Spider-Man: Miles Morales: Who Is Rick Mason?

Spider-Man: Miles Morales is now available for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. It's a good game that gives Miles Morales his chance to shine as Spider-Man. Besides the titular hero, a handful of other characters from the Marvel Universe appear, including some deep cuts that more casual Marvel fans may not recognize. Among them is Rick Mason, who is a character connected to Miles in the game but with a very different origin and history in the Marvel Comics canon. Who is Rick Mason in the Marvel Universe? We can explain but be warned that some pretty significant SPOILERS for Spider-Man: Miles Morales follow.

In Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Rick Mason is the brother of Phin Mason, Miles' best friend from middle school. Rick is a brilliant scientist who helped mentor both Phin in Miles before going to work for Roxxon.

Early in the game, when Phin and Miles see each other for the first time since going to different high schools, Phin's odd behavior suggests something is going on with Rick. As the game progresses, Miles learns that Rick created Roxxon's new energy source, Nuform. Rick discovers that Nuform is dangerous and making people sick, but Roxxon's CEO, Simon Krieger, refuses to do anything about it. After Rick himself becomes ill, he and Phin decide to take matters into their own hands. They sneak into the Roxxon lab where the Nuform is being kept and destroy the sample, but Rick dies in the process.

Rick's death is what inspires Phin to become the Tinkerer. In the comics, the Thinkerer is a different Phin Mason, Phineas Mason. Rick Mason is Phineas's son.

Rick Mason debuted in the Marvel Comics universe in the graphic novel The Agent, named after Rick's codename. Growing up around his father's bizarre inventions and, later, training under Nick Fury made Rick uniquely adept at handling superheroes, and he sold his skills as a freelance operative. A criminal organization once kidnapped Rick to try to convince the Tinkerer to work for them. Instead, the Tinkerer hired Luke Cage to rescue his son. Besides that, Rick hasn't been seen much in Marvel's comics, mostly appearing in Ms. Marvel during the Dark Reign era of 2008-2009.

Rick and the Tinkerer's relationship is quite different in the game from what it is in the comics. Insomniac dug deep to find a way to incorporate a mostly forgotten piece of the Tinker's history into their new version for the game.

What do you think of Rick Mason's role in Spider-Man: Miles Morales? Let us know in the comments. Spider-Man: Miles Morales is available now on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.