Spider-Man

(And yes, Spider-Man with a hyphen. Never “Spiderman”. Ever.)

Background

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Powers & Abilities

Strength Level

Though it has never been accurately measured, it is clear that Spider-Man possesses superhuman strength. Presumably his strength level is commensurate to that which was possessed by Peter Parker, allowing him to lift (press) approximately 10 tons directly overhead (“Class 10”).

Known Superhuman Powers

Like Peter Parker before him, Miles Morales’ body underwent a series of mutations immediately after being bitten by a genetically engineered spider.

The process enhanced his metabolism, nervous system, muscles and the composition of his skeleton and connective tissues. As a result he gained superhuman strength, speed, reflexes, agility, equilibrium and durability.

In addition to his raw physical enhancements, Miles developed several other superhuman abilities as a result of the spider bite.

Adhesion

One of which is an unusual ability to cause parts of his body to adhere with great tenacity to most surfaces. This effect seems to be centered on his hands and his feet and can be activated/deactivated at will. The strength of his adhesion is remarkable. He can literally stand on any solid surface and support large amounts of weight while doing so.

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Premonition

Miles also developed a subconscious premonitional “danger” sense. This ability alerts him to potential hazards via a tingling sensation in the back of his skull.

The sensation’s intensity varies in direct proportion to the severity of the hazard, and usually begins to tingle anywhere from several hundredths of a second to several minutes before the hazard manifests itself.

When combined with his phenomenal reflexes, this “spider-sense” normally allows Miles to avoid most forms of injury (from punches to bullets).

Electrocution

Unlike Peter before him, Miles can generate a potent bioelectric charge in the palms of his hands that he can use to “shock” his opponents with the slightest touch.

A few seconds after making contact with this bioelectric field (or his “venom blast” as he calls it), the victim’s nervous system reacts in a similar manner to way it would if it made contact with a overpowered taser. The victim suffers intense pain, disorientation, paralysis and eventually unconsciousness but none of the effects are permanent.

Chameleon

Another ability that Miles possesses that Peter didn’t is the ability to actively blend in with is immediate surroundings, effectively becoming invisible to the naked eye. Initially, he had little control over this ability but he has mastered it as of late.

Other abilities

Despite his complete lack of formal training Miles’ unnatural agility, reflexes and co-ordination make him an extraordinary melee fighter. He has learned to mimic the original Spider-Man’s fighting style by watching old on-line videos of Spider-Man’s past battles.

His enhanced dexterity allows him to fire his web-shooters with uncanny accuracy and to swing over the New York skyline with unnatural grace.

Paraphernalia

Miles utilizes a pair of web-shooters that have been provided to him by S.H.I.E.L.D (which were manufactured based on Peter Parker’s original designs). The web-shooters are wrist mounted devices that shoot strands of a sticky fluid. The fluid quickly dries, becoming extremely durable, when it contacts the air and can be shaped into a variety of forms.

Miles usually uses the web-shooters as a mode of transportation by forming web-lines and swinging from building to building.

Miles’ costume has also been provided to him by S.H.I.E.L.D and presumably is highly durable and insulated against the cold.

Limitations

Despite the vast physical augmentation that his body underwent, Miles is essentially human “under the covers”. He is still vulnerable to conventional harm (bullets, knives, falls, etc.) and human frailties (sickness and diseases). Presumably, his enhanced metabolism and strength would allow him recover at a far greater rate from injury or sickness.

While Miles is very intelligent, he is not a genius. As it stands, he is reliant on S.H.I.E.L.D for repairs to his web-shooters and refills of web-fluid when consumes his reserves.

Soundtrack

This Post Malone track was featured in the Into the Spider-verse animation movie. Though it was released years after this writeup was done, it is by far the best-known version of Miles. I’m not a genuine Post Malone fan but it’s fine, and it makes most kids happy. What sort of grouch doesn’t want kids to be happy ?

Also, the art direction for this movie is top-notch, as is obvious in the music video. — ed.

Available for download on Amazon .

History

Norman Osborn’s company, OsCorp, fell into disarray once it was publicly revealed that he was the Green Goblin and had been arrested by S.H.I.E.L.D. Its stock crashed, most of his staff quit and several of its facilities were abandoned.

