Ethos Education

Spider-Man Across The Spider-Verse

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Assembly Objective: 

Does God understand our pain? How do the difficulties and loss that we face in life help shape our character? This assembly invites students to consider how common universal experiences offer us a chance to empathise with others. Through the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, students will consider Christian teaching on suffering and death. Suitable for use at Easter.

Film:

Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse (Columbia Pictures, 2023, PG). Click here to buy the DVD online.

Bible:

John 11 30-37 (NLT)

Supporting Values Education:

The value of mutual respect for and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs and for those without faith means that the Christian faith offers a perspective on death and forgiveness that can be considered as a valid worldview amongst others.

OPENING ACTIVITY

Is it a Canon Event? (Quiz)

Download the Is it a Canon Event? PowerPoint for use with this activity.

Explain to the group that you are about to show them seven scenarios. For each one, they must decide whether or not to step in and help. You can take a vote, decide by a ‘clapometer’ or invite some volunteers to the front to decide on behalf of the group. If you use volunteers you might want to offer them a small prize for being prepared to help you by participating!

  • [PowerPoint slide 1]
    • You are in the cereal aisle of the supermarket. Another shopper is trying to reach the last box of Crunchy Nut Cornflakes which is on the top shelf. You can easily reach the cereal. Do you help?
  • [PowerPoint slide 2]
    • You see an elderly man waiting to cross the road at a pedestrian crossing. You notice that he hasn’t pressed the button. Do you press it for him?
  • [PowerPoint slide 3]
    • Your older brother or sister has been annoying you all day. They are about to leave the house to meet their friends. You notice that they’ve left their phone in the kitchen. Do you tell them?
  • [PowerPoint slide 4]
    • There is a patch of ice on the pavement outside your house. A child is approaching the spot and hasn’t noticed. Do you warn them?
  • [PowerPoint slide 5]
    • Your friend has just started dating a person that you know is also seeing someone else. Do you tell your friend?
  • [PowerPoint slide 6]
    • A new student asks you for directions to a particular classroom. Do you give them the correct directions?
    • Your friend posts a selfie and in the background of the shot you can clearly see a big pair of their pants that is on the radiator. Do you tell them?

In some of the scenarios it didn’t matter whether or not you chose to help, but in others you can imagine that the consequences might be very bad, for example if the child slipped on the ice and broke a bone. In all the scenarios there is an argument for helping, and possibly one for letting events unfold.

Explain that after the film Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse was released, the phrase ‘It’s a canon event’ trended on TikTok and other social media*. A canon event is an unavoidable, unchangeable event that is hard at the time, but that builds character for the future. It’s also the type of event that you have to let other people go through (for example, making bad friends at a new school, making a bad subject choice, walking the wrong direction to find somewhere).

* https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jun/15/a-form-of-acceptance-tiktoks-new-trend-of-canon-events will make sense of it for you!

If you have access to TikTok (and are happy to introduce it into the assembly) you could show a few examples.

FILM CLIP

Play the clip from Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse (Columbia Pictures, 2023, PG)

  • Start time: 01:20:17
  • End time: 01:27:14
  • Clip length:  6 mins 57 seconds

Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) – aka Spider-Man – finds himself in the Spider-Society’s headquarters on Earth-928, a version of the universe. There, Miles discovers that there are hundreds of other Spider-Men and Women, all of whom exist in different Earths within the multiverse. Miles, his friend Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) and another Spider-Man, Hobie Brown (Daniel Kaluuya), have been summoned to meet Miguel O’Hara, a version of Spider-Man from the future.

The clip begins with Miles, Gwen and Hobie waiting for Miguel to descend slowly on a platform. Miguel is dismissive of Miles, saying that he blew a hole in the multiverse. Miles is confused about what is happening but relieved to see Peter Parker – his mentor – who appears with his baby, Mayday. Peter is enthusiastic to talk about Mayday to the others. Miguel tells him he doesn’t have time for this discussion as the fate of the multiverse is at stake. He goes on to explain to Miles that he has disrupted a ‘canon event’. He then shows him a hologram of how the multiverse/spiderverse works. The various worlds are linked by threads, like a spider’s web, and the nodes where threads meet are called canon events. These are described as ‘chapters that are part of every spider’s story, every time’. Some of these are good, some are bad, some very bad. As Miles looks he realises that death is part of these events. Miguel tells him that one canon event is the death of someone close to Spider-Man. This event repeats in every Spider-Man’s story. Miguel tells him that canon events are the connections that bind their lives together, and that those connections can be broken. By saving a captain in another universe, Miles has disrupted the canon. Miguel reveals that he once broke the canon to give another version of himself a happier life in another world.

