Miles Morales Deserves More as Spider-Man (But Marvel Can Easily Fix Him)

Ever since his debut in 2011, Miles Morales has been a household name as the “other” Spider-Man. With two short-lived series featuring him as the main Spider-Man in the original Ultimate Universe. Miles would eventually cross over into Earth-616 after 2015’s Secret Wars. Now, with a few more solo series to his name as well as two animated feature films with a third one on the way, Miles has achieved fan-favorite status in less than 15 years. As incredible as it is to see a Spider-Man of color take the reins as the favorite Spider-Man for many fans, however, it seems that Marvel is afraid to give him more.

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With the revelation of who’s under the mask in Amazing Spider-Man #11, causing its own issues with the revelation that it’s one of Peter Parker’s greatest enemies becoming the hero, it feels like a slap in the face to Miles. With Peter not on Earth and someone needing to take up the mantle, this would have been the time to give Miles his proper dues. Instead, we have three different Spider-Men and still not enough respect for Miles.

Why We Have 3 Spider-Men and the Mess It Causes

With a new status quo in Amazing Spider-Man, we have Peter Parker as Spider-Man in space, Norman Osborn of all people in New York in place of Peter, and then Miles. Peter and Norman are sharing the Amazing Spider-Man title, alternating between story arcs, while Miles has a book to himself. I get what they’re going for, but it’s a giant mess. We get two different art teams in Amazing Spider-Man, one for each Spider-Man we follow, but it crowds the two characters. Wouldn’t it make sense to have Norman under the Amazing Spider-Man title, and Peter to use something along the lines of “Cosmic Spider-Man”? All while Miles has Miles Morales: Spider-Man, a title that feels way too dated.

Before jumping over to Earth 616, Miles had two solo titles, Ultimate Spider-Man and Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man. Sure, adding his name would tell readers who it was when he was the only Spider-Man in the Ultimate Universe at the time, when he was relatively new, that made sense. Now it feels like an obligation even though he’s been around for a while now. Naming his main series Miles Morales: Spider-Man takes away the Spider-Man mystique that comes with any of the Spider-Man titles. It takes away from the Stan Lee quote about how the costume being fully covered could lead readers to imagine themselves under the mask. It feels backhanded to Miles and reinforces that Miles will always be second to Peter Parker.

Going back, we have three Spider-Men, with two sharing one title and a third under a dated title. In the past, we’ve had multiple different adjectives to differentiate the series. Why don’t they bring this back? Peter can have Cosmic Spider-Man, Norman can have Amazing Spider-Man, but what about Miles? It’s time Miles got a proper title, and the best option is right in front of us. Miles is in a tricky situation at present, but what happens when he gets back to 616? You can use this as the perfect time to rebrand him with a new title and keep Cody Ziglar at the helm, too.

Miles Morales Deserves More

Instead of just giving him a fancy new Spider-Suit, it’s time for Miles’ book to become Spectacular Spider-Man. If Peter and Miles are on the same level, why not give Miles a title that reflects that? The Spectacular Spider-Man title was treated the same way as Detective Comics was to Batman. There have been a handful of times where Batman isn’t even the main character or even in Detective Comics, and the book wasn’t treated any different. That title would put Miles on the same level as Peter, which he’s been at for a long time now.

Miles is Spider-Man as much as Peter is, and this would be the best-case scenario. With all the talk of Miles changing his identity over the years, this would help solidify the fact that he is Spider-Man as much as Peter is. He doesn’t need to be anyone different; he’s more than earned the name at this point. What better way for him to celebrate his achievement than by making him the star of Spectacular Spider-Man? The big concern after that is, Miles needs villains he can call his own.

Miles Needs Villains He Can Call His Own

It seems that anytime Miles fights villains, they are almost always Peter’s originally. In theory, it makes sense; Peter has been around since 1962, but it feels like nobody knows what to do when it comes to Miles having his own rogues. New York City is a massive city with many different boroughs. Miles is active in Brooklyn, outside of the main part of the city. He’s still in the city but not the “main” area, so to speak. With his web swinging, he can traverse fast, but surely there have to be villains in his borough. It would only make sense if he’s the hero of this area; villains would directly go after him. In the same way villains go after Daredevil in Hell’s Kitchen, every hero has their own part of New York.

One of the popular things to do for Miles was to give him some of Peter’s lesser villains. This felt backhanded in the same way Miles’ current title feels as well. While it’s fun to see Miles take on the Hobgoblin, it feels like Miles got the leftover villains. He has an incredible supporting cast with his family, and all he seems to have as a villain is Prowler. While there’s plenty of family drama with that by itself, he needs much more. It’s a lot more difficult to create new villains that last, but having them go up against someone as popular as Miles can carry them on for years to come. Giving Miles his own villains would do wonders for him and would help secure the Spectacular Spider-Man title as well.

Miles deserves so much more for close to a decade now. Whether it’s with his name, costume, villains, or the title of his book, he’s more than earned it. He’s one of the best characters from Marvel in the last 20 years and deserves their highest praise.

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