A brilliantly intelligent teenager keen on science suffers a tragic loss of a loved one and eventually gets bit by a radioactive spider. He's nervous about the amount of responsibility that comes with his new powers but eventually grows into them to become New York's friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. But is this Peter Parker or Miles Morales?
It's true that the two Spider-Men have a lot in common, in both their abilities and their backstory that led them to be superheroes. But there's much more to the succeeding Spider-Man than meets the eye, leading him to even be the star in his very own video game, Spider-Man: Miles Morales. And after decades of seeing Peter Parker redone again and again, perhaps Miles Morales has evolved Spider-Man into a more captivating hero than his predecessor.
Representation and the Black Lives Matter Movement
While Into the Spider-Verse's Miles focused more heavily on his relationship with the police as seen through his Black father and uncle, and their competing sides of what is considered good versus evil, Miles Morales brings more attention to the teen's Latinx side and the relationship he shares with his mother as she runs for political office.
Though the Spider-Man series is not political in nature, the Black Lives Matter mural found in Harlem is not the first time Insomniac has used its platform for a supportive message, but this is the first time that the movement can claim Miles Morales' version of Spider-Man as a symbol for the movement. So many folks from the Afro-Latinx community have resonated with the character's roots, especially due to his Uptown Pride suit that matches the color scheme adopted by the Black Lives Matter movement, but he's also a source of positive representation for people from both cultural background.
Because of his background, Miles Morales has also brought about interesting conversations of his relationship with the police and justice system, with his father being a cop and his mother, in the Spider-Man version, is running a political campaign. America saw a major movement to defund the police in 2020 following the killing of George Floyd, but Miles' relationship with the law is painted in a far more nuanced light without spoonfeeding any politically charged messages to the player. While Spider-Man does not concentrate on this side of Miles, many are drawing comparisons between the fictional teen hero and real-world issues, bringing about important conversations.
Can the same be said about Peter Parker? Sure, there's that section in West Village with the Pride flags, but members of the LGBTQ community can't claim him as their own, because his Spider-Man doesn't represent any disparaged communities. Even if Insomniac's nod to them is a great gesture.
Miles' Spidey Abilities
Though Miles and Peter were both bitten by radioactive spiders, giving them incredible speed, strength, and precision along with their genius intelligence, Miles' powers manifested somewhat differently than the preceding Spider-Man, and Miles Morales takes it a step further.
When Miles was first introduced to the comic series, many long-time fans felt like his special abilities made him over-powered. He can employ a venom strike that, in Spider-Man, can give Miles a major edge in battle. He can also effectively become invisible, though this power does not manifest itself at the beginning of the game, this is a major jumping-off point for fans who felt he was given too many extraordinary powers. However, Insomniac does a great job of balancing the combat so that, despite these special abilities that Peter Parker does not possess, battles with enemies can still be difficult.
Also, it's interesting that stealthing has never been a major characteristic for Spider-Man, though this could be a supporting factor for Peter Parker's impulsive personality. But in Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Miles employs this tactic for some missions and as a way of taking down enemies in a way that Peter was never able to do. It's a refreshing change to Peter's explosive style of confronting problems and shows how different the two Spider-Men are.
Spider-Man: Miles Morales is out now for PS4 and PS5.
