During Sony's PS5 reveal, no other announcement made as big an impact than the reveal of Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Since the introduction of the character in 2011, Miles has skyrocketed in popularity, establishing himself as an integral part of the Spider-Man mythology and opening the door for a slew of new, diverse heroes. He was a side character in the first game, gaining his powers and becoming Peter's protege, but now player's can step into Mile's shoes in his own solo title. Sony's reveal on June 11 was timely and welcomed, given the current efforts of the Black Lives Matter movement and the state of racial politics in the wake of George Floyd's murder.
Developers Insomniac Games have been working on this title since the release of the first Spider-Man game in 2018. Placed a year after those events, Miles is set to face off against corrupt corporate and criminal forces threatening his new home in Harlem. Some criticism has been levied at the developers when it was revealed that Miles' game would be roughly half the length of the original, comparing it to the spin-off entry Uncharted: Lost Legacy. But Insomniac says they are absolutely dedicated to Miles, bringing in comic book writers like Evan Narcisse to ensure his story is told with care.
Miles's presence in the Marvel Universe was a deliberate effort on the publisher's part to boost the visibility of minority superheroes in comics. The idea for Miles was initially spearheaded in 2008 by then Editor-In-Chief Axel Alonso when he and others at Marvel witnessed the election of President Barack Obama and realized they needed to go back and take a look at their icons. The decision was made to kill off Peter Parker in Marvel's Ultimate imprint, an alternate continuity depicting modern revisions of classic heroes, and then have Miles step in to replace him.
Writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Sara Pichelli were tasked with creating this new Spider-Man. In a strange case of life influencing art, Bendis first drew inspiration for Miles from an episode of Community, "Anthropology 101" in which character Troy Barnes, played by Donald Glover appears in Spider-Man pajamas. Bendis looked at a Black man in Spidey's costume and said to himself "I would like to read that book."
Troy's Spider-Man pajamas were actually a nod to a real-life Twitter campaign from fans of Donald Glover, who actively sought to see him cast in Sony's reboot of the Spider-Man franchise, a role that eventually went to Andrew Garfield in The Amazing Spider-Man. Donald Glover would go on to guest star as Miles in the Ultimate Spider-Man animated series, and play Miles' uncle Aaron in the MCU's Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Bendis wanted to set Miles apart from Peter narratively. In addition to the natural feelings of fear and inadequacy Miles would feel taking up the Spider-Man mantle, Miles internal struggles would be different. Peter is defined by his guilt over his part in Uncle Ben's death, and like many superheroes was orphaned at a young age. But Miles has two loving parents, Rio Morales and Jefferson Davis. Miles also has a close relationship with his Uncle Aaron, Jefferson's brother.
Bendis sought to use Miles's conflicting feelings towards both his father and uncle as a metaphorical representation of the good and evil that lurks in all people. In their youths, Jefferson and Aaron were criminals. But Jefferson reformed over the years into an upstanding person, serving on the NYPD and was even an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for a time. Meanwhile, his brother Aaron continued on his life of crime, eventually taking on the supervillain persona of the Prowler, a burglar for hire.
Aaron is responsible in part, for releasing the spider which bit Miles and gave him his powers. Deducing his nephew was the new Spider-Man, he blackmailed Miles into helping him tie up some loose ends. Miles helped, but told his uncle to leave NYC for good. Aaron betrayed him again and decided to kill Miles. In the ensuing fight, the Prowler's gauntlets are damaged and explode. A dying Aaron tells Miles, to his horror, that the two are very much alike.
This scars Miles and forms the central conflict within him that Bendis used to differentiate him from Peter. For Peter, his morals are guided by guilt from his selfishness and inaction that led to Uncle Ben's death. Miles has a different struggle. He now lives questioning whether criminal behavior is hard-wired into him-- if his vigilante life is a justification to break the law. It makes him doubt what kind of future will he have as Spider-Man. It's a clever new way to look at Spider-Man's central theme: "With great power, comes great responsibility." Miles's moral plight also tackles the false and racist perception of the inherent criminality of Black youths.
Miles has skyrocketed in popularity since his introduction. When the Ultimate imprint was canceled, and it's universe destroyed, Miles was one of a handful of characters to be safely transported to Earth-616, the main Marvel continuity. He continues to operate as Spider-Man, forming a mentor/protege bond with senior Spidey, Peter. For years, fans had been begging for Miles to be the protagonist of Spider-Man stories beyond the comics.
Fans got their wish in 2018 in a fashion that exceeded everyone's expectations. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Sony's first animated Spider-Man film placed Miles front and center in an adaptation that merged Miles's origin with another popular comic storyline. The care and artistry that went into the film were completely unexpected and the result was for many the best Spider-Man film yet. Into the Spider-Verse would go on to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film and sequels and spin-offs are in the works.
The movie showed Miles wearing street clothes over his costume. The image of a young, Black hero in a hoodie is powerful. It's a reclamation of a harmful racist stereotype that has resulted in the deaths of countless Black youths like Trayvon Martin, shot in 2012 by George Zimmerman for being perceived as a threat due to his dress and skin color.
Although Sony has had Miles's solo outing in the works for years now and certainly couldn't have predicted the state of world affairs this far in advance, their announcement is aligned with the current zeitgeist. The world has been ready for a Miles Morales game, and if Insomniac's previous efforts are any metric to measure by, fans have every reason to be excited.