TALK

Download the Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse PowerPoint for use with this talk.

Scripted Talk

  • [PowerPoint slide 1]
    • A canon event. You might have seen that term on TikTok or other platforms but it comes from the film Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse. We’ll watch a clip from the film later in the assembly.
  • [PowerPoint slide 2]
    • The phrase ‘It’s a canon event’ trended on social media because of the film. A ‘canon event’ is an unavoidable, unchangeable event that is hard at the time, but makes you stronger in the future. It’s also an event that you let other people go through if you notice them heading towards it even if you could help.
  • [PowerPoint slide 3]
    • An example might be if you are asked for directions by a new student in school. When that happens you could choose to give them the correct directions, or you could send them to the wrong place. Many of us have experienced that for ourselves, so you could say that being sent the wrong way is something everyone should have to go through at some point in their life.
  • [PowerPoint slide 4]
    • You could say that a canon event is an experience that human beings all share. You could also say that calling something a canon event is just an excuse for acting selfishly and not helping. I wonder what you think about that idea.
  • [PowerPoint slide 5]
    • Before we talk more about that, though, let’s watch the clip from Spider–Man Across the Spider-Verse. Miles Morales (aka Spider-Man) finds himself in the Spider-Society’s headquarters on Earth-928, one version of the universe. There, Miles discovers that there are hundreds of other Spider-Men and Women, all of whom exist in different Earths within the multiverse. Miles, his friend Gwen Stacy and another Spider-Man, Hobie Brown, have been summoned to meet Miguel O’Hara, a version of Spider-Man from the future. Miguel O’Hara takes himself very seriously.
  • [PowerPoint slide 6]
    • Watch the clip. Miles had messed up. By helping the police captain on another Earth he had broken the web of events that held the Spider-Verse together, but he hadn’t done it deliberately. Miguel had to explain to Miles how the Spider-verse worked. Because all the various universes were inter-linked, an action in one may have an impact in another. Miguel had to explain to Miles that all the different versions of Spider-Man had to experience the same sad events in order to stay connected to all the other versions of Spider-Man.
  • [PowerPoint slide 7]
    • The idea of the Multiverse is a complicated one, and there is no proof that it exists, but it is true to say that there are some events that happen in life that we share with other human beings! For example, everyone experiences birth. Everyone experiences pain. Everyone experiences sadness. Everyone experiences loss. Everyone experiences death.
    • When we go through a difficult experience like an illness, a disappointment or the loss of a person close to us it helps to know that other people have also felt the sadness that we are feeling. It doesn’t make our sadness any less sad, or our pain less painful, but it can help to know that other people understand how we feel. And in turn, when we have experienced bad things we can help friends when they feel sad or disappointed or grieving.
  • [PowerPoint slide 8]
    • There is a curious story in the Bible about Jesus and some of his good friends. Jesus hears that his friend, Lazarus, is very ill. In fact, Jesus already knows that Lazarus is going to die from his illness. Although he could have healed Lazarus, Jesus waits until he dies before he goes to visit the family. When he reaches Lazarus’s home, he meets his two sisters, women called Martha and Mary. He speaks to Martha first, and then Mary comes to speak to him.
    • Let’s read what happens next:
  • [PowerPoint slide 9]
    • Jesus had stayed outside the village, at the place where Martha met him. When the people who were at the house consoling Mary saw her leave so hastily, they assumed she was going to Lazarus’s grave to weep. So they followed her there. When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
    • When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled.  “Where have you put him?” he asked them.
    • They told him, “Lord, come and see.”  Then Jesus wept.  The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much he loved him!”  But some said, “This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?” John 11:30-37 (NLT)
    • In fact, if we had time to read the next part of the story, we would discover that Jesus brings Lazarus back from the dead!
  • [PowerPoint slide 10]
    • The story is a curious one for two reasons:
    • Firstly, Jesus knew he is going to bring Lazarus back from the dead, but he still let him die. That is a strange way to behave. Secondly, even though he knew that he was going to bring Lazarus back, the Bible says that Jesus was angry and deeply troubled, and that he cried when he saw the people who were in mourning.
  • [PowerPoint slide 11]
    • Lazarus’s death could be viewed as a canon event. Death is something that affects everyone. Losing people we love happens to everyone. Wishing that there could have been a different outcome happens to everyone. All of these things are horrible when we experience them but they all make us stronger people. At first, it might seem as though Jesus is letting Martha, Mary and the other people go through a canon event. But if that was really true, then Jesus wouldn’t have brought his friend back to life.
  • [PowerPoint slide 12]
    • Jesus acts to change the situation but, before he does that, he gets angry about Lazarus’s death, and he gets upset. Jesus isn’t angry with Lazarus or with the people. And he isn’t sad about Lazarus dying because he knows that he will soon be alive again. It seems as though Jesus is angry about death itself. He is angry because death causes such pain and grief for the people who loved Lazarus.
  • [PowerPoint slide 13]
    • Christians believe that when God created the world, he did not intend there to be any death or pain in it. However, because people choose to ignore God and live selfishly, death came into the world.
  • [PowerPoint slide 14]
    • That sounds like bad news, because all of us have behaved selfishly at some point in our lives, so death is inevitable for all of us. The Bible calls that selfishness ‘sin’.
  • [PowerPoint slide 15]
    • But Christians also believe that Jesus came to Earth to put an end to death and sin by dying and rising to life again.
  • [PowerPoint slide 16]
    • That’s the good news!
    • Understanding what the Bible says about sin and death makes sense of why Jesus, the Son of God, would be angry and upset by death. Death wasn’t meant to happen, which means that pain and sadness were not meant to happen. Jesus knew that he was going to bring Lazarus back to life, and he also knew that later he would die on the cross and come back to life at Easter. He knew there was good news, but he also understood the bad news.
  • [PowerPoint slide 17]
    • So, sadness, pain, disappointment and loss are all things we will experience in life. They are canon events. But the good news that Christians believe is that because of Jesus’s death human beings can have forgiveness from their selfishness, and life after death that never ends.
  • [PowerPoint slide 18]
    • The world we live in is still full of pain and sadness, and we can help other people by not letting them suffer on their own. We can help others by understanding how they feel, by praying for them and by doing practical things to show that we care.

