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Timothy Smith

Professor Lyn

ENGL 291

12/15/17

Black Spider-Man: Beyond the Mask

Diversity. A topic that has not always been popular within the comic book community.

As comics became more and more popular in the past couple of years, we were able to see an

ever-growing ensemble of main heroes and villains alike, who still have yet to offer many

minority characters. That is until the last decade when we were introduced to an alternate Marvel

universe and many reiterations of famous DC heroes. This gave the writers the ability to rewrite

the stories of many beloved heroes in an effort to appeal to the new generation. In this “ultimate”

Marvel universe is where we are first introduced to one of the most beloved character reiterations

ever, Miles Morales. Morales is the all new half Black, half Puerto-Rican Spider-Man. Morales

has brought joy to the comic community, offering a whole new role model for new and old fans

alike. However, he has also been the target of criticism by die hard Spidey fans. I believe that

there are many differences that separate Miles Morales from the cherished Peter Parker;

however, I believe a good amount of these differences are racially stereotyped against Morales. It

seems to come in a form of unattended and/or discreet racism. This is a form of racism that is

disguised and subtle as well as concealed within minute details throughout the character’s

portrayal and backstory. The racism is mainly centered around his African American roots which

leads me to believe this is why he is referred to as the Black Spider-Man.

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With the emergence of the new generation of colorful and culturally diverse hero

publications came along the subject of racebending. When it comes to racebending in comics it

tends to be something you are either for or against. Racebending is defined as a term used to

describe the process where a character’s perceived race or ethnicity is altered in a narrative by an

adapter as it is created in a new media form. With the first appearance of Spider-Man dating back

to 1962, fans had all the time they needed to fall in love with the character and his witty antics.

One of the main reasons why Peter Parker/Spider-Man was so loved, is because people could

relate more easily to him than other heroes, and that he could be just about anybody behind the

mask. This could be the reason why accepting Miles Morales was difficult for some people. Due

to their love for the original character they did not want to see him go or especially change

completely, much like Nick Fury was changed from white to black in the Marvel Cinematic

Universe adaptation of the Avengers. People in fandoms tend to have a difficult time accepting

change to a major hero or role model. According to an article by Albert Fu, the thought of a

black Spider-Man was not canon to the original Spider-Man story, thus did not fit within the

universe. However, this does not include Miles Morales for he is part of an entirely different

reality than the original Spider-Man, wherein his backstory does not rely on decades of canon.

With this, many fans believed that the change would be tolerable and were even excited for it;

stating that since there are multiple versions of many other characters why could there not be

another version of Spider-Man (Fu). So, although there are many differences between Miles and

Peter, there are also similarities between our two web-slinging heroes.

It is important to not only understand the background of Miles Morales, but to also

understand the background of Peter Parker in order to properly analyze the lifestyle differences

between them. Peter Parker, the original Spider-Man, first appeared in Marvels publication of
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Amazing Fantasy Vol 1 15 in 1962. Peter was introduced as a shy and nerdy high-school student

who was more commonly known as “Midtown High’s only professional wallflower.” As a result

of his parents’ death when he was younger, Peter lives with his Uncle Ben and Aunt May in

Queens, New York. While attending a trip with his school to a demonstration on radioactivity,

Peter was comically oblivious to a spider that landed on him. The spider, which was infused with

radioactivity, inevitably bit Peter and ultimately granted him his powers. Over the course of the

remainder of Amazing Fantasy we see Peter start to develop his powers as he partakes in a local

wrestling event. With his new given strength, Peter wins the event and is later branded the

Spider-Man. Backstage at the show a thief runs by a distraught Peter who lets him escape,

unknowingly sealing the fate of his uncle. Unbeknownst to Peter, this led to the fatal shooting of

his beloved Uncle Ben, who had been waiting for Parker outside. Thus, dawning the famously

muttered phrase, ‘With great power comes great responsibility,” as uncle Ben dies in Peters arms

(Ditko).

Miles Morales does not appear in any comic for a long time after the death of Uncle Ben.

In fact, Miles first appeared in Ultimate Comics Fallout Vol 1 4, which was released in 2011.

Here we are introduced to Miles as a 13-year-old boy who lives in Brooklyn, New York. Miles

lives with both of his parents and also has found a role model in his uncle, Aaron Davis. As a

younger teen he confronts life differently than Peter, did and is seen to be naïve in some ways.

