Some of us old folks have known a world where Black superheroes weren’t any good, and that’s why we rave over Miles Morales.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is representing with a 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and a ringing endorsement from both Blerd and mainstream nerd aficionados thus far.
The Blackness in Into the Spider-Verse is bursting through the seams due in a large part to the input from director Patrick Ramsey, as well as the vocal talents of Shameik Moore, Mahershala Ali, Brian Tyree Henry, and Zoe Kravitz.
Recently, The Shadow League was in attendance at a recent red carpet in Brooklyn hosted by Sony Pictures Animation and asked young Mr. Moore, aka Miles Morales, about why it’s important that Miles Morales is so important.
“In this story, Miles is the new kid on the block. He’s learning from a Peter Parker who has forgotten what it means to be Spider-Man. I think that makes the story very unique,” Shameik said when asked why he took this role.
Shameik Moore on the “blackness” of some of the themes in this Spidey tale relative to other rendition. Cultural representation is very important, not just for society at large, but for Moore as well.
“I personally think that they didn’t overplay the “Black thing”. I feel like I can relate to Miles, and a lot of Black and Latino boys can relate to him too. It’s not like he’s like ‘Oh I’m a thug, I sag my pants’ or whatever.”
“Yeah, we have on hoodies. Yeah, we listen to Biggie. Yeah, we like to spray paint, and, yeah we can STILL wear the mask. I think that’s a very powerful message in 2018. 30 years ago this would have been unheard of.”
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse opens nationwide in theaters Friday, December 14.
