Symbols Black Nerd Problems William Evans and Omar Holmon

The Leap of Faith in Black Nerd Problems: Agency, Identity, and Real-World Courage

What Is the Leap of Faith in Black Nerd Problems?

In Black Nerd Problems, the leap of faith is both a concrete scene and a recurring motif. It appears most vividly in the film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, when Miles Morales, after being told by Peter B. Parker that “it’s a leap of faith,” runs and dives from a skyscraper. The moment is triggered by a track called “What’s Up Danger?” and shows Miles moving from helpless flailing to a purposeful nosedive, then swinging through traffic in his Jordans. The essay in the book is by William Evans, who calls this “the best 'superhero realizes who they are and what they’re capable of' moment in history.”

The symbol is literal—a physical jump off a building—but the book expands it into a metaphor for self-discovery, agency, and the courage to embrace one’s identity. For Miles, the leap is about accepting his role as Spider-Man despite his doubts. For the Black nerds in the book, the leap represents the daily act of choosing hope and action in a world that often mirrors systemic violence.

Where Does the Leap Recur?

The motif reappears in multiple chapters:

  • Chapter 6: William Evans breaks down the leap scene in detail, emphasizing how Miles turns fear into agency. He describes the inverted fall where Miles rises into the sky, the squeak of his Jordans on corporate windows, and the final sprint through traffic. The leap is framed as a coming-of-age moment that validates Miles’s Blackness and Brooklyn identity.

  • Chapter 5: Omar Holmon, in the essay “You Can’t Win When Escapism Won’t Let You Escape,” uses the phrase “take that leap” differently. After quoting T’Challa’s line “No lies. There will be death here today,” he says the line pops into his mind every time he sees a video of police killing a Black person. He describes “taking that leap into all that fucking hurt” when preparing himself to read about another death. Here the leap is a painful, necessary descent into reality, not an empowering flight.

  • Chapter 43: William Evans writes about his father, who says of fantasy that it is “not an escape. It’s hope. The good guys win and life has value in a fantasy story. It’s not about getting away from something. It’s about inserting hope into what you can’t outrun.” This reframes the leap as a move toward hope rather than away from fear.

  • Chapter 26: Omar’s essay on grief and the show Go On talks about moving on after loss. Though not directly called a leap, the idea of deciding to “go on” parallels the leap of faith—a conscious step into an uncertain future.

How Its Meaning Changes

The meaning of the leap shifts across the book:

  1. Self-discovery and empowerment (Miles Morales): The leap is triumphant, showing Miles shedding his doubts and becoming Spider-Man. It is a moment of pure agency, where he chooses to act despite uncertainty.

  2. Confronting trauma (Omar in Chapter 5): The leap becomes a reluctant dive into the painful reality of Black death. It is not a choice to fly but a forced plunge into grief and rage. The “danger” in “What’s Up Danger?” here is the danger of living while Black.

  3. Hope as a decision (William’s father in Chapter 43): The leap is not an escape but an act of inserting hope into a world that offers no guarantees. It is a daily practice of believing good can win even when evidence points otherwise.

  4. Grief and healing (Omar in Chapter 26): The leap is the decision to move forward after loss, to remember without being stuck. It is less about a single jump and more about the ongoing process of “going on.”

Connections to Themes and Characters

  • Representation: Miles’s leap is explicitly tied to Blackness—his Jordans, Brooklyn pride, and the “Blackest superhero shit since the first Blade.” The leap asserts that a Black teen can be the hero of his own story. Link to the representation theme page.

  • Escapism and Reality: Chapter 5 directly confronts how escapism fails when fiction mirrors real trauma. The leap of faith in that context is a grim acknowledgment that you cannot outrun systemic injustice. Link to escapism and reality.

  • Gatekeeping and Inclusion: In Chapter 2, Omar Holmes argues that nerd is a spectrum and that gatekeeping harms the community. Miles’s leap is an inclusive moment—anyone can be Spider-Man, and the film welcomes new fans. Link to gatekeeping and inclusion.

  • Grief and Healing: Chapter 26 uses humor and pop culture to process loss. The leap of faith in grieving is about allowing yourself to move forward without forgetting. Link to grief and healing.

  • Systemic Injustice: The leap in Chapter 5 is directly about police violence and the constant threat to Black lives. Link to systemic injustice.

  • Characters: Miles Morales is the central figure of the leap, but William Evans and Omar Holmon also embody it through their writing. Their personal anecdotes—William’s father’s wisdom, Omar’s struggle with escapism—show how the leap translates from fiction to real life. Also relevant: William Evans, Omar Holmon, Miles Morales.

Four Study Questions with Answers

1. How does the leap of faith in Into the Spider-Verse represent self-discovery and agency for Miles Morales?

According to William Evans in Chapter 6, the leap is the moment Miles “turns his fear and helplessness into agency.” After being told by Peter B. Parker that he is not ready, Miles internalizes his father Jefferson’s words about limitless talent and breaks free from the webbing. The leap is a physical manifestation of choosing to act despite doubt. Evans describes the “inverted fall” where Miles rises into the sky, the custom suit he paints himself, and the “purposeful nosedive” that shows he has mastered his abilities. The scene ends with him sprinting through traffic, fully embodying Spider-Man.

2. In Chapter 5, how does Omar Holmon transform the leap of faith from a moment of empowerment into one of confrontation with trauma?

Holmon takes the phrase “leap of faith” from comic book dialogue—T’Challa’s “No lies. There will be death here today”—and applies it to his experience of seeing videos of police killings. He writes that he thinks of the line “every time I take that leap into all that fucking hurt” when he prepares to read details of another Black person’s death. The leap here is not a joyful jump but a reluctant descent into painful reality. It underscores the impossibility of pure escapism when fiction constantly mirrors real-world violence.

3. How does William Evans’s father reinterpret the leap as an act of hope rather than escape?

In Chapter 43, William recounts a conversation with his father about fantasy. His father says, “It’s not an escape. It’s hope… It’s about inserting hope into what you can’t outrun.” This reframes the leap: instead of fleeing from hardship, the leap is a deliberate choice to carry hope into an unjust world. Unlike Miles’s jump from a building, this leap is internal—a mindset that allows one to keep fighting even when the odds are stacked. The father’s view comes from decades of living through racial violence and using Tolkien as a tool for resilience.

4. How does the leap of faith connect to the book’s broader theme of representation for Black nerds?

Evans states outright that Into the Spider-Verse is “the Blackest superhero shit since the first Blade.” The leap is embedded in Black cultural signifiers: Miles’s “unlaced Jordans,” his Brooklyn pride, and the song “What’s Up Danger?” performed by Black artists. The leap is a moment when a Black teenager claims his identity as a hero, countering decades of white-default superhero narratives. In the broader context of Black Nerd Problems, the leap symbolizes that Black nerds can fully own their fandom and their identity without having to prove their legitimacy. It challenges gatekeeping by showing that Miles—and by extension any Black nerd—is already worthy.