Credit: Brian Stelfreeze (Marvel Comics); cover for Miles Morales: Spider-Man No. 1
You thought Spider-Man into the Spider-Verse had the only Miles Morales? Think again.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was a hit at theaters opening up with the No. 1 at the box office. While it did have a drop in weekend two, it was going up against three big-time names and still ended up pulling in $16 million. That’s something to be proud of.
There may have been other Spider-Beings in the movie, but this was Miles Morales’ movie and he even saved the day. Miles has become a popular character in a short amount of time. Comic book fans know Miles from the beginning, but there are a group of people who may only know Miles from the movie. Allow me to introduce you to some of the other Miles Morales’ in the Multi-Verse.
Miles Morales (Earth 616, formerly 1610)
This is the Miles Morales that started it all. In the Ultimate Universe, their Peter Parker died after defeating the Green Goblin (he slammed a truck on him) but also died protecting his family. Before he died, Miles was bitten by a different genetically altered spider. This one had the number 42 on it.
Miles felt that if he had used his powers instead of being afraid of them, Peter would have still been alive. Peter Parker was Miles’ Uncle Ben. He felt guilty and used that as a moment of clarity. He became Spider-Man.
Miles’ has the same strength, speed, agility and Spider-Sense that all of the other Spider-People seem to have. One thing that Miles has that a lot of them don’t is a camouflage mode and a venom-blast that shocks the nervous system of people he touches. These powers seem to have a greater limit than even he knows about. He’s even starting to have energy strings that come from his fingers.
Miles is different from a lot of the other Spider-Men because he has street smarts. He isn’t a genius on any level, but he makes up for it by being a more capable leader at an earlier age than Peter Parker was. Recently, he took that burden in Spider-Geddon and even found a way to co-exist with Otto Octavius (The Superior Spider-Man).
Image Source: Marvel Digital Comics
Miles Morales (the first from Earth 616)
If there was a Miles Morales on Earth 1610, there must have been one on Earth 616. There was and their personalities couldn’t be further from each other. This Miles Morales was a criminal. He worked for an old mob boss named Don Rigoletto. Miles met Wilson Fisk in prison and the two became friends almost immediately. Miles saved Wilson from being killed by an inmate named Little Hands, who was hopped up on mutant growth hormones. After that, they became brothers. They even took down Don Rigoletto together and started their own empire.
Miles eventually got out of the Mob game with Wilson’s blessing. Wilson even kept giving him money since Miles helped him amass his empire. When Miles’ wife died Wilson visited him and told him about the multi-verse. Miles used this as an opportunity to try and restart his life. Eventually left Earth 616 and appeared on an earth that looks like the Ultimate Universe (where Peter Parker was alive and one of the Ulitmates). He meets a version of his dead wife and it seems like he will start a new and happier life with her.
Image Source: Marvel Digital Comics
Married, the video game, and more
Miles Morales has appeared all over the place since becoming popular. Recently, he was in Marvel’s Spider-Man on PlayStation 4. This Miles was smarter in terms of science and math than any of the other versions of him.
Miles had a tablet that could hack into systems and when he started training with Peter, he knew the math equations to figure out the web-shooters Peter gave him were calibrated wrong. He doesn’t have the street savvy that the first Miles does, but he’s still cool and brave nonetheless.
There are also other versions in media. He’s appeared in Ultimate Spider-Man on Disney XD and was mentioned in Spider-Man: Homecoming by Donald Glover who was playing Miles’ criminal Uncle Aaron. There’s even an Earth in Marvel Comics where him and Gwen Stacy (Spider-Gwen) get married and have kids.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was just the beginning of Miles’ popularity and his incredibly bright future. Soon, he might be as popular as Peter Parker since he’s more relatable. He may even join the MCU sooner than we think. For now, it’s great being around to see his career skyrocket from his beginning to his possible spectacular and amazing Spider-Future.