Miles’ story starts at an unfortunate time however, taking place about two months after the death

of Peter Parker. The story starts with Miles’ Uncle Aaron who we find out to be a thief and

criminal. Aaron had broken into Osborn industries where unknowing to him a genetically altered

spider, made from Peter’s DNA, slips into his bag. Later, after getting accepted into an elite

boarding school, Miles goes to visit his uncle against his parents’ wishes. Here Miles is bit on his
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hand by the same spider and thus obtains his powers (Bendis, Spider-Man No More).

Throughout the story we see Miles grow similarly to how Peter did, although they have both

their slight differences in powers. Miles’ most recognizable power being that of the venom blast

(Miles Morales). His first fight as Spider-Man takes place against a violent Kangaroo who is

rampaging throughout the city. Although he is not as well prepared as Peter, Miles is still able to

take down the villain and save the day.

The two are able to meet however in the comic Spider-Men. This comic merges the fabric

of time and space in both of the parallel universes of Peter Parker and Miles Morales, otherwise

known as the Mainstream Marvel Universe and the Ultimate Marvel Universe. The comic starts

with Peter Parker stopping a police chase that was orchestrated by Mysterio. Once he confronts

Mysterio he is shot at and upon dodging the bullet it impacts an energy-generator device,

exploding and knocking Peter out. When he awakens he is the same universe as Miles Morales,

Earth 1610. This is unbeknownst to him until he goes to stop a robbery and runs into Miles

Morales himself. The comic explores the way that Miles is treated by the cast of heroes

including Parker. Since he is younger, it seemed only fitting that Miles is treated like a child but

the treatment made him improve and in the end, he was able to become a part of the Avengers

within his universe, thanks to a recommendation by Parker. After his initiation Miles and Peter

work together to find Peter a way back home, they ultimately do, allowing Miles to have the

chance of becoming the hero for Peter rather than vice versa (Bendis, Spider-men).

With Miles’ story developing we are able to learn more about his personal life and see his

growth as a character. As a younger teen we witness Miles deal with different issues and handle

events in dissimilar ways when compared to Peter, as well as being affected differently. With
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this; however, we are able to see some glimpses of the discreet stereotypical or racist information

hidden within the comics. The comics do not go as far as to call him derogatory names or show

any signs of him being inferior; however, they do add in some information that sounds familiar

to anyone who has heard racist remarks before. To be able to completely understand the

underlying tones you must be able to recognize and notice stereotypes within the work. Most

importantly, those stereotypes dealing with African Americans. One of our earliest hints of this is

the statement that Miles is now living in Brooklyn after leaving the ghetto (Bendis, Spider-Man

No More). Stereotypically, African Americans can be told that they are being or came from the

ghetto. Now, this is not saying that the writers are racist because it is not that; however, it seems

to be a quick and easy way to write the backstory of an African American hero, much like Luke

Cage. He is another African American hero, from the rough streets of Harlem, thus reinforcing

the perceived stereotype that the ‘ghetto’ is where all African Americans are from. Coming from

the ghetto is a negative stereotype that had stuck to African Americans for many years and it

seems to be an unnecessary addition when it does not come into play later in the comic.

Unfortunately, this is not the only stereotype we see that sticks to Miles. One such

incident occurs once Miles best-friend, a Korean-American named Ganke, learns of his powers

and tells him to become a “hustler” (Valente). This speaks for itself, it may not have been

intentional but it seems odd that the first thing a teenager tells his best friend with superpowers is

to become a hustler. Following this there is mention of Miles’ favorite food being Mrs. Morales’

fried chicken (Kirkus). Sticking to stereotypes just like before, this is about as stereotypically

racist you can be about African Americans. Now, this is not saying that fried chicken is not

delicious and that it should not be someone’s favorite food, however it seems odd that they

would make this his favorite food specifically, and include it in the comics unnecessarily. Being
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from a mixed house with a mother of Puerto-Rican descent we would think that Miles would be

introduced to more culturally relevant food. However, maybe he just likes fried chicken, it just

seems to be an unnecessary detail that did not serve any real purpose.

Uncle Aaron plays a big part in Miles story and development. Mostly being that his

uncle’s misdeeds is what led to him obtaining his powers, but his uncle also helped him discover

who he was and what he was meant to be. As we know Uncle Aaron is a thief and a criminal;

however, what we come to learn is that he is The Prowler, a master criminal who plans to use

Miles in order to help him with his criminal offences. His uncle confronts him later in the

storyline and reveals himself to be The Prowler and reveals the fact that he knows that Miles is

Spider-Man. His uncle threatens and forces him to work alongside the criminal mastermind.

