Miles Morales

• 1. Introduction

  ›

  Miles Morales makes his first public appearance as Spider-Man by stopping an assault by a villain called Kangaroo. The bystanders are not impressed. They tell him his Spider-Man costume is in bad taste, and he considers changing it. That doubt follows him through years of stories. Miles is a teenage Marvel Comics hero who first appeared in Ultimate Fallout #4, released on the 3rd of August 2011. Writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Sara Pichelli created him. Why would a publisher hand one of its most famous identities to a new character? What did a single spider bite do to a boy who never wanted powers? And what happens to a hero when the entire universe he was born into is destroyed?

  464224

• 2. An Election and a Sitcom

  ›

  A few months before the November 2008 election of Barack Obama, Marvel editors began discussing an African American Spider-Man. Axel Alonso, then Marvel's editor-in-chief, recalled that while planning "Ultimatum," the team realized they were "standing at the brink of America electing its first African-American President." That moment, he said, made them think "it was time to take a good look at one of our icons."

  In 2000, Marvel had launched its Ultimate Marvel imprint as a separate continuity, where its characters were reimagined for a 21st-century audience. Bendis had written Ultimate Spider-Man since that first year. The idea of replacing the Ultimate Spider-Man came up again during the 2008-09 "Ultimatum" story arc. It was dropped because no story for the new character existed yet. It returned when editors decided to kill the Ultimate Peter Parker in the 2011 storyline "Death of Spider-Man." That decision produced Miles.

  Miles is the first black Spider-Man. Yet Miguel O'Hara, who is of Mexican and Irish descent, had already been a Latino Spider-Man in the 1990s series Spider-Man 2099.

  Bendis found his model on television. African-American actor Donald Glover appeared in Spider-Man pajamas in "Anthropology 101," the second-season premiere of the comedy Community. That image heavily influenced how Bendis thought about the character and how he looked in his first appearance. Bendis said Glover "looked fantastic" and that he thought, "I would like to read that book."

  Italian artist Sara Pichelli designed Miles the way she designs every character, by thinking first about his personality and background. She considered his clothing, his body language and his expressions. She also drew his costume, a mostly black outfit with red webbing and a red spider logo. Pichelli had drawn four issues of Ultimate Spider-Man before she was approached for the new title. Working on a graphic tablet, she added more screentones to give the book what she called "a more 'pop' feeling."

  On the page, Miles was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, and was 13 years old. His father was African American and his mother was Afro-Puerto Rican. Alonso described him as an intelligent nerd with a scientific aptitude much like Peter Parker's.

  Later writers filled in his mother's side of the family. Cody Ziglar established in the 2024 Miles Morales: Spider-Man Annual that Rio Morales's family was Afro-Puerto Rican. In February 2026 he confirmed that Rio and Miles's grandmother Gloria were both Afro-Puerto Rican women. Gloria, he said, had Taino, African and Spanish ancestry. Rio herself would face a far darker fate within a few years of the character's debut.

  45131415

• 3. Guilt and Family Secrets

  ›

  The scientist Dr. Conrad Markus used Peter Parker's blood to recreate the formula behind Spider-Man. The Prowler, a thief named Aaron Davis, stole it. One of Markus's spiders crawled into Aaron's duffel bag. Days later it bit his nephew Miles during a visit to Aaron's apartment.

  Miles's father, Jefferson Davis, distrusted superheroes, so Miles confided only in his best friend, Ganke Lee. His mother, Rio, worked as a nurse. Bendis wrote Miles as unhappy about his abilities and resistant to risking his life, a deliberate contrast with Parker.

  Then Miles watched Spider-Man die at the hands of the Green Goblin, and he was crushed by the thought that he could have helped. Ganke suggested he take up the mantle. Gwen Stacy explained why Parker had done what he did, and Miles decided to try costumed crimefighting.

  Spider-Woman did not welcome the new Spider-Man. She unmasked and arrested Miles and brought him to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. There Nick Fury revealed that he already knew about Miles and his family, including his uncle's crimes. Miles helped S.H.I.E.L.D. subdue the escaped villain Electro. In return he was released and given a modified black-and-red costume. Ganke decided that made Miles "officially" the new Spider-Man. In the 2012 miniseries Spider-Men, the mainstream universe's Peter Parker visited and gave his blessing.

