales.

Then comes “Across the Spider-Verse,” and while Gwen’s reveal to Captain Stacey definitely pulled on the emotional heartstrings (though completely unsurprising because he’s a cop after all), it was Miles fantasizing about finally telling his parents he’s Spider-Man and them responding to it with nothing but unconditional love and support that made me realize that not only was it possible for this trope to have queer interpretations now that the concept of coming out and living one’s truth has become more accepted and widespread, but that this correlation has kinda always existed once you look past the trope’s connection to heteronormativity, especially in other Spider-Man media.

Aunt May in the 90’s animated series was always radicalized by the Daily Bugle’s words about Spider-Man, and it played a huge factor in Peter making sure she didn’t find out who he was. Nowadays, one can easily see this as a comparison to how right-wing media radicalizes people’s views and opinions on the livelihood of queer folk, absorbing rhetoric that threatens their very existence. And because of said radicalization, the LGBTQIA+ individuals in their lives don’t feel safe enough to come out to them.

Even the way MJ in Spider-Man: Far From Home casually reveals that she knew Peter was Spider-Man when he finally works up the nerve to tell her is kinda similar to how certain friends and family members nonchalantly claim that they always knew the person in the process of coming out was queer. It’s a rude gesture and undermines the person that’s coming out, despite it usually being played up in movies and television for comedy, but it does happen.

And while it’s not a coming out allegory per se, the way Sam Raimi adapted the Spider-Man No More storyline for Spider-Man 2 in a way that showcases Peter’s struggle with wanting to be Spider-Man and wanting to be normal can easily be seen as one’s struggle in coming to terms with their queerness. With lines that, in retrospect, highlight the denial of one’s true self for the sake of having a simple (ie heteronormative) life like everyone else -- lines like “There was something I thought I had to do, I don’t have to” and “Am I not supposed to have what I want? What I need? What am I supposed to do?” -- it’s incredibly easy for a queer individual to interpret this story as one of someone struggling with and eventually accepting their sexuality.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, as I mentioned earlier, is a bit more blatant in making sure the allegory is identified when compared to its other animated and live-action predecessors. Because one of the main story beats surrounding the movie is about whether or not Miles should tell his parents about his secret identity, the instance Miles fantasizes about how it could be positively taken made me realize that this daydream is a seed we're seeing planted that will eventually blossom into one of his main personal development arcs over the course of the film.

And we see every step of the photosynthesis as a result; his want to confide in his parents about what he wants and what he’s going through being the soil, Gwen’s traumatizing experience sharing her secret identity with her father -- not to mention the possibility of this variant of Spider-Gwen being trans -- providing the initial water, and his experience with Miguel and the Spider-Society being the sun.

All of these instances played important factors into Miles “coming out” to who he initially thought was his mom near the end of the movie. His insecurities and anxieties regarding how his parents would react and think of him being washed away after realizing what was most important to him. Despite the movie ending by revealing that the current plot he’s in isn’t that nutrient dense, the seed that was planted in the beginning of the movie eventually grew into the strong and vibrant sunflower we all know Miles is.

I just hate that we have to wait 9 months to see how he’s gonna get off Earth 42.