Into the Spider-Verse offers fan-gasms with the Ultimate Spider-man Team-Up

From the animation studio that brought The Smurfs to cinemas as well as cutesy monsters of Hotel Transylvania, Sony Pictures Animations now bring Marvel's friendly neighbourhood wall-crawler in animated form to cinemas with Spider-man: Into the Spider-Verse. As movie goers may be aware, Sony Pictures currently holds the rights of Spider-man on film since Y2K and has produced six live-action movies to-date which ranks at the 10th highest grossing film franchise of all time at over USD4.8 billion. With such a lucrative property, Sony retains a super-strength grip onto the Spidey film rights and which includes associated Marvel characters such as Venom, Morbius, Black Cat, Kraven, etc. This Sony Universe of Marvel Characters (SUMC) has already paid off gruesomely in the standalone movie Venom released this October and ranking in over USD845 million worldwide.

The Peter Parkers to-date (left to right): Tobey Macguire, Andrew Garfield, Tom Holland.
Source: Time.com

Since the 1970's, live-action films of Spider-man has featured Peter Parker as their main protagonist, being the secret identify of the namesake superhero. The current Peter Parker is portrayed by Tom Holland and, through mutually profiting agreements with Marvel Studios, has been incorporated into the massively successful Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film franchise since 2016's Captain America: Civil War. So with Peter Parker temporarily exported from the live-action SUMC, here comes Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse introducing Mile Morales as the new lead protagonist in the namesake role.

Official movie synopsis:

Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the creative minds behind The Lego Movie and 21 Jump Street, bring their unique talents to a fresh vision of a different Spider-Man Universe, with a groundbreaking visual style that’s the first of its kind. Spider-Man™: Into the Spider-Verse introduces Brooklyn teen Miles Morales, and the limitless possibilities of the Spider-Verse, where more than one can wear the mask.

Team Spidey GO!

The movie is directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey (Rise of the Guardians), and Rodney Rothman. Voicing teenager Miles Morales is Shameik Moore and Jake Johnson as Peter B. Parker. Forming the Spider Team are Hailee Steinfeld (Ender's Game, Bumblebee) as Gwen Stacey, Nicholas Cage as Spider-Man Noir, Kimiko Glenn as Peni Parker, and John Mulaney as Spider-Ham. Other supporting cast to note is Liev Schreiber (X-Men Origins) as Wilson Fisk, Mahershala Ali (Luke Cage), Brian Tyree Henry and Lily Tomli.

Let's take a closer look into the different Spider-man of the Spider-Verse:

 MILES MORALES – The all-new Spider-Man

Miles Morales is a young teenager and a Brooklyn native. He’s a bright kid who’s been thrust into a new school and is having a hard time adjusting to a more rigorous academic environment. But he’s having an even harder time adjusting to his entirely new and unexpected life as a Spider-Man.  With the help of some surprising new friends, Miles learns to unlock the hero inside himself.

 PETER B. PARKER – Miles’ reluctant mentor 

He may look like Peter Parker, but he is older and the years of superhero life have taken a toll on his body. His experiences have left him world-weary and cynical. Peter never wanted to be a mentor, but training Miles Morales to be Spider-Man helps him to regain his original enthusiasm for that identity and reclaim the spirit of selflessness for which Spider-Man stands

SPIDER-GWEN – A super-cool Spider-Woman 

An intelligent and quick-witted teenager, Spider-Gwen is the Spider-Woman of her world, an excellent fighter who can swing and flip with the grace of a trained dancer. Although tough and brave when she’s fighting the bad guys, Gwen has suffered a loss in her universe that’s made her afraid to get close to people, even to an open-hearted kid like Miles. Once she learns there are others like her, she has the opportunity to let down her guard and become part of a team who have overcome their own tragedies to become the protectors of their worlds.

SPIDER-MAN NOIR – The Spider-Man of 1933

Spider-Man Noir, a Peter Parker from another century as well as another universe, is a more hardened version of Spider-Man who fought crime during the Great Depression in 1933. Unlike most Spider-People, Spider-Man Noir is only seen in black and white and has the 1930s perspective to match, which makes it harder for him to adjust to Miles’ modern (and colorful) world.

PENI PARKER and SP//dr – A half-Asian school girl from the future 

Peni Parker is a classic anime character, a school girl from an alternative universe with a psychic link to a spider. She’s an emotional, expressive vigilante who doesn’t wear the typical Spider-Man suit – instead, she has a mechanical, robotic Spidey suit that only responds to her DNA.

SPIDER-HAM – The comic relief

Meet Spider-Ham, aka Peter Porker… a cartoon pig! Spider-Ham is always the first one to crack a joke, but despite behaving like the ultimate ham, he takes his job as a Spider-Hero very seriously and fights alongside the others with own his special kind of cartoon fury.

AUNT MAY - A Pillar for all Spider-People

Aunt May has been very involved in her nephew's Spider-Man world, creating gadgets and providing tactical support for his superhero adventures. When May learns that there are Spider-People from other universes who need her help, she’s ready to provide coffee and web-shooters. She even wields a baseball bat to fight along side them when the villains arrive.

