1) Miles Morales
Look, could anyone else be number one here? Even in a crowded field and even with some of his friends getting some meaty narrative arcs in this film, this is still unequivocally Miles’ story, and the kid is a goddamn champ from the get go. No other Spider champions the Spider-Man underdog hero that keeps standing in spite of everything thrown at them the way Miles does in this movie—in a world where his private and heroic lives are constantly clashing, he’s in those awkward teen years where he wants to stop being told what’s best for him, Miles rises above and becomes the master of his own story with aplomb in Across, every little triumph in the face of adversity a cathartic release. He’s no longer trying to be Spider-Man in this movie: he simply is Spider-Man.
And the best of them all.
