It’s past time that Miles Morales stepped out of Spider-Man‘s shadow. There is no denying Miles Morales’ popularity, and a glowing example is the success of Sony Pictures Animation’s Spider-Verse films. But Miles was already a fan-favorite Spider-Man even before those movies made it to theaters. Peter Parker will always be Spider-Man, and nothing can change that. But now, a new generation of Spider-Man fans are growing up with Miles Morales under the webbed mask. It’s been proven that the mantle of Spider-Man is bigger than just Peter Parker, but that doesn’t mean Miles Morales doesn’t deserve a mantle of his very own, away from Spider-Man.
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Miles Morales hasn’t indicated that he would no longer like to be Spider-Man, but I’m going to make the case for him. Spider-Man has been around for over 60 years. A hero can accumulate a lot of baggage during that time. Whereas Miles is coming up on his 15th anniversary. He still has plenty of time to pivot away from all things Spider-Man. If you stop and think about how Peter Parker lets Spider-Man factor into every decision he ever makes, you won’t blame Miles for looking to make a name for himself in other ways. Marvel even approached doing something like this with Miles, but backed out at the last minute.
Miles Morales Almost Found a New Path Away From Spider-Man
Back in 2017, Brian Michael Bendis, co-creator of Miles Morales alongside Sara Pichelli, announced that he was leaving Marvel for DC. That meant that Bendis would also be wrapping up his run writing Miles as Spider-Man. His final story arc had Miles contemplating whether or not he should continue to follow in Peter Parker’s footsteps as Spider-Man. The year-long saga saw doubt start to enter Miles’ mind, from his mother discovering his secret identity to taking a beating from the gangster Hammerhead.
After meeting a young Peter Parker in Generations: Miles Morales Spider-Man & Peter Parker Spider-Man, Miles came away with the belief that Spider-Man was Peter’s legacy, and was something personal to him. Would Miles feel the same way if he were the first person bitten by a radioactive spider? It’s a legit question, and something Miles gave a lot of thought to.
Another path forward for Miles involved the world of espionage, which coincidentally runs in his family. His father, Jefferson Davis, was a former agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., and re-enlisted to help keep his son safe. Miles actually had to rescue Jefferson when he was trapped in another dimension. Another mission saw Miles head to Tokyo, where he faced Tomoe, the Techno Golem. Miles defeated Tomoe without suiting up as Spider-Man, drawing the attention of the time-traveling X-Man Cable.
This all seemed to be leading to Miles Morales becoming a super-spy, but unfortunately, that story arc was dropped the minute Bendis transitioned from Marvel to DC. Marvel launched a new volume of Miles Morales: Spider-Man and forgot all about his character progression. Bendis, who understood Miles Morales better than most writers since he helped co-create him, saw the value of Miles stepping away from being Spider-Man and tried to help set it up before his departure. Being a spy is completely different than being Spider-Man, allowing Miles to embark on an all-new journey.
Miles Morales can succeed at whatever it is he chooses to do, whether it’s diving into the world of espionage or choosing to follow another heroic path. He’s proven himself more than capable of protecting not only Brooklyn, but also the entire Spider-Verse. Marvel just needs to take the shackles of webbing off Miles and allow him to spread his wings.
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Image Courtesy of Paramount -
Image Courtesy of Big Finish Productions.
