Highlights

  • Miles Morales' character development in the Marvel's Spider-Man franchise is unique and revolves around his connection with Martin Li's Mr. Negative.
  • Now that Miles is less bound by his animated counterpart's influence and backstory territory, he can hopefully carve out his own path and have a distinct interpretation from the Spider-Verse movies.
  • The closure of the storylines involving Martin Li and Uncle Aaron in Marvel's Spider-Man 2 leaves Miles' story open-ended, potentially leading to his mentoring of Cindy Moon as she becomes Silk.

Miles Morales has always been a bit of a hot-button character since his conception in the comics, and it wasn’t until the unbridled popularity of Into the Spider-Verse that he became one of fans’ favorite iterations of Spider-Man. Therefore, when Insomniac’s take on Miles followed shortly after, it was impossible not to make comparisons between the two from a storytelling perspective.

That was even more prevalent in Miles’ eponymous half-sequel, where even more comparisons brewed between the two interpretations. But while the Marvel’s Spider-Man franchise has surely taken advantage of Spider-Verse collaborations in suits, themes, characters, and now quests, it is hopefully open to branching out more independently with Miles after Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.

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Marvel’s Spider-Man’s Prowler and Backstory for Miles Held Him Back a Bit

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales Echoed a Lot of Into the Spider-Verse

Before Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Miles was still coming into his own in Miles Morales and didn’t even receive powers until the end of Marvel’s Spider-Man. Plus, knowing how few original interpretations of Miles there currently are, it makes sense that Insomniac’s would clash with Spider-Verse’s and share a lot of iconography or events.

Characters such as the Prowler seem forgivingly inseparable from Miles now with their familial connection, for instance, while Spider-Verse’s choice to take place in the winter was also a choice that Insomniac made for Miles Morales. Insomniac went with the Tinkerer for its sympathetic villain and it’s wonderful that it has only briefly dabbled in its own Spider-Verse nonsense with Marvel’s Spider-Man 2’s Spider-Bots, but it’s hard not to compare these iterations of Miles when they’re both easily the most popular.

The single greatest piece of Miles’ character development in the Marvel’s Spider-Man franchise is also its most unique, and that’s the connection he shares with Martin Li’s Mr. Negative, also known as the terrorist whose attack on city hall resulted in the collateral damage killing of Miles’ father. However, both Li and Uncle Aaron have received closure in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, meaning that where his story goes in Marvel’s Spider-Man 3 is open-ended aside from potentially mentoring Cindy Moon as she becomes Silk.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 3 Can Be an Open Book for Miles

Now that Miles isn’t withheld by inspirations stemming from his animated counterpart, no matter how intentional, he will hopefully be able to carve out his own path. This doesn’t mean that Insomniac needs to make an effort to portray its Miles in stark contrast to everything the Spider-Verse movies do, but it should seem as if they are two diverse interpretations nonetheless.

Peter has managed to feel incredibly diverse from his other abundant interpretations, for instance, and with how few Miles runs there are out there it’s not hard to notice when one is making a refreshing stamp on the character’s lore and personality. Besides him potentially overseeing how Cindy develops into Silk, the only open avenue so far for Miles now happens to be in his music tech ambitions at school, meaning that he’s committed to following Peter’s footsteps in not securing himself a job where his intellectual ingenuity could actually be valuable, let alone lucrative.

It’s possible that Marvel’s Spider-Man 2’s Spider-Verse connections could bleed much more literally and impactfully in a third game, potentially roping Miles into whatever plans Insomniac has cooking for that. Either way, Beyond the Spider-Verse will presumably release a lot sooner than Marvel’s Spider-Man 3 or a possible half-sequel will.