Osborn had been in custody for several months when Aaron Davis, aka the Prowler, was hired to pilfer a particularly valuable asset from one of Osborn’s laboratories. Aaron gained entry to the abandoned facility with ease and after a brief search, found the small red box he had been sent to recover.

Unknown to Aaron, a large spider crawled into his duffel bag during his exploration of the lab. None the wiser, Aaron left the facility and returned to his Brooklyn apartment.

The Lottery

Shortly thereafter, Miles Davis (Aaron’s nephew) dropped in unexpectedly on Aaron. He had hoped to escape all of the excitement of his own home; through luck alone he had won the final spot in a charter school lottery.

Despite the news, Miles wasn’t truly happy. He felt guilty that he had been awarded such an incredible opportunity for doing nothing, while other deserving individuals had not.

Aaron convinced Miles that feeling guilty was foolish and that he needed to take every advantage of the situation. Miles listened patiently while Aaron spoke but was distracted by the rather large spider that crawled onto the couch next to him.

Puzzled, yet curious, Miles didn’t have time to register the danger before the spider promptly bit him on the hand. As the spider’s venom took hold of his system, Miles fell to the floor convulsing and frothing at the mouth. He only had a moment to register Aaron bursting into the room before he lapsed into blissful unconsciousness.

A few minutes later, Miles regained consciousness. He had barely regained consciousness when his father, Jefferson, burst through the door of Aaron’s apartment. After confirming that his son was okay (Aaron had called him when Miles collapsed) Jefferson rounded angrily on his brother, Aaron, and demanded to know what he had done to the boy.

As the argument grew heated, Miles fled the apartment. He ran out of the building and ducked into the alley alongside it and crouched down in misery.

Moments later his father came bolting out of the building, shouting Miles’ name. Miles began to answer his father as he approached him, but quickly fell silent as Jefferson walked right past him as though he didn’t see him. It was then that Miles noticed that something strange was happening to him; he had become invisible.

I think I have superpowers

Seconds later, Miles returned to normal. In a state of near panic, Miles started to run towards his home at fast as he could. While he did so, he began to draw several unwanted stares due to the speed and agility he displayed while weaving through and over the crowded streets on his journey.

As more and more eyes fell upon him, Miles simply disappeared from view once more. Fearful of what was happening to him, Miles abruptly switched directions and headed towards his friend Ganke’s apartment.

He burst into Ganke’s bedroom, interrupting Ganke’s assembly of his latest Lego masterpiece, and told him everything. Even though Ganke was incredulous initially, he quickly came to believe his friend. The two friends only had a few minutes to speak before Jefferson came into Ganke’s bedroom (with Ganke’s mother in tow).

Left with little choice, Miles left with his father. On their way home, Jefferson pulled Miles aside and explained his actions in Aaron’s apartment. The two brothers had a “shady” past, which Jefferson had left behind when he met Miles’ mother. Aaron on the other hand, had not.

Miles understood his father’s concerns and agreed that he would avoid his Uncle Aaron from that point forward. The two also discussed the super-humans that frequented the skies above them. When Jefferson expressed his disdain of them, Miles decided to keep his newfound powers a secret from him.

Later that night, Miles got a text from Ganke who had pieced together what had happened to Miles. Ganke had done some research of internet articles and old newspaper clippings, Ganke had come to the conclusion that Miles had the same accident that created the original Spider-Man.

Putting Ganke’s theory to the test, Miles crawled up the wall of his bedroom and hung from the ceiling.

I’m no superhero

The next day, the two youths went back to Aaron’s apartment to try and find the spider that bit Miles. To their dismay, the apartment was completely empty and Aaron was gone. With disappointment in their hearts, the two left the empty home and started wandering the streets of Brooklyn.

As luck would have it, the two stumbled upon a massive fire which threatened to consume an old building. When they realized that the firefighters were having issues getting to victims on the top floor, Ganke persuaded Miles to use his powers to help.

While he was reluctant at first, Miles darted up the side of the building and save two of the victims from the blaze. After a hearty round of thanks from the firefighters Miles scampered away from the scene.