Headings and Bullets

Download the Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse PowerPoint for use with this talk.

Scripted Talk

  • [PowerPoint slide 1]
    • It’s a canon event – have you heard the phrase?
    • Used on TikTok and other social media.
    • Comes from the film Spider-Man Across the Spiderverse.
  • [PowerPoint slide 2]
    • A ‘canon event’ is an unavoidable, unchangeable event that is hard at the time, but makes you stronger in the future.
    • An event you let other people go through if you notice them heading towards it even if you could help.
  • [PowerPoint slide 3]
    • Example: you are asked for directions by a new student in school.
    • You could choose to give them the correct directions, or you could send them to the wrong place.
    • You could say that being sent the wrong way is something everyone should have to go through at some point in their life.
  • [PowerPoint slide 4]
    • A canon event is…an experience that human beings all share?
    • An excuse for acting selfishly and not helping?
  • [PowerPoint slide 5]
    • Introduce the film clip. Miles Morales (aka Spider-Man) finds himself in the Spider-Society’s headquarters on Earth-928, one version of the universe.
    • Hundreds of other Spider-Men and Women, all of whom exist in different Earths within the multiverse.
    • Miles and friends summoned to meet Miguel O’Hara, a version of Spider-Man from the future.
    • Miguel O’Hara takes himself very seriously.
  • [PowerPoint slide 6]
    • Watch the clip. Miles had messed up.
    • By helping the police captain on another Earth he had broken the web of events that held the Spider-Verse together.
    • Miguel had to explain how the Spider-verse worked.
    • Because all the various universes were inter-linked, an action in one may have an impact in another.
    • All the different versions of Spider-Man had to experience the same sad events in order to stay connected to all the other versions of Spider-Man.
  • [PowerPoint slide 7]
    • The idea of the Multiverse is a complicated one, and there is no proof that it exists.
    • True to say that there are some events that happen in life that we share with other human beings!
    • For example, everyone experiences birth, pain, sadness, loss and death.
    • When we go through a difficult experience it helps to know that other people have also felt the sadness that we are feeling.
    • Doesn’t make our sadness any less sad, or our pain less painful.
    • But it can help to know that other people understand how we feel.
    • And in turn, we can help friends when they feel sad or disappointed or grieving.
  • [PowerPoint slide 8]
    • Introduce the Bible story. There is a curious story in the Bible about Jesus and some of his good friends.
    • Jesus hears that his friend, Lazarus, is very ill.
    • Jesus already knows that Lazarus is going to die from his illness.
    • Although he could have healed Lazarus, Jesus waits until he dies before he goes to visit the family.
    • When he reaches Lazarus’s home, he meets his two sisters – Martha and Mary.
  • [PowerPoint slide 9]
    • John 11:30-37. In the next part of the story Jesus brings Lazarus back from the dead!
  • [PowerPoint slide 10]
    • A curious story. Jesus still let Lazarus die.
    • Strange way to behave.
    • Even though he knew that he was going to bring Lazarus back, the Bible says that Jesus was angry and deeply troubled, and that he cried.
  • [PowerPoint slide 11]
    • Lazarus’s death could be viewed as a canon event.
    • Death is something that affects everyone.
    • Losing people we love happens to everyone.
    • Wishing that there could have been a different outcome happens to everyone.
    • All of these things are horrible when we experience them, but they all make us stronger people.
