The Subtle Genius Behind the Prowler (Into the Spider-Verse Video Essay)

[Music] recently I've been noticing that oftentimes animated movies are written off as childish and aren't taken seriously by seasoned film fans however in recent years animated movies have made themselves recognized through the likes of gore Verbinski's Rango Wes Anderson's fantastic mr. Fox and Hayao Miyazaki's spirited away this surge of quality animated film reached a new height in December of 2018 with the release of spider-man into the spider-verse the spider verse served as not only the fourth major film iteration of spider-man but also another perfect example of how the animated medium can take storytelling to new heights the film was so impressive that it won an Academy Award for best animated picture of the year was released the story of Miles Morales becoming spider-man and saving New York with the help of several other interdimensional spider people gave a refreshing and modern spin on the spider-man story that's been told over and over again the movie is able to deliver a fresh meaningful story that truly captures the essence of spider-man in addition to the film's snappy energetic animation and witty writing the movie has a slew of comic-book Easter eggs that are sure to satisfy die hard spider-man fans like myself also nice to see you was the representation of several smaller villains who haven't seen the silver screen and passed spider-man films as a side note now is likely a good time to warn anyone watching this there will be extreme spoilers for into the spider-verse throughout this entire video so if you somehow haven't seen it yet I highly recommend you do so before watching the movie contains a wide variety of intriguing villains from spider-man's rogues gallery including the kingpin Green Goblin Doctor Octopus Scorpion tombstone and more despite this a wide array of antagonists though the one that had the greatest impact on me while watching was Miles Morales own uncle Aaron or the Prowler the Prowler acts as the secondary antagonist in the movie and always managed to leave a lasting impression on me during as many scenes where he stalks and hunts the various spider men and women though he had the potential to be an underdeveloped forgettable villain he wound up making a huge impact on the movie as a whole due to some very thoughtful choices made with his character while its emotional connection to the protagonist of the movie Miles Morales is one reason that he's such a memorable villain through creativity used in his overall aesthetic and identity make him much more interesting upon taking a deeper look there are three main things I want to talk about in regards to the Prowler you'll start off with the use of aesthetics to establish a character it's a well-known fact the first impressions are key in the world of storytelling and the Prowler leaves quite an impression on the audience thanks to his flashy classic comic book design his purple cowl glimmering claws neon purple lighting and trenchcoat light cape I'll help prowler stand out from the crowd aside from flashy looks the privative costume design also gives interesting implications to the character the design of the prowlers costume is very similar to spider-man's with a mask over his face and large black and white eye holes I believe that these design choices establish the Prowler as a foil to spider-man more specifically a foil to Miles Morales for those who don't know a foil is a character in a story that is supposed to bring out or amplify the qualities of a different character by contrasting them an example of this could be seen in Disney's Beauty and the Beast with gaston's handsome good looks but terrible personality clashing with the beasts horrifying outer appearance which hides a more sincere and caring personality the Prowler provides a similar effect through his costume as it not only mimics the classic spider-man look but also contrasts it with clearly villain affiliated costume pieces such as his medicine claws and slanted fearsome eyes which contrasts with spider-man's large round almost comedic eyes also of significance the prowlers costume features a large flowing cape which is an accessory that later in the movie Myles wanted to include on his own spider-man costume before the idea was shot down by Peter Lee Parker the prowlers connection to Miles is further strengthened through the use of prowlers Korean and purple color scheme which contrasts with the classic red and blue of spider-man it's interesting to note that when a myles first meets peter parker peter spider-sense appears to visualize choosing red blue while myles appears as purple and green which at this point have already been established to be the prowlers colors before shifting to match peter's Kowski this provides further evidence that if Miles had continued to be influenced by his uncle he would go on to become the next Prowler however the moment in which Myles meets Peter is a turning point in the young web-slinger's life he has taken from the path of becoming a villain to becoming spider-man these clever aesthetic choices helped to establish the Prowler as an interesting reflection of spider-man and are only one reason as to why the Prowler is one of the best villains to be seen in a comic-book movie to date however while a symbolic costume and color palette are certainly interesting to delve into they is meaningful without a well-developed character underneath the mask which leads me to my next point how the prowlers personality and character make him a better foil in my opinion the prowlers character gets some of the most interesting dynamics in the entire movie scenes are intimidating and thrilling while they also evoke emotion and sympathy for the Prowler and miles himself the Prowler also serves as the catalyst that finally pushes miles over the edge leading him to prove himself in his role as spider-man almost like the Uncle Ben of into the spider-verse prowlers main relationship in the movies with Miles and this comes to full fruition