Ganke quickly found him hiding in an alley with his head in his hands. The two talked briefly about what had happened. While the experience was rewarding, it had scared Miles and he decided in that moment that he would never do anything like that again. He reasoned that there was already a Spider-Man and that there didn’t need to be another.

He vowed that he would simply be a normal kid from that point forward.

Months later, Miles and Ganke found themselves adjusting life at Brooklyn Visions Academy. Miles found the work challenging but rewarding as he began to excel in his studies there. One night, the student body was called into the gym. They were informed that Spider-Man had been battling the Green Goblin on the Queensboro Bridge and was shot during the battle.

In that moment, something deep within Miles awoke and he knew that he needed to go help Spider-Man. While Ganke covered for his absence, Miles snuck out of the school and rushed towards the battle.

By the time Miles arrived, the battle had moved from the bridge and into a Queens suburb. While he crouched hidden on a roof-top, Miles saw a young boy (who wasn’t that much older than himself) in a Spider-Man costume being cradled on the ground by a teenaged blonde girl. He was obviously injured and weak.

As he got closer, the young man succumbed to his injuries and a great hush fell over the crowd that had been watching the battle. Spider-Man was dead. Miles, not knowing what to do, crept up to the girl that had been cradling Spider-Man and asked, “What was his name?” She replied, “Peter Parker”.

What Would Peter Parker Do ?

The next few days were hard for Miles. He was riddled with guilt for not acting sooner… if only he had decided to be a hero earlier on, maybe he could have helped save Spider-Man.

A few days later, Miles and Ganke were in the throng of people who came to lay Spider-Man to rest. Though the funeral was a massive event, Miles forced his way up to the front where he was able to get the same blonde girl’s attention. He asked her why Peter did it and why he wore a mask.

Frustrated and grieving, she rounded on Miles angrily and told him that he did it because with “great power came great responsibility” and that the mask kept his loved ones safe… and it looked cool.

With that Miles’ decision was simple. With Ganke’s help, he donned a Spider-Man costume and struck out over the Manhattan skyline to protect the innocent as Spider-Man.

Miles’ first several outings were awkward to say the least. But he managed to defeat street gangs and minor super-villains (like the Kangaroo) with ease. After one such adventure, he was ambushed by Spider-Woman on the rooftops. Miles, having no desire to fight, attempted to flee but was quickly defeated and accidentally rendered unconscious.

When he awoke, he found himself imprisoned within the Triskelion. There he was interrogated by none other than Nick Fury, Tony Stark, Hawkeye and Spider-Woman. They wanted to know how he got his powers, and before long they revealed that they knew everything about him and his family.

During the interrogation, Miles discovered a few things: his blood was virtually a match for Peter Parker’s, and that his uncle Aaron was the costumed criminal called the Prowler.

As their conversation wound down, the electrically powered villain Electro escaped from the medical ward within the Triskelion. He went on a rampage, and was holding his own against the assembled Ultimates until Miles snuck up behind him and hit him with his “venom strike.” Electro was instantly subdued after the strike and Miles had gained the trust of Fury and the others.

Miles was released from S.H.I.E.L.D custody at that point and went home. The next day at school, Miles was approached by a tall brunette in a business suit. Though he didn’t recognize her right away, he quickly realized that she was Spider-Woman in her civilian guise.

She handed him an unmarked briefcase and told him that Fury would give him a chance to prove himself before she turned curtly and walked away. When Miles opened the case, he saw a Spider-Man costume bundled within it and knew that it was Fury’s way of passing him the torch.

Family Matters

The next few days passed in a blur for Miles. He spent his days going to school and patrolling the streets when he could. One day while walking to class, Miles noticed his uncle Aaron standing outside of the school gates.

When Miles approached him, Aaron told him that he knew that Miles was the new Spider-Man. Though he was surprised at the accusation, Miles kept his wits about him long enough to tell his uncle that he knew he was the Prowler as well.

Non-plussed, Aaron asked Miles to use his powers to help him with a problem. When Miles refused, Aaron threatened to reveal his dual identity to his parents. Left with little choice, Miles agreed to help Aaron and met him later that night.