WILSON FISK aka KINGPIN – The ultimate crime lord 

Kingpin is the king of organized crime in New York. His climb to the heights of power has been built on decades of shady deals and ruthless violence, backed by an almost superhuman will. Kingpin blames Spider-Man for a loss so great that he is willing to risk the lives of every person in every universe to get back what he lost.

The Spidey team-up we've been waiting for is finally in cinemas!

The real thrill for Marvel fans would be to see this team-up amongst the different Spider-heroes. The animation style is very much inspired by its comic book origins, chock full of visual delights and “easter eggs” aplenty including the world's most famous cameo actor in animated form. But as aesthetically pleasing as a movie may look, it's core story must resound with the audience and this one most certainly strikes home.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse has received raving reviews and even scored a perfect 100% by Rotten Tomatoes. Here's how it compared against the preceding live-action movies by Sony on the Tomatometer:

Even before it's US release, the movie already been nominated in the Golden Globe Awards for Best Motion Picture – Animated, up against The Incredibles 2 and Ralph Breaks the Internet.

For more in-depth review, read what Star2.com has to say or watch opinion video by IGN:

Malaysia's Movie Premiere for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was held on 4 December 2018 at TGV 1 Utama and attended by our very local-verse of Spider-heroes:

Can you name each Spider-man in this group shot?

Cosplayers from Into the Spider-Verse with the exception of Spider-Ham.

Femme fatales Spider-Gwen, Mary Jane and Peni Parker.

Spider-men of the MCU.

Peter Parker: "I don't feel so good..."

Waiting patiently for the Marvel must-watch end-credit scene(s).

Once again, the Outpost Movie Recon Team (M.R.T.) has compiled the following intel of Spider-Verse promos from our local cinemas. Starting with TGV Cinemas, customers purchasing at least two tickets will be able to redeem a limited edition Spider-man phone ring (while stocks last). Find out participating cinemas and terms & conditions from TGV's website.

Furthermore, customers with minimum of three tickets may join TGV's Facebook contest for the chance to win movie premiums including a limited edition Spider-man PS4 Pro console as Grand Prize. Goto the contest post to participate and check terms & conditions at their website (ends 16 December 2018).

GSC Cinemas has similar movie premiums up for grabs (excluding PS4) via their own Facebook contest with no purchase requirements. But enter fast as the contest ends today / 10 December 2018.

For customers who have got at least two tickets, GSC is offering a limited edition 1:4 scale Spider-Gwen statue worth SGD900 / RM2,735 via another Facebook contest. Find out more on this premium collectible from XM Studios and join before 23 December 2018.

Over at MBO Cinemas, loyal Allstar members can make use of their points to redeem movie premiums once they have purchased minimum 2 tickets. Go ahead and redeem online at the URL links provided.

Plus mini-portable speakers may be redeemed for 5000 points at selected locations only.

So don't forget your web-shooters and swing into your friendly neighbourhood cinema to catch Spider-man: Into the Spider-Verse showing NOW!

Teenager Mile Morales will be the next generation Spider-man.

©2018 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved. MARVEL and all related character names: © & ™ 2018 MARVEL

Venom Unleashes Marvel Universe of Symbiotes

This week spawns another Marvel comic-book movie in the form of Venom from Sony Pictures, the same film studio that brought us the Spider-man franchise (as portrayed by Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland). However, the film universe that Venom exists is removed from the one presently occupied by the latest Spider-man incarnation, which shares the Marvel Cinematic Universe (M.C.U.) as seen by Holland's Peter Parker in Captain America: Civil War (2016), Spider-man Homecoming (2017) and Avengers Infinity War (2018). As Sony holds the rights to approximately 900 Marvel characters, the film studio has since announced that Venom will begin Sony's Universe of Marvel Characters (SUMC, an internal label of convenience).

Venom's comic book origins date back three decades to 1998 as a major super-villain of the Spider-man saga. Created by David Michelinie and legendary artist Todd McFarlane, Venom first appeared in the pages of The Amazing Spider-man issue #300 with his first comic book cover in issue #316. Prior to this, Peter Parker donned a black version of his costume which was later revealed to be a living sentient alien.

Before delving further, it may benefit non-Marvel fans to explain what is a Symbiote to set the proper context. By the English dictionary, a symbiont is defined as:

An organism in a symbiotic relationship. In cases in which a distinction is made between two interacting organisms, the symbiont is the smaller of the two and is always a beneficiary in the relationship, while the larger organism is the host and may or may not derive a benefit. 

In terms of biology, the symbiotic relationship, or symbiosis, involves two dissimilar organisms living together. In the fictional world of Marvel, a Symbiote (intentionally with an "e') refers to the aliens that bond with (human) hosts in a such a symbiotic relationship to grant extraordinary abilities as a symbiont entity. Geddit?

Anyway, Parker rejected permanently bonding with the Symbiote and forcibly repelled it. This unwittingly lead to the Symbiote bonding to disgruntled reporter Eddie Brock who nursed a strong hatred of Spider-man. Hence began lengthy clashes between the two foes over the years, including a number of team-ups against greater threats.

