Miles Morales has thwipped into the hearts of many fans since his introduction in Ultimate Fallout #11 in 2011. He’s been the focus of comics, his own movie, and recently even headlined a video game, surviving the collapse of his original universe and joined the main Marvel continuity. Miles has proven time and again that he has the power and the responsibility to be Spider-Man, just as well as Peter Parker does. In fact, when it comes to some of Spidey’s defining traits, Miles has gone above and beyond what Peter has accomplished.
Peter may be the original, and he’s certainly set the bar high when it comes to being the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. But in the last decade, Miles has shown new paths, and new responsibilities that a hero needs to have to excel.
10 Streamlined History
Peter has been everywhere and done just about everything. He’s been a teacher, a photographer, an industrialist, an Avenger, amd a member of the Fantastic Four. The list goes on and on, and not all of those stories really work as a consistent continuity. That can make it hard to figure out where to go next with the wall-crawler. Miles, however, has a decade behind him, and while his jump between universes is a little confusing, it’s nothing compared to the mountains of random Peter Parker canon.
Miles is the perfect central character for the kinds of stories people associate with Spider-Man without de-aging or creating another version of him. He’s there now, and he is primed for those high schooler stories, but this time with a new Miles twist.
9 Personal Responsibility
While Peter Parker would never let New York down, the same doesn’t often go for those close to him in his personal life. While Miles has had problems with this as well— what superhero hasn’t?— but Miles prioritizes things differently than Peter does.
The few times Peter does prioritize his family, he goes about it in the strangest, and potentially worst way possible. We can count on Miles to show up for his friends and family, without making deals with the devil in the process.
8 Active In His Own Origins
Peter Parker’s origin story is one of the most well-known in comics, and pop culture in general, but Peter is very passive in the events that led him to become Spider-Man. Miles, on the other hand, makes a choice, not because he lost something through inaction but because he sees it as the right thing to do.
Depending on which version of the story is referenced, he either stands up to his criminal uncle and breaks free from his influence or, as he does in Into the Spider-Verse, his need to do the right thing brings him face to face with the Prowler and brings his uncle around— albeit, too late to save him. Miles’ guilt when he loses family to the superhero fights isn’t because he didn’t take responsibility for his powers, it’s rooted in the fact that he tried, but wasn’t able to save everyone.
7 Connection To The Community
The very concept of Spider-Man is tied to a neighborhood and protecting it no matter what, but Miles has opened up who is shown as part of that neighborhood. Peter’s version of New York has been a little outdated for some time. Miles’ stories show a diverse city where everyone is worth rescuing. In the Miles Morales: Spider-Man game, Miles is even shown using ASL to talk to a young woman in his neighborhood.
Miles exemplifies the concept of “it could be anyone behind the mask” and defies the expectations that have traditionally shaped who would be the hero in comics.
6 Cooler Power Set
Miles’ superpowers definitely upped the game when it comes to what Spider-Man can pull off. While Peter’s web-slinging, wall-crawling, and super-strength are part of the deal, Miles can also venom-strike his bad guys— a bio-electric power zap— and he’s got a camouflage ability that renders him invisible. The traditional spider sense is also there to help Miles out.
All of these powers, plus Peter Parker’s original power set, are based on the abilities of actual species of spiders, but Miles is both stealthier and more powerful than Peter.
5 Superhero Support Network
Miles is part of a new generation of heroes in the Marvel Universe, and that generation has been shown to be very interconnected and mostly supportive. The young heroes seem to have learned a few of the lessons the older ones missed the first time through. To be fair to Peter and his support network, the superpowered population was a little smaller when he was first introduced— and his ties to the Fantastic Four, specifically Johnny Storm, were tight— and there wasn’t the same level of networking going on when Peter was a teenager.
That support structure— having other kids that get what being a superhero is like— and having such a diverse support structure, gives Miles a perspective Peter didn’t have until much later in his superhero career.
4 Relatability
Part of the charm of Peter Parker’s Spider-Man was his everyman status. Peter had crappy jobs, a jerk boss, too many bills, no privacy from family or roommates, and a horrible love life. Peter had all the same problems that everyone else had. In recent years, that relatability has taken a backseat to things like Parker Industries and switching bodies with Otto Octavius.
Miles has that awkward teenager energy that Peter started out with. Anyone from any background can relate to that, but Miles also has to deal with the very real issues that a young black man faces in the world now. He shows us a world we know well and his perspective on it, which was what Stan Lee wanted Peter to be in the first place.
3 Punching Way Above His Weight Class
Sure, Peter has taken on high level villains, but Miles was a huge part in the fight against Galactus. While it was definitely a team effort with the other heroes of his universe pitching in when it came to the world eater, Miles has routinely taken down tougher baddies, and bigger problems than Peter tends to handle on his own. Top that off with Miles being the one chosen to wield the enigma force, and he's one of the most powerful heroes Marvel has.
While Peter Parker’s rogue gallery has some of the best villains out there. Miles has fewer overall, but some of the scarier and far more threatening baddies are breathing down his neck. Prowler definitely trumps Paste Pot Pete.
2 Cooler Costume
The original blue and red Spidey look is iconic, no doubt about that, but it was due for an update. Peter’s had some interesting looks over the years— webbed armpits notwithstanding— but aside from the black symbiote suit, he hasn’t come close to the style shown by Miles.
Miles’ costume has all the recognizable Spider-Man themes, but it’s streamlined and modernized. It also shows a lot of Miles’ personality in very elegant ways that Peter’s classic suit didn’t share with the world.
1 Training
While the movie version of Miles was fresh into his powers and clueless about how to use them, in the original comics, Miles was trained by the best secret agents on the planet. SHIELD recruited him early and gave him the edge he needed to be the best hero he could be. While Peter’s backstory did work SHIELD into his parents’ deaths, he never got the attention or training that Miles was selected for.
Peter had to figure it out for himself and it wasn’t until much later in his superhero career that he had any kind of real guidance. By that time, he was an adult— and it was arguably too little, too late.