They met at a local night club where they confronted the super-powered mobster, the Scorpion. Though the fight was fierce, Aaron and Miles defeated the Scorpion and escaped the club before the police could arrest either one of them.

Miles, hoping that his debt to his uncle was paid, bid Aaron farewell. But Aaron told him that he wasn’t finished with him yet. Miles realized that his uncle would never let him go, and a fight broke out between the two. During the fight, Miles used his “venom blast” against his uncle and unknowingly damaged his high-tech equipment.

When Aaron powered up his deadly gauntlets, the sensitive mechanisms exploded within them. The explosion stunned Miles while Aaron was fatally wounded. Stunned at the carnage caused by the explosion Miles approached his uncle just in time for Aaron to mutter that Miles was just like him before he died.

Spider-Men

At some point in time either before his uncle was killed or soon thereafter (the exact timeframe from the literature is unclear), Miles encountered an adult version of Peter Parker. Excited to discover that Peter had survived, Miles attempted to speak with the adult Spider-Man. Unfortunately, the two ended up fighting instead.

Despite the elder Spider-Man’s experience, Miles managed to take him by surprise and render him unconscious with his venom blast. He then took him to Nick Fury at the Triskelion.

When the adult Peter regained consciousness he claimed to come from an alternate reality where there was no Triskelion, the Ultimates were called the Avengers and Nick Fury was white. He also stated that Mysterio had somehow managed to transport him to Miles’ reality.

The two Spider-Men, along with the Ultimates and S.H.I.E.L.D tracked down Mysterio, and after a brief conflict subdued the villain. After Mysterio was defeated, Tony Stark utilized his captured technology to return the alternate Peter Parker home. Before he left, Peter gave Miles his blessing to carry the mantle of Spider-Man.

Divided We Fall

The world soon discovered the Prowler’s death. Miles felt great remorse as the news broke and he (as Spider-Man) was accused of murder.

The same day that the news broke, Miles received a mysterious call on his cell phone. The voice on the other end of the call told him that they knew who he was and asked him to meet them at an abandoned warehouse after school. Left with little choice, Miles decided to meet the mysterious individual that night.

When Miles arrived at the warehouse, he was shocked to see both May Parker and Gwen Stacy waiting for him. They revealed to him that they had discovered his identity through a mutual friend (most likely Jessica Drew or Nick Fury himself) and that they had a gift for him.

May told him that she recognized the good that he was attempting to do in Peter’s name and wanted him to have Peter’s web-shooters. She gave them to him along with Peter’s formula for his web-fluid.

At that point, Captain America intervened. He had been following Miles and watching him in action and had decided that he was too inexperienced to continue being a hero. He felt responsible for his own part in Peter’s death (Peter had been shot while protecting Captain America on the bridge) and would not let the same thing happen to Miles.

As a lively debate broke out amongst the gathering, Captain America received a call about the Rhino attacking the Lincoln Tunnel. He rushed out of the warehouse after warning Miles that he would personally arrest him if he caught him in costume again.

Unsure of what he should do, Miles turned to May who told him to do what he though was right. With that Miles took Peters web-shooters and rushed out to help Captain America. He found him grossly outmatched by the Rhino, and after a brief conflict subdued the Rhino with his venom strike.

Impressed by Miles’ courage and raw power, Captain America reluctantly agreed to let Miles continue being Spider-Man. But under his supervision.

Soon thereafter, the United States broke down in a uncontrollable civil war. As the people around him readied themselves to fight for the America they knew, Miles decided to help in the only way he could think of. He joined the Ultimates.

After helping them defeat the terrorist organization, Hydra, he was sent to Wisconsin to help the Ultimates reclaim it from the remaining Hydra forces. During the battle, he became separated from his allies and ended up facing a mind controlled Cassandra Lang (Giant-Woman) on his own.

He eventually defeated her (yes… with his venom strike) and was recovered by Jessica Drew and the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Venom

Life returned to normalcy for Miles for a short period of time until the Venom symbiote attacked his father. The creature mistakenly had assumed that Jefferson was the new Spider-Man (using faulty logic that it had acquired from Betty Brant). Miles fought off the symbiote, but not before his father was badly injured during the battle. When Miles tended to his father’s wounds, Venom escaped.