  Jefferson eventually explained the family history. Before Miles was born, he and Aaron had been thieves who went to prison. Jefferson reformed, but Aaron did not. Bendis said this made Miles ask whether criminal traits were hardwired into his DNA, and whether he was essentially a good person at all.

  Aaron worked out that the new Spider-Man was his nephew and offered to train him. He then used Miles in his conflict with the Mexican crime lord Scorpion. Miles realized he was being exploited and refused to help further, even when Aaron threatened to tell Jefferson. A fight followed, Aaron's own weapons malfunctioned, and they exploded. As he died, Aaron said, "You are just like me."

  In 2013 the journalist Betty Brant wrongly concluded that Jefferson was the new Spider-Man. Markus, now host of the Venom symbiote, murdered her. During the "Venom War" storyline, Venom critically injured Jefferson. At the hospital, Rio learned her son was Spider-Man. Police gunfire killed both her and Markus. Rio's last request was that Miles keep his secret from Jefferson, and Miles quit being Spider-Man.

  A year later he had a girlfriend, Kate Bishop, and planned to tell her about his old life. S.H.I.E.L.D. pressured him to return, and Ganke and Spider-Woman convinced him that there needed to be a Spider-Man. Later, Miles told his father the truth, believing the world was ending. Jefferson held him responsible for the deaths of Aaron and Rio, and he disowned him.

  2425539556

• 4. Specimen 42

  ›

  Specimen 42, the genetically engineered spider that bit Miles, differs slightly from the one that gave Peter Parker his powers. It gave Miles enhanced strength, agility and reflexes. He can cling to walls and ceilings with his hands and feet, even through clothing. His spider sense warns him with a buzzing sensation in his head. It is weaker than Parker's and only alerts him to immediate danger.

  Two abilities belong to Miles alone. The first is camouflage, which lets him match his surroundings, clothing included, and become effectively invisible. The second is the "venom strike," a touch that can temporarily paralyze almost anyone. Despite the name, it uses no actual venom. It is directed energy conducted through his gloves.

  The strike can travel through a shared material, such as the webbing of the mainstream universe's Spider-Man, to reach an opponent at a distance. It can break chains and even repel non-ferrous objects, such as plastic Lego bricks. It is strong enough to knock out a person as large as Hank Pym's Giant-Man. Its effect appears a few seconds after the touch.

  The strike has limits. It drove Venom away the first time they met. By their second encounter, Venom had built up a tolerance. Miles then had to be completely enveloped by the symbiote before the strike could separate it from its host. Doctor Octopus built a set of tentacles that do not conduct the strike. Against the supervillain Armadillo it is mostly useless.

  Miles can also unleash a stronger version he calls a "mega venom blast." His eyes glow yellow, and the energy explodes outward, repelling a large group and destroying thick ropes and chains. It leaves him "dizzy and useless," and he needs time to recharge before using it again. Against Armadillo, the blast took a form like his webbing. He used it as a lasso to pull the villain close and knock him out with a punch charged by the strike.

  In Miles Morales: Spider-Man (Vol 2) #5, published in May 2023, he gained an energy sword made of the same energy as his Venom Punch. He calls it the "Venom-Saber." Miles also resists injury unusually well. The Roxxon mercenary Taskmaster once threw him through a brick wall, and he was left in pain but not seriously hurt.

  His first web shooters belonged to Peter Parker, handed over by May Parker. S.H.I.E.L.D. later issued him a set of his own.

  125448

• 5. Two Universes

  ›

  By August 2013, sales of Ultimate Comics Spider-Man had slipped. The other two Ultimate titles, X-Men and The Ultimates, had fallen to numbers at which mainstream Marvel titles are canceled. The series was not a huge hit in the direct market, despite its strong early press and critical reception. That November it ended with issue #28, and the other two titles ended with it. A miniseries called Cataclysm: Ultimate Spider-Man took their place.

  In June 2013, Age of Ultron #10, also written by Bendis, showed Miles witnessing the arrival of Galactus in the mainstream Marvel universe, known as Earth-616. Galactus is an entity that devours planets. In "Cataclysm," he came to Miles's own Earth to take its energy. Miles traveled to the mainstream universe with Reed Richards to learn how to repel him. At the end the Ultimate universe was destroyed, and Miles and his supporting cast were carried into Earth-616.

