Spider-Man is one of Marvel’s most popular and beloved characters. Peter Parker has been an inspiration to millions of people for generations, and nowadays, there’s a second Spider-Man who has just as much of a claim to the mantle as the original. Miles Morales started as the second Spider-Man of the original Ultimate Universe, taking up the web-shooters after Ultimate Peter’s death, and has since grown into one of the best new Marvel characters in recent memory. The two Spider-Men are the protectors of New York, and they clean the streets like nobody else can. It only makes sense that these two titans of comics team up to patrol together every now and again.
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However, as good sense as that makes, it’s usually not the reality that we live in. More often than not, Peter and Miles either work alone or even stand in each other’s way. They’ve only had one short series where the Spider-Men worked together, and beyond that, they’ve been lone wolves. Or lone spiders. Either way, Peter and Miles don’t work together nearly half as often as they should, but thankfully, we’re getting one of the best Spider-Men team-ups of all time in Miles Morales: Spider-Man (2023) #41.
Spiders At Each Other’s Throats
The two Spider-Men started their relationship in some pretty hectic circumstances. Peter was unceremoniously dropped into the original Ultimate Universe and wound up getting into a fight with Miles over a misunderstanding. Things dramatically improved after they actually stopped to talk, and the two became close friends. They would work together closely in events where they crossed over, like the original Spider-Verse and Secret Wars (2015). However, while their partnership flourished when they lived universes apart, it started to crack when Miles moved to 616.
Miles was, as of then, a still somewhat inexperienced Spider-Man, and Peter was in his biggest jerk era as head of Parker Industries. Whenever something would go wrong, and people would blame Spider-Man, as they are wont to do, Peter would get fed up and tell Miles to protect their name. Things improved slightly from there, as Peter’s character returned to his more neutral good-guy outlook, but the two Spider-Men didn’t really talk to each other. Peter would occasionally show up in Miles’s series to let him know that he would be out of town or something, and that was it.
The two recently co-starred in The Spectacular Spider-Men, but even that team-up book took nearly ten years to get, and only lasted for fifteen issues. Nowadays, it’s just as likely to see Peter and Miles fight when Peter is on the outs with the rest of the Spider-people of New York as to see them work together. That’s a darn shame, because they are an incredible duo that definitely can carry a story. All of that is changing, however, with Miles Morales: Spider-Man #41 and #42.
Spider-Bros Who Have Each Other’s Backs
This arc saw Miles in a final battle against his arch-nemesis, Rabble. She’s determined to bring Spider-Man down by any means necessary, and to do that, revived the robot that ruined Miles’s life worse than anybody else: the Assessor. Unfortunately for Rabble, she couldn’t control the mad-bot, and he decided to take Miles and her down together. Miles gave it everything he had, but in the end, one Spider-Man wasn’t enough to stop the Assessor and his army of duplicates. Just when Miles was out of hope, he prayed for a miracle, and a god answered. Specifically, the Spider God Anasi.
Anasi owed Miles a debt and sought to repay by giving him the exact help he needed. If one Spider-Man couldn’t save the day, why not try two? Anasi summoned the space-bound Peter to give Miles a hand. Peter kicked the duplicate army’s cans and had a genuinely heartfelt reunion with Miles. Together, the two Spider-Men prepared to kick the Assessor’s metal butt, and in doing so, showed us the perfect Miles and Peter relationship. The book treated them like equals and brothers-in-arms, which is the exact type of relationship that fans have been demanding for years. This is how Peter and Miles act at their best. They are both Spider-Man, and they respect the heck out of each other.
Overall, this Spider-Men crossover has set up for a final epic confrontation in the next issue, and promises many good things to come about the duo in the future. Personally, I could not be more excited to see what kind of adventures the Spider-Men get into as equal partners and brothers.
Miles Morales: Spider-Man #41 is on sale now!
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