The reason that Miguel O’Hara is one of the best movie Spider-Man antagonists is because he is a Spider-Man who has forgotten almost everything that being Spider-Man means.
Miguel’s grief, his pride, and his biases have so clouded his judgment that anything that goes against his narrow worldview has to be dismissed and put down swiftly and brutally. Miguel is what all Spider-people fear to become: someone who has stopped trying. Someone who believes that it was their pain, and not their choices, that makes them who they are.
MJ: My husband, Peter Parker, was an ordinary person. He always said that it could be anyone behind the mask. He was just the kid who happened to get bit. He didn’t ask for his powers. But he chose to be Spider-Man. My favorite thing about Peter is that he made us each feel powerful. We all have powers of one kind or the other, and in our own way we are all Spider-Man. And we are all counting on you.
Getting bitten by a radioactive/genetic/magic/whatever spider doesn’t make you Spider-Man. All that does is give you some powers. Miguel believes that destiny chooses you to be Spider-Man, but he’s wrong.
You make yourself Spider-Man, and one person understands that better than anyone.
(or, the joke i’ve been waiting my whole life for)
[Image ID: five gifs of Pavitr Prabhakar sitting at a table with a cup of chai in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse:
GIF 1: Pavitr sitting at the table with an elderly South Asian woman smiling at him as she pours chai from a kettle into a cup. Pavitr narrates, “Quick break for a cup of chai with my Maya Aunty.”
GIF 2: Pavitr sitting across from Miles Morales in his Spider suit, Maya Aunty’s yellow scarf now draped around his neck. Miles is pouring the tea as he enthusiastically says, “I love chai tea.” Pavitr, in the middle of taking a sip, double-takes and slowly asks, “What did you just say?”
GIF 3: Pavitr enunciating Miles’ words as he sets his cup down between them, gesturing to it with a frustrated hand. Miles looks at him with wide eyes as he continues pouring chai into his cup. The subtitle reads, “Chai tea? Chai means tea, bro.”
GIF 4: A continuation of the previous gif, Pavir gesticulating wildly as he leans in, propping his forearms on the table as he says, “You’re saying tea-tea. Would I ask you for a coffee-coffee with room for cream-cream?” All the while, Miles’ cup is now overflowing with tea.
GIF 5: Pavitr giving Miles a deadpan look across the table, while Miles realizes his misstep and straightens for a minute before he slumps in apology. He continues to pour the chai, now dribbling over his end of the table. The subtitle reads, “Oh! No.”
Wherever you go from here, you have to promise to take care of that little boy for me. Make sure he never forgets where he came from. And he never doubts that he’s loved. And he never lets anyone tell him that he doesn’t belong there. You gotta promise, Miles. I promise.
MILES MORALES Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse(2023) dir. Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin Thompson
Hey, I’m janinski-198 (23 y/o) and I like anime, movies, books, eating food and many other things! What I don’t like... I don't feel like telling you that. My hobbies are baking and drawing.