  After "Cataclysm," Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man, again written by Bendis, launched as part of the Ultimate Marvel Now relaunch. Miles also joined the team in All-New Ultimates, written by Michel Fiffe and drawn by Amilcar Pinna. Both series ran 12 issues. In Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man, Miles met the presumed-dead Peter Parker, who could not explain his return and did not plan to resume his old life. After watching Miles battle the Goblin, Peter named him a worthy successor and retired to a life with Mary Jane.

  In the same series, Jefferson reappeared too. He told his son that he and Aaron had worked for a criminal in Wilson Fisk's organization, and that he had been spying for S.H.I.E.L.D. all along. He said he no longer blamed Miles for his mother's death. Then Miles told Kate Bishop the truth. Her family turned out to be Hydra sleeper agents who kidnapped Miles, Jefferson and Ganke as part of a plan involving Dr. Doom.

  The twelfth issue ended on a cliffhanger leading into the 2015 "Secret Wars" storyline, which destroyed both the Ultimate universe and Earth-616. Miles survived by getting aboard an escape ship built by the Cabal. After eight years in stasis he woke on Battleworld, a planet assembled from the remains of destroyed Earths. There he reunited with Earth-616's Peter Parker and the other surviving heroes. Together they fought Doctor Doom, who had named himself God Emperor. In gratitude for Miles's earlier compassion, the Molecule Man restored Earth-616, bringing back Miles's family, his mother included.

  Aaron Davis came back as well, remembering Miles's secret, and became the villainous Iron Spider. Miles and Peter now shared the Spider-Man mantle. Miles patrolled New York City while Peter worked globally. Miles joined the new team in All-New, All-Different Avengers. He also appeared in the Spider-Verse crossover written by Dan Slott. That story began in Amazing Spider-Man #9 in 2015 and placed him alongside Peter Parker, Spider-Woman and a huge number of alternate Spider-Men.

  In the restored Earth-616, Miles and his loved ones at first had no memories of the Ultimate universe. Jefferson knew his son's double life. Rio did not, until she eventually learned. Kamala Khan, the fourth Ms. Marvel, the former X-Man Fabio Medina and the teen hero Bombshell joined the circle who knew. Miles dated a classmate named Barbara Rodriguez, whom he called his "first serious girlfriend." He became central to the 2016-2017 "Civil War II" storyline, then helped form a new Champions team.

  The 2019 Champions run tested him cruelly. Kamala Khan and Viv Vision were killed fighting Zzzax in Dubai, along with many civilians. Miles accepted Mephisto's offer of a "cosmic do-over," which turned time back second by second until he and Amadeus Cho could restrain Zzzax. The price was a bystander Miles had first saved from falling rubble, who now died instead of Kamala and Viv. When he told Kamala what her revival had cost, it ended their friendship. He left the team in issue #4.

  His solo books kept relaunching. The third series, simply titled Spider-Man, debuted on the 3rd of February 2016 with Bendis and Pichelli. Nico Leon and Oscar Bazaldua later succeeded Pichelli. Issues were numbered from 1 to 21. Then the series adopted legacy numbering, continuing the count from 2000's Ultimate Spider-Man #1, and the next issue was 234. In 2017 Miles had a brief romance with Spider-Woman, Gwen Stacy.

  On the 7th of November 2017, Marvel announced that Bendis, having signed an exclusive contract with DC Comics, would leave in early 2018. The series was canceled with issue #240 in May 2018. On the 13th of September 2018, Marvel named Saladin Ahmed and Javier Garron as writer and artist of a fourth ongoing series, Miles Morales: Spider-Man. Its first issue came out on the 12th of December 2018, coinciding with the premiere of the animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

  For the character's tenth anniversary in 2021, Chase Conley designed a new costume, reportedly influenced by the film's look, with trademark sneakers. In July 2020, Marvel announced an original graphic novel with Scholastic, Miles Morales: Shock Waves, written by Justin A. Reynolds with art by Pablo Leon. The Ahmed series concluded with issue 42 in September 2022. In December 2022, Cody Ziglar and artist Federico Vicentini began the next series.

  In the 2019-2022 series, Miles met Tiana Toomes, the anti-hero Starling and granddaughter of the Vulture. They fought the crime boss Tombstone, then started a romance and shared their secret identities. In the 2023 relaunch, the Vulture broke out of prison to kill the Spider-Man dating his granddaughter. Tiana defeated him and proudly called Miles her boyfriend. In the 2024 storyline "Blood Hunt," Blade turned Miles into a vampire, and Bast cured him after he met with Anansi. His surviving clone brother Shift began learning English and was named Jaime Morales, after Miles's late grandfather.

