If Spider-Man is joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe, then we need Peter Parker not Miles Morales.
Before everyone starts cursing my name, let me explain why Spider-Man needs to be Peter Parker rather than Miles Morales. When I say this, I’m not talking about race, I’m talking about the character and his origin. If they present us with a “non-white” Peter Parker then we’re still capturing the duality of the character and his origin, but if they give us Miles Morales then they’re swapping over 50 years of character development for a character that is barely 7 years old.
Peter Parker is Spider-Man like Bruce Wayne is Batman
Spider-Man is the face of Marvel comics much like Superman and Batman are the face of DC comics.
We’ve seen these characters have other identities and we’ve seen every one of them die but it’s always temporary. At the end of the day these iconic superheroes have just as much significance associated with their secret identities as their hero names. Their appearance may change but identifying the person behind the mask (or vice versa) by anything other than their timeless alter ego would essentially be re-identifying the character as a whole. This is also a factor that could disappoint and disassociate long time fans of these characters.
With Marvel on the upswing with their cinematic characters, why change the iconic identity of Spider-Man when they just got him in their universe? This is the first time that they have the chance to influence Spider-Man’s character as they would have created him.
Miles Morales was created following a trend
Miles Morales was created following the election of President Barack Obama but the concept was created just prior to the election. Having the first African American President, Brian Michael Bendis created Miles hoping to capitalize on that momentum by creating the first African American Spider-Man. It did work by creating controversy (and we all know any Press is good Press) and creating an awareness of the character but unfortunately comic book sales fizzled out after people stopped talking. The character came off more as a publicity stunt and once the dust settled, there wasn’t much of a story. Attempts were made to compromise with public opinion like creating a five part mini series titled “Spider-Men” where an alternate universe’s Spider-Man (Peter Parker) encounters Miles Morales and passes the proverbial torch by giving his approval at the end of the series.
“Spider-Men” created a bit of a surge for Miles’ character but after this series, the entire Marvel Ultimate Universe (Miles’ universe) went on hiatus. Sales were down and the series got split into many other mini-series. Because of Miles’ low profile many suspected that he would be killed off but ultimately he ended up where most tertiary characters go to die…a team based book they ended up titling “All-New Ultimates.”
Miles is too young to fit into the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Peter Parker was already young being a high school senior but when Miles Morales was introduced, he hadn’t even been to high school at only 13 years old. When you have a team of adults on the Avengers having adult problems, the integration of a teenage adult is going to be difficult enough rather than attempting to integrate a child.
If Miles were integrated into the MCU, I’m sure they would raise his age but we’ve never seen Miles grow to an adult in the comics so the character they would be integrating would already be closer to Peter Parker than Miles.
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Peter Parker has established relationships with his foes
A superhero can’t be a superhero without his villains and Peter Parker has a laundry list of long time foes. Sure they would become Miles Morales’ foes if he becomes Spider-Man but those villains are more than just Spider-Man’s villains, they’re also Peter Parker’s.
Peter Parker had an established relationship with both Harry Osborn and Norman Osborn and as Spider-Man fought them as they put on the Green Goblin costume. Doctor Octopus actually infiltrated Peter Parker’s family life by attempting to marry his Aunt May. Peter Parker is even responsible for the creation of one of his biggest rivals. Eddie Brock became Venom from Peter rejecting an alien suit and even shared the same profession as Peter. The Lizard’s alter ego, Dr. Curt Connors, had a mentor type relationship with Peter Parker. Overall, the list goes on and on. The fact is, if we get Miles Morales and not Peter Parker the depth and back stories of these iconic villains are going to suffer.
Even Miles wasn’t written with the intention of being Spider-Man
Miles Morales wasn’t Spider-Man from the beginning of the “Ultimate Spider-Man” series. Peter Parker had to die before Miles took up the role of the hero. After Peter Parker died, Miles wore the exact costume as Spider-Man and the public was written as very unaccepting of him wearing the costume. Eventually even Miles felt it was inappropriate to wear the Spider-Man costume and ended up wearing a red and black costume that differed from the suit we’d known for so long.
After the character was established, he was nothing like the Spider-Man we had come to know. He was a kid wearing a spider-like costume but was definitely not Spider-Man. All of the characters that were related to Spider-Man seemed to be thrown out as well as we were force fed a story that had some merit, but should not have been called Spider-Man. In the end, Miles Morales could not exist without Peter Parker.
Overall
Overall diversification of superheroes is a great thing. We have children (and some adults) that look up to these heroes and they need to be relatable to everyone. With that said, diversification should not come at the sacrifice of the character development. Race, sex, sexual orientation, etc may be a part of someone but it is not a label that defines them. You don’t have to eliminate an iconic character like Peter Parker to show diversification. A stronger statement would be to redefine him through one of these aspects. Changing the character entirely is not a statement of equality but rather a statement of inequality. Show the world that Peter Parker doesn’t have to be white in order to be Peter Parker, focus on his attributes and what makes up his character.
View Comments (2)
To address the age issue, what's to say that they don't make Miles older than he is portrayed in the comics like maybe college age?
Furthermore the whole "Peter Parker" relation to the secret identity of the baddies is moot, as I really doubt any of his villains will show up in the MCU as Sony still retains the rights to them
Finally remember that the MCU and Sony movie universes are not the Marvel Comics universe.
On a side note-There will come a day when the current range of alter egos will die or move on and a legacy will start-look at The Flash, Green Lantern, Human Torch, Hour Man, Dr. Midnite, Sandman, etc., etc.
You're right they could change Miles' age but in the comics he's only been developed as a kid so they would essentially be creating a new character rather than using the Miles we know.
You're right that Sony does retain the rights but it is a collaborative effort. If Spider-Man is going to be a part of the MCU then his character will have to remain consistent between Marvel films and Sony films. And it doesn't matter if the villains show up in the MCU or show up in the Sony universe, the point is not moot. These villains have a relationship to Peter Parker's character in any universe.
And none of these films (Marvel, Sony, Fox, DC/WB) are the comic book universe. Every studio has taken their own creative liberties but this is the first chance for Marvel to take their iconic, face character and do it right.