The 2018 animated movie, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse introduced a new hero. Sure, Spidey was the lead of the film, but in this particular adventure there was a new face beneath the mask – Miles Morales.
But who is Miles Morales and why is he wearing a Spider-Man outfit?
In this post I take a look at Miles Morales and provide information about who he is and how he came to be Spider-Man.
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When did Miles Morales first appear?
Miles Morales made his debut in Ultimate Fallout issue #4 (2011). The character was created by artists Sara Pichelli and writer Brian Michael Bendis.
Miles was conceived as a new Spider-Man in the Ultimate Marvel Universe – an alternate reality to the main Marvel Universe. He was introduced as a replacement Spidey, following the death of Peter Parker.
While readers were sad to see Parker go, they quickly warmed to Miles and eventually his popularity saw him leap from the Ultimate Marvel Universe into the main Marvel Universe.
Outside of comics he has appeared in animated shows and in 2018 he made his big screen debut in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
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Who is Miles Morales in Into the Spider-Verse?
Miles Morales is the main character in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. In the movie he undertakes a journey from ordinary teenager into a fully-fledged superhero.
When audiences first meet Miles Morales, he is a high school student trying to make sense of his place in the world. Like most teenagers, Miles is struggling to focus on the tasks at hand and spends more time running from his responsibilities rather than accepting them. He also has an uneasy relationship with his father, who he sees as an authority figure rather than someone he can turn to.
Instead of developing a relationship with his father, Miles spends more time with his uncle, Aaron Davis. He sees Uncle Aaron as a big brother who lets him be himself.
This relationship with Aaron leads Miles to spend his nights out of the house, and even graffitiing the walls of abandoned subway stations – something his father would strongly disapprove of. And it is in an abandoned subway station that Miles encounters a spider which bears the mark ‘Alchemax 42’.
This strange and unusual spider bites Miles and begins to affect him in strange ways. He discovers he can stick to walls and he has increased strength and agility.
After reading a Spider-Man comic, Miles begins to wonder if he has indeed transformed into Spider-Man – or at least, another Spider-Man. This is something which is quickly confirmed when Miles crosses paths with Peter Parker, aka the real Spider-Man.
But the encounter is tinged with tragedy when Parker is killed by the Kingpin. Witnessing Spider-Man’s death and unsure of what to do, Miles flees the scene and returns home.
Later that evening, a news report announces Spider-Man’s death and shortly after, a public memorial is held. Feeling as if he should take Spider-Man’s place, Miles attends the memorial in a make-shift Spidey costume, but he is still filled with self-doubt about what to do.
That night Miles meets Peter B. Parker – a Spider-Man from an alternate dimension. This Parker has been brought to Miles’ universe by a Super Collider – a device that is being used by the Kingpin to bridge the gap between dimensions.
Miles and Peter soon discover they are not alone and they meet up with other Spider-people who have been brought from alternate dimensions. Each person has a similar story and each understands the danger the Collider poses to the multiverse. But before they can act, the team is ambushed by a group of the Kingpin’s goons and Miles’ uncle – who is masquerading as the Prowler – is killed.
After witnessing another death and with so much at stake, Miles is unable to fully commit to being Spider-Man. That is until some choice words from his father, along with some encouragement from Peter, leads Miles to take a “leap of faith”.
Accepting his destiny, Miles becomes a new Spider-Man and together with the help of his Spider-friends, he is able to destroy the Collider and save the multiverse.
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What are Miles Morales’ abilities?
When Miles was bitten by a spider it gave him a range of abilities. Some of these abilities were the same as those given to Peter Parker and some were new.
These are Miles’ powers:
- Strength – As with Peter Parker, Miles Morales was given enhanced strength. This means he can throw one heck of a punch and also take knocks and still get up.
- Agility – The spider bite not only gave Miles strength it also increased his agility. He can leap, flip, twist, turn and move with superhuman ease.
- Invisibility – This is a new ability that Peter Parker doesn’t have – Miles has the ability to turn invisible. Pretty handy when trying to remain unseen from your enemies.
- Venom strike – Another new ability which is not a traditionally associated with Spidey is Miles’ venom strike. This power gives Miles the opportunity to zap his foes with a nasty jolt of energy.
- Spider-sense – Just like Peter Parker, Miles has the ability to foresee imminent danger thanks to a precognitive ‘spider-sense’.
In addition to these abilities, Miles also uses a set of web-shooters to create webs.
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Thank you for stopping by Don’t Tell Harry – The Spider-Man movies blog. I hope the information in this post has been useful to you.
Should you wish to know more about the Spider-Man movie series, including Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, please take a look around this blog. You can also click on one of the links below for a selection of recommended reads.
Read more:
- Who created Spider-Man?
- Who are the villains in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse?
- Can Spider-Man shoot his own webs?
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