Venom's first appearance in live-action actually took place in 2007's Spider-man 3 where the Symbiote adopted a similar origin as the comics. Eddie Brock played by Topher Grace is bonded to the Symbiote immediately after Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) expels it from his body using the sonic frequency of a church bell to weaken the alien lifeform; see the scene above. Unfortunately this only happens far into the movie so audiences and especially Marvel fans were not treated to much character development of Venom, which was further diluted with shared screen time with other major villains of the Sandman and new "Green Goblin".

For more intimate facts about Venom, check out this article by Says.com.

Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock / Venom in the upcoming 2018 movie.

This week a new incarnation of Venom will be unleashed as portrayed by British actor Tom Hardy, known for this role as Batman's nemesis Bane in The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Max the lead star of Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) and Shinzon in Star Trek Nemesis (2002).

Movie Synopsis:

Journalist Eddie Brock is trying to take down Carlton Drake, the notorious and brilliant founder of the Life Foundation. While investigating one of Drake's experiments, Eddie's body merges with the alien Venom -- leaving him with superhuman strength and power. Twisted, dark and fueled by rage, Venom tries to control the new and dangerous abilities that Eddie finds so intoxicating.

This new Eddie Brock / Venom will not a be sequel from the aforementioned Spider-man 3 or the two subsequent Amazing Spider-man reboots, therefore wiping the previous slate clean. Hardy has been reported to have signed on for 3 Venom movies, hinting that the Symbiote saga may be here to stay, obviously depending on the box office of this inaugural outing. And fans seem to be reacting well to Hardy's casting of this much beloved Anti-Hero compared to his predecessor Topher Grace, who himself admits not know why he was cast.

This new Venom with articulated tongue and nasty fangs looks seriously ready to eat some heads, although with a PG-13 rating we are unlikely to see serious bloody gorging.

The events of Venom take place in the city of San Francisco, which Marvel fans may be more familiar as also the home grounds of Ant-man (and The Wasp). As can be seen from the trailer Venom's origin story will be much changed from the comic books and previous outing as there seems to be no Spider-man in this universe to inherit the Symbiote. Instead the Symbiotes seem linked to  the Life Foundation headed by Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed, Star Wars Rogue One), a genius technologist paving his own vision for the future of humanity. His research includes reaching out to the stars, literally going where no man has gone before, and bringing back new discoveries no matter the cost. The latter of course brings Drake into conflict with Eddie Brock as an investigative journalist.

Behind-the-scenes from the set of Venom with Tom Hardy.

Softening the male cast and Symbiotes is Michelle Williams (The Greatest Showman, Oz The Great & Powerful) as Anne Weying, Brock's romantic interest. Hardcare Spidey fans may also recognise this name from comic books as the human alter-ego of She-Venom. Other supporting characters do not stand out as star billing, but do look out for Woody Harrelson and a gratuitous cameo by the master, Stan Lee. Followers of Marvel's Luke Cage on Netflix may also recognise the familiar face of Ron Cephas Jones who played Bobby Fish, Luke's friend and often times conscience, although in a different role in this movie (it's oklah since SUMC is separate from MCU).

Don't annoy Venom or he will literally bite your head off.

As what has become staple for Marvel movies, expect 2 post-credit scenes to wet your geekiness. Plus minor SPOILER... Malaysia lands a surprise mark in the SUMC.

Venom opens in cinemas nationwide 4 October 2018.

Locally our top cinemas looks hyped for Venom and are offering a slew of promotions. Starting first with TGV Cinemas, they will be hosting Special Screenings of Venom for fans in IMAX on Saturday 6 October 2018 at multiple cinema locations in Klang Valley, Penang, Johor Bahru and Kuching. A specially priced movie ticket of RM40 per pax includes IMAX 2D screening, a Venom t-shirt & poster, preceded by dinner with fan activities. At time of this writing there is limited availability for purchase direct from TGV's website.

Screenings take place at Sunway Pyramid, Sunway Velocity, 1 Utama, Tebrau City Johor Bahru, Gurney Paragon Penang, and Vivacity Megamall Kuching.

Check out this micro-site for other Venom promotions by TGV. There is also a public Facebook contest offering the chance to win movie premiums; closing 4 October.

Over at GSC Cinemas, a whole load of gift with purchase items are being offered for customers as follows:

Redemption starts 4 October onwards while stocks last. Check GSC's website for availability by location.

Furthermore, GSC also has Play & Win Roadshows for Venom at multiple locations where presumably patrons are tasked to "play" assorted games for the chance to win Venom movie merchandise. See the roadshow schedule below:

Meanwhile MBO Cinemas is offering a Venom edition card for their AllStar members as well as a Watch & Win Contest putting up a Sony Dolby Atmos sound bar up for grabs plus Venom movie premiums.

For further details head to their micro-site.

Venom is rated P13, so do not expect to see gory entrails on screen... the producers will leave that to overactive imaginations. Head over to cinemas now to experience the latest Venom and let us know what you think if Marvel's latest anti-hero.

#WeAreVenom

Disclaimer: Venom and associated trademarks are copyright to Marvel under license to Sony Pictures, referenced here for fan service announcements without intent to infringe.