when the audience learns that the Prowler is actually miles uncle Aaron Aaron is miles only confidant in life he's the one place my house can go in order to feel heard and to get honest advice unlike miles uptight tough love sort of father Aaron lets miles be free and express himself there's many passions such as graffiti and music knowing that Aaron is miles closest family member makes the impact of Aaron being the Prowler all the more powerful this familial connection also finalizes the imagery of Prowler being a representation of Miles if he chose to go down a different path with his abilities Aaron represents everything that the Morales family is against we know from earlier in the movie that miles father and Aaron used to be very close but due to Aaron's lifestyle choices the two cut their ties the Prowler not only clashes with Miles father but also miles himself when the Prowler is seen calling wasn't frisked on the phone he assures frisk that he'll be able to find spider-man at all costs even going so far as saying you know me some Owen over Cory this is so significant because miles biggest flaw throughout the movie is how he runs away from his problems rather than facing them head-on he tries to flunk out of his new school he tries to run away from dealing with his family even one of his main powers is turning invisible to literally run and hide from the enemy giving prowler an unbreakable determination helps give off the impression the Prowler really is the polar opposite of Miles the knowledge that the Prowler reflects spider-man from a visual perspective as well as an emotional one solidifies the Prowler as a true foil of spider-man uncle Aaron and therefore the Prowler are everything that miles would become if you continue to run away from his problems with no direction or mentorship not only does the prowlers revelation is uncle air and give him an emotional contrast to spider-man it also marks the beginning of an interesting change in symbolism for the character which leads me to my final point how the Prowler uses motifs to show character growth just as impressive as his personality and aesthetics that probably makes effective use of motifs to make his appearance known during the movie the Prowler is always preceded or accompanied by a distorted siren sound effect starting from the first time he's seen fighting Peter Parker in the opening battle near the supercollider the siren is played later on during every scene involving the Prowler this siren sound can be heard after a few exposures to this audio cue the audience links it with the Prowler even if he's nowhere to be seen once the siren has heard the audience immediately knows that the Prowler will appear at any moment the use of the sound to create a strong and clear identity for the Prowler helps establish him as a unique and important character in the film this motif that was created around the Prowler is then played around within very intriguing and clever ways over the remainder of the movie for example when miles is seen in this uncle Aaron's apartment wishing that he could see Aaron to talk about everything that has happened to him the siren is played to hint at the oncoming plot twist as soon as Miles says that he wished Aaron was there the siren can be heard only moments later the Prowler is seen entering the apartment and is revealed to the audience as uncle Aaron by using the prowlers motif while Miles talks about her and the watcher is able to instantly link the two and has only moments to start wildly theorizing about what could be happening before the big reveal occurs this use of suspense and linking ideas using motifs help solidify the Prowler as a dynamic and impressive villain additionally the distorted siren sound effect is also used very impactfully in the movie soundtrack being played in the song what's up danger this track is used in several different scenes all of which come back to the Prowler segments of the song are used when the Prowler stalks Miles Morales successfully blending this established motif with a fitting song for the chase scene that occurs more notably the full song is used in the emotional climax of the movie taking place soon after miles to MIT low point of his uncle's death in this scene miles finally masters his powers and it's seen swinging confidently through New York the song is played here sirens included this provides more evidence for the prowlers now undeniable connection to spider-man only in this case it's different the siren used to represent what power looked like when used for evil it used to represent a terrifying force in miles life but now it's changed to the sound of miles himself inspired and fueled to be better by the death of his uncle Aaron to become the hero that would make his uncle proud this final usage of the siren signals the end of the prowess transformation going from a fear inducing foe to an emotional and inspiring motivation into the spider versus an extremely well made movie and has only made stronger by the unique presence of its most memorable villain from his distinct and symbolic costume to his persistent and identifying audio cues and finally to his growth as a symbol of inspiration for the film's hero the Prowler redefines what it means to be a villain and instead become something completely new despite everything that I've said about the Prowler he's still only a small part of what makes into the spider verse so great it's a movie that transcends the genre and raises the bar for both animated and superhero films everywhere I sincerely hope that future Marvel movies and movies in general will learn a lesson from into the spider-verse on how to write an incredible villain

Channel: Socratic Cinema

Views: 2,195,434

Keywords: movies, film, spider-man, Spider-Verse, Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse, video essay, superhero movie, marvel, prowler, marvel move, Nicholas Cage, Miles Morales, Peter Parker

Id: v2LEcALlFvY

Length: 10min 25sec (625 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 19 2019