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*Hobie-related spoilers.*
Watching Across the Spider-Verse—not to mention rewatching the first film in preparation for it—made something very clear to me: I haven’t written nearly enough about this franchise. And yes, Miles, Gwen, and others are definitely going to be forthcoming. But come on. It’s Spider-Punk! What better place to start?
Long before the movie came out, plenty of fans were already fully prepared to fall in love with this character. Seeing his awesomely punk Spider suit in the trailer/promo shots/action figure was incentive enough. Finding out he was voiced by Daniel Kaluuya was even better. But despite my high expectations for Hobie going into the movie, he managed to surpass them all with ease and swiftness.
We’re introduced to Hobie at a time when Miles is feeling insecure about his own Spider-Man status. Although he’s come a long way since his origins in Into the Spider-Verse, seeing Gwen again and finding out that she’s part of an elite squad of Spider-Folks make him eager to prove himself, and Miles doesn’t always perform the best in “eager to prove himself” mode. He’s already met Pavitr Prabhakar, who’s good-looking and athletic and seems to easily balance superheroing with real life.
Then Hobie bursts onto the scene, equal parts mad energy and effortless chill. He’s not a “grown-up” in the way that Peter B. Parker or Miguel is, but he’s slightly older than the teen Spider-Folks and is self-assured in a nonchalant way. He knows exactly who he is and makes no apologies for it, and he doesn’t coddle his younger counterparts. When he makes his entrance, he easily blows through a barrier that Miles was laboring to get past. He makes casual references to Gwen crashing at his place since leaving her universe—a particular sticking point for Miles—and when he takes his mask off, Miles is gobsmacked to realize he looks even cooler underneath. (Side note: the franchise needs to treat their animators better. As with every character and major aspect of the film, the animation takes the strong writing/performance and elevates it to even higher levels. The animation makes this movie.)
As a proper old-school punk, Hobie’s whole thing is challenging authority, which makes you wonder why Miguel recruited him to the Spider Society in the first place, but he’s undeniably very good at being Spider-Punk. He’s bold, he’s observant, he’s clever with gadgets, and he demonstrates a strong, confident command of his powers. When he’s on your side, he’s a major asset.
But of course, Hobie doesn’t have a particular allegiance to Miguel, and he’s certainly not down with Miguel’s lockstep insistence on people falling in line. So why is he there? We quickly see that, while he’s unsentimental and walks around draped in a mask of apathy, he actually cares a lot about his friends. As I said, Gwen’s been staying at his place since her dad found out she was Spider-Woman and tried to arrest her—Hobie provides a safe place for a lost kid, and with his attitude of shrugging indifference, it doesn’t feel like pity or charity. He shows up Miles in his very first scene, but he immediately follows that by mentoring Miles in an easy, offhand way. They share the bio-electric “venom blast” ability that’s relatively unique among Spider-Folks, and Hobie shows Miles how to do it more effectively. And later, when Miles falls out of line with Miguel’s narrow prescribed edicts, Hobie gives Miles a subtle reminder of that lesson to show him how to get out of his holding cell.
Which is another reason why he’s there. Hobie doesn’t just posture about tearing down the system, he actually does something about it. But he goes about it in such a smart way, just nudging little things here and there. With his apathetic persona, he’s able to do this in full view without anyone noticing, because nobody considers him a legitimate threat to the status quo. The right comment in someone’s ear. The right look when someone most needs it. Swiping a bit of tech at the right moment. When Miguel really lays down the law, Hobie shruggingly peaces out, but that doesn’t mean he’s no longer involved—at the end of the film, Gwen receives a multiverse watch that Hobie stole, which will enable her to open portals and go after Miles without Miguel’s approval.
In a way, Hobie demonstrates the strongest moral compass out of anyone in the film, and I love that. My only complaint is that we don’t get enough of him. Here’s hoping for a lot more in Beyond the Spider-Verse! (Again, treat the animators better. I want more Hobie ASAP, but I’ll willingly wait through whatever delays are required to produce brilliant work without slamming the animators with punishing workloads.)
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