  6364656768

• 6. A Mixed Welcome

  ›

  USA Today reported the new character on the 2nd of August 2011, shortly before his debut, and the news drew international coverage. Reactions were mixed. Chris Huntington of The New York Times praised the creation, saying it gave his adopted Ethiopian son Dagim a superhero who looks like him. The Guardian and Culture Map Houston reported that some fans saw political correctness or a publicity stunt. Others thought a person of color as Spider-Man would set a positive example, especially for children. Many fans were simply upset that Peter Parker had been killed, whoever replaced him.

  The Washington Post ran an article by Alexandra Petri titled "Sorry, Peter Parker. The response to the black Spider-Man shows why we need one." Petri argued the character should be judged on the quality of his stories, not his appearance or ethnicity.

  Radio host and conservative pundit Lou Dobbs expressed outrage on television. He said Miles, who is "part Latino and part Black," was replacing Peter Parker. Dobbs called Parker a white orphan from Queens. Jon Stewart mocked him on The Daily Show. Stewart pointed out that Miles replaced Spider-Man only in the Ultimate universe. The original Peter Parker, he noted, kept appearing in several titles.

  Glenn Beck claimed that Miles resembled President Obama and tied the creation to a comment from Michelle Obama about changing traditions. Beck also said he did not care about Miles's race and acknowledged this was not the mainstream Spider-Man.

  Alonso denied that political correctness was the motive. He said, "Simple fact is Marvel comics reflect the world in all its shapes, sizes and colors." Bendis likewise denied that the character's ethnicity was a bid for publicity. Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee approved, saying that "Doing our bit to try to make our nation, and the world, color blind is definitely the right thing."

  Critics reviewed the first issue on its merits. David Pepose of Newsarama wrote that Bendis "makes us care about him, and care about him quickly." Jesse Schedeen of IGN found that Miles still felt "like a bit of an outsider in his own book." He also praised Miles as a character who speaks to "a slightly different teen experience." James Hunt of Comic Book Resources gave the issue four and a half stars out of five. He applauded Bendis for building up Miles and his supporting cast instead of rushing him into costume.

  The aggregator Comic Book Roundup scored the first issue 8.0 out of 10 from 13 reviews. Issue #200 scored 8.4 from 14 reviews, and the whole series averages 8.3. The second series averages 8.2 and the third 7.6. The fourth series holds an 8.1. The second volume of the fifth, which premiered in February 2023, holds 8.6.

  4791047

• 7. Other Versions of Miles

  ›

  In the 2017 sequel miniseries Spider-Men II, readers met the Earth-616 version of Miles Morales for the first time. He was a fully grown man with a scarred face. He had saved Wilson Fisk's life in prison, which left the scars, and became Fisk's close friend and confidant. After Miles fell in love with a woman named Barbara Sanchez, Fisk erased every searchable trace of him so he could leave crime behind. Years later, after Barbara died, Fisk told him of a parallel universe where she might still live. The adult Miles hired Taskmaster, who confirmed that the Ultimate Universe survived. He went there to find Barbara, essentially switching places with his younger counterpart.

  In a 2019-2020 storyline, that older Miles took on the criminal identity Ultimatum. He wore a costume with Giant-Man's size-shifting technology and returned to Earth-616 with the Ultimate Universe's Green Goblin as his henchman. He formed a crime partnership with Fisk and flooded the area with a drug made from the Goblin's blood. The drug turned people into monstrous slaves called Goblinoids. He kidnapped the teenage Miles and Aaron Davis. The two freed themselves, and they and their allies fought Ultimatum's forces. Aaron set off an explosion that destroyed the portal generator and sent the two villains back to the Ultimate Universe. It also killed him, a loss that devastated Miles.

  In Deadpool Killustrated #1 in January 2013, Miles's corpse lies among dead Spider-Men from across the multiverse. In Ultimate FF #4 in 2014, he appears as Miles Morhames, a Spider-Ham from a dimension of anthropomorphic animals. In 2019, "Secret Roar" featured a feline version named Meows Morales, who is presumed dead after a Celestial destroys his realm.