    • Is Jesus letting Martha, Mary and the other people go through a canon event?
    • But then Jesus wouldn’t have brought his friend back to life.
  • [PowerPoint slide 12]
    • Jesus acts to change the situation.
    • But he gets angry about Lazarus’s death, and he gets upset.
    • Jesus isn’t angry with Lazarus or with the people.
    • Jesus is angry about death itself.
    • He is angry because death causes such pain and grief for the people who loved Lazarus.
  • [PowerPoint slide 13]
    • Christians believe that when God created the world, he did not intend there to be any death or pain in it.
    • People chose to ignore God and live selfishly.
    • Death came into the world.
  • [PowerPoint slide 14]
    • Bad News! All of us have behaved selfishly at some point in our lives.
    • Death is inevitable for all of us.
    • The Bible calls that selfishness ‘sin’.
  • [PowerPoint slide 15]
    • Christians also believe Jesus came to Earth to put an end to death and sin.
    • By dying and rising to life again.
  • [PowerPoint slide 16]
    • That’s the good news!
    • Understanding what the Bible says about sin and death makes sense of why Jesus, the Son of God, would be angry and upset by death.
    • Death wasn’t meant to happen.
    • Pain and sadness were not meant to happen.
    • Jesus knew that he was going to bring Lazarus back to life.
    • He also knew that later he would die on the cross and come back to life at Easter.
    • He knew there was good news.
    • But he also understood the bad news.
  • [PowerPoint slide 17]
    • We all experience sadness, pain, disappointment and loss.
    • They are canon events.
    • But the good news that Christians believe is that Jesus’s death can bring forgiveness, and life after death.
  • [PowerPoint slide 18]
    • What can we do? The world we live in is still full of pain and sadness.
    • We can help other people by not letting them suffer on their own.
    • We can help others by understanding how they feel, by praying for them and by doing practical things to show that we care.

Photo Copyright for Is it a Canon Event? PowerPoint Slide 1 Pixabay.com / Slide 2 Freeimages.com / Slide 3 Pixabay.com / Slide 4 Pixabay.com / Slide 5 Freeimages.com / Slide 6 Freeimages.com / Slide 7 Pixabay.com / Slide 8 Theemergingindia.com 

Photo Copyright for Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse PowerPoint Slide 1 Sony Pictures Animation / Slide 2 Pexels.com / Slide 3 Pexels.com / Slide 4 Pixabay.com / Slide 5 Sony Pictures Animation / Slide 6 Sony Pictures Animation / Slide 7 Sony Pictures Animation / Slide 8 and 11 image 1 LumoProject.com / Slide 9 image 3 LumoProject.com / Slide 10 image 11 LumoProject.com / Slide 12 image 16 LumoProject.com / Slide 13 Pixabay.com / Slide 14 Freeimages.com / Slide 15 image 12 LumoProject.com / Slide 16 Pixabay.com / Slide 17 Pixabay.com / Slide 18 Pixabay.com / Slide 19 Pixabay.com 

RESPOND

Prayer

God, you understand what it feels like when I feel sad or disappointed. Help me know you are with me. You feel angry and sad when you see the brokenness and sadness in the world. Help me know you are with those who suffer. You died to forgive people their selfishness. Thank you that you are with me. Amen.

Reflection

  • [PowerPoint slide 19]
    • Play some reflective music and show the slide with the following Bible verse:
    • For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)
    • Invite pupils to spend a moment looking at the slide and thinking about the quotation.

YOU WILL NEED:

  1. A copy of Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse (Columbia Pictures, 2023, PG). Click here to buy the DVD online.
  2. Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse PowerPoint.
  3. Is it a Canon Event? PowerPoint for Opening Activity.

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