Upon having to agree, Miles goes with his uncle to Scorpions lair. Here they team up and fight

the Scorpion and upon defeating him Miles was nearly arrested. After refusing to help his uncle

again, Aaron reveals a new weapon in which makes Miles realize his uncles’ intentions. He

decides to confront his uncle and during a battle with a villain known as the Ringer his uncle is

injured (Miles Morales). As his uncle is dying he too releases a chilling statement to his nephew

remarking, “You’re just like me, you know?”

This statement stuck with me and I find it odd that in comparison to what Peters uncle

leaves him with, it seems a little unfair. This is also the source of another horrible racist

stereotype in that African Americans are thieves and/or criminals. Not only is his uncle a

criminal but it is also revealed that his dad was one once as well. Now, it is understandable that

this is meant for story development; however, it seems to be unfair that Miles gets a criminal and
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thief as a role model while Peter gets a war hero and family man as a role model. Seems fair

right?

With racist stereotypes out of the way, we are left to look at Miles in a new light and

observe the perhaps theatrical relevance of the character. In every past and present Spider-Man

movie we are shown Spider-Man as Peter Parker and have not yet been introduced to Miles.

However, a while back there was a big debate that went on for the next Spider-Man to be Miles

Morales. A big part of this debate came from comedian/rapper Donald Glover. Following an

interview stating that there was the possibility of a non-white Spider-Man reboot, Glover tweeted

out that he would love to participate (McWilliams). In hilarious fashion this blew up the internet

and in Glovers words in his feature stand-up comedy Weirdo., “And that’s when the world went

crazy.” It caused a big stir in half of the fans claiming that they would only watch the new

Spider-Man if Donald was in it and the other half claiming, in his words, “He’s black, kill him!”

However, in the end it seems fans will get the best of both worlds. With the emergence of the

new Spider-Man: Homecoming movie we are introduced to the character of Aaron Morales.

Although the new Spider-Man is just another reboot of the original Peter Parker, fans were

thrilled to see that Glover was playing the part of Aaron. Also, for those who stuck around to see

the after-credit scene we were shown Aaron making a phone call proclaiming, “Tell Miles I’m

going to be late.” This may mark the appearance of Miles into the cinematic universe and the

fans could not be more excited.

In a world dominated by white superheroes it was a breath of fresh air when we were

introduced to the new generation of culturally diverse super heroes. Although, there are some

racist stereotypes that seem to arise it could all be unintentional and therefore discreet racism.
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Miles Morales is one of the most beloved characters to emerge in the new Marvel universe and

we are expected to see much more of him. Through his relationship with his uncle and further

development from Peter Parker we are able to see Miles grow as a character and a hero. With

many fans to back him up we cannot wait to see what the future holds for Miles Morales as his

character becomes more concrete; for with great power comes great responsibility.
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Works Cited

Bendis, Brian M, et al. “Spider- Man No More.” Ultimate Fallout, Edited by Mark Paniccia and

Sana Amanast, vol. 1, no. 4, 3 Aug. 2011.

Bendis, Brian M, and Sara Pichelli. “Spider-Men.” June 2012.

Ditko, Steve, and Artie Simek. “Spider Man.” Amazing Fantasy, Edited by Stan Lee, vol. 1, no.

15, 10 Aug. 1962, pp. 1–11.

Fu, Albert S. “Fear of a black Spider-Man: racebending and the colour-Line in superhero

(Re)Casting.” Taylor & Francis,

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21504857.2014.994647?src=recsys.

McWilliams, Ora C. “Who Is Afraid of a Black Spider(-Man)?” Transformative Works and

Cultures, journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/twc/article/view/455/355.

“Miles Morales (Earth-1610).” MarvelDatabase,marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Miles_Morales_(Earth

1610).

"Miles Morales." Kirkus Reviews, vol. 85, no. 12, 15 June 2017, p. 1. EBSCOhost,

proxy.library.vcu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&Aut

hType=ip,url,cookie,uid&db=a9h&AN=123542069&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Valente, Emily. "Miles Morales: Spider-Man." School Library Journal, vol. 63, no. 8, Aug.

2017, pp. 105-106. EBSCOhost,

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