  In the 2017 "Sitting in a Tree" storyline, Miles landed on Earth-8. There that dimension's versions of him and Gwen Stacy had been married for 20 years and had two children. In the same year, Unbelievable Gwenpool showed a future Miles whose wife and child had been killed after an evil Gwen Poole revealed every superhero's identity. He traveled back in time to kill the young Gwen.

  The 2019 miniseries Spider-Man: Life Story let Marvel's characters age naturally after 1962. There, Miles became Spider-Man in the 2010s. An elderly Peter Parker discovered that Otto Octavius had taken over Miles's body and trapped the young hero in a dying one. Peter gave his life to save Octavius, who then switched them back. Mary Jane Watson handed Miles Peter's original costume. Another elderly Miles stars in the one-shot Miles Morales: The End, set in a post-apocalyptic Brooklyn, where he is "the last bastion of civilization." It was one of six books announced in the End series at the 2019 New York Comic Con.

  In the 2021 "Heroes Reborn" storyline, the Avengers never existed. After the Goblin killed the Falcon, Miles used his electrical engineering knowledge to build a flight suit and became the new Falcon. He later formed a Champions team with Girl Power, who is Kamala Khan, and Kid Spectrum, who is Sam Alexander.

  The 2022 miniseries What If...? Miles Morales introduced versions of Miles who became Captain America, Wolverine, Hulk and Thor. Issue 4 drew controversy for stereotypical language and racist depictions of black culture. Its writer, Yehudi Mercado, who identifies as Mexican and Jewish, publicly apologized. He promised to work toward more authentic portrayals of minorities.

  7481738791

• 8. Beyond the Page

  ›

  Donald Glover, whose Spider-Man pajamas inspired Bendis, later voiced Miles on screen. In the animated series Ultimate Spider-Man, Glover played him in season three and Ogie Banks took over in season four. That Miles was an alternate Spider-Man stranded in Peter Parker's universe, where he joined the Web Warriors and took the name Kid Arachnid. Nadji Jeter voiced him in the Disney XD series Spider-Man, which ran from 2017 to 2020. There he was a student at Horizon High, mentored by Peter Parker, and later took the alias Spy-D. Zac Siewert voiced him in Marvel Super Hero Adventures. In Spidey and His Amazing Friends he goes by Spin, voiced first by Jakari Fraser and from the fourth season by Carter Young.

  In Insomniac Games' Marvel's Spider-Man series, Jeter voices Miles again. In the 2018 game, he is bitten by a spider created by Oscorp and reveals his powers to Peter. Peter then trains him in The City That Never Sleeps DLC. In Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Peter leaves New York for several weeks. Miles must defend his new home, Harlem. The threat is a conflict between Roxxon Energy Corporation and the Underground, led by his childhood friend Phin Mason, the Tinkerer. In Marvel's Spider-Man 2, he struggles with anger toward Martin Li, who indirectly caused his father's death. Miles is also a playable character in titles including Marvel Future Fight, Marvel Contest of Champions, Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order.

  Author Jason Reynolds wrote two novels starring Miles, Miles Morales: Spider-Man and its sequel Miles Morales: Suspended. In March 2018, Sideshow Collectibles released a 17-inch polystone statue of Miles leaping over the jaws of a giant Venom symbiote. It came with two removable heads, one with a mask and one without, and an extra hand holding the mask. Its release price was $520.

  Bendis said he favored adapting Miles into a Spider-Man feature film, as did actor Andrew Garfield. Producers Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach said they did not intend to have him appear. Later, Marvel and Sony made a deal that brought Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Producer Kevin Feige then said Miles would not appear for the foreseeable future, though he was interested in exploring the character. Miles is confirmed to exist there. Aaron Davis alludes to him in Spider-Man: Homecoming. In Spider-Man: No Way Home, Electro tells Peter Parker, "There's gotta be a black Spider-Man somewhere out there." In a 2023 interview, producer Amy Pascal said a live-action film starring Miles was in development.

  Sony Pictures Animation's Spider-Verse series stars Miles, voiced by Shameik Moore. In this version, a radioactive spider created on Earth-42 reached his universe through the Kingpin's super-collider. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, released in 2018, won an Academy Award. Across the Spider-Verse followed in 2023. Jharrel Jerome voices the Earth-42 variant Miles G. Morales, who appears as the Prowler. Beyond the Spider-Verse is scheduled for 2027.

  811124542