When Rio (Miles’ mother) left with Jefferson in an ambulance, Miles was accosted by Detective Maria Hill for questioning about the fight. Detective Hill (formerly Agent Hill of S.H.I.E.L.D) subtly let Miles know that she knew his secret and that he had to stop Venom before anyone else got hurt. While they spoke, a beat cop burst into the room and told Maria that Venom was attacking the hospital that Jefferson had been taken to.

Without a second though, Miles changed into his costume and rushed to the hospital. Upon his arrival, he confronted Venom and the two fought fiercely in the hospital’s confined hallways. Despite Miles’ best effort, Venom gained the upper hand on his younger foe and threatened to engulf him until Rio Morales shot the symbiote several times in the head.

Miles using the distraction, slipped free from the creatures grip momentarily but his concern for his mother’s safety eventually got him captured once more.

Without pause, Venom engulfed Miles’ body with its own and prepared to consume him when Rio distracted it with a poignant plea for the creature to release her son. Somehow, someway during the conflict she had discovered the truth.

As Venom turned its whole attention on Rio, Miles unleashed the largest venom blast he had ever fired from within the creature. The blast was so powerful it separated the symbiote from its host, allowing the police that were present a chance to open fire on both of them.

The creature and its host (Conrad Marcus who had worked for Osborn and wanted the secrets of Spider-Man’s powers) were killed in the hail of bullets. Unfortunately, despite Miles’ best efforts, Rio was fatally wounded by a ricocheting bullet. She died quietly in his arms after telling him how proud she was of him and to never tell his father that he was Spider-Man.

The next day, Miles awoke in his apartment and for a moment forgot his mother was dead. When he left his room and saw Ganke and his mother, the event of the previous night rushed back to him. In a surge of anger he stormed into his room and destroyed his costume and his web-shooters while screaming, “NO MORE!”

One Year Later

For the next year, Miles’ lived his life as any other 14 year old boy would. He went to school, got a girl-friend, hung out with Ganke and stayed away from trouble. Nothing Ganke or Spider-Woman said or did could shake Miles resolve to never don Spider-Man’s costume again.

It wasn’t until Spider-Woman finally confided in Miles that the Roxxon corporation was creating super-humans for their own nefarious purposes that drove Miles back into action. When she told him that she was a clone (albeit a female one) of the original Peter Parker, created by the Roxxon corporation, that Peter had helped attain freedom Miles couldn’t resist his own natural urges to get involved.

With that he donned the replacement costume and web-shooters that S.H.I.E.L.D provided him and set out to dismantle the Roxxon Corporation once and for all.

Description

At first glance, Miles is an average looking young black man. His short cropped hair is styled with a slight fade. Miles features are a combination of his mixed heritage (being both hispanic and black). When Miles was first bitten he was fairly short and had all the gangliness of youth.

However, he grew several inches over the year and filled out impressively. He is still slender, but he seems to have passed that awkward stage most teenagers go through.

Miles’ Spider-Man costume is a dark charcoal black body stocking from head to toe, with the exception of red highlights that cover his torso, mask and finger tips in a spider-web like pattern. His mask’s eyeholes are covered by white mirrored goggles like Peter Parker’s were before him.

Personality

Miles is pretty much a typical geeky 14 year old boy. He has a few close friends (especially Ganke his confidant) and his relatively new girl-friend Kate Bishop. He was extremely close to his mother and father, and trusted them with everything except the secret of his dual identity.

Miles’ sense of responsibility and guilt is very strong; they have shaped his life. When he was awarded the last spot in the charter school lottery, Miles’ guilt over winning drove him to visit Aaron at his apartment, leading to his fateful spider-bite. He felt that there were more deserving kids out there that could have taken his spot.

Moreover, he feels that if he had used his powers initially instead of hiding them that he could have been present to help Peter on the Brooklyn Bridge and maybe even saved his life. This guilt has turned into an almost irresistible drive for Miles to live up to Peter’s memory.

Bravery in battle comes almost instinctively to Miles. This isn’t to say that he doesn’t get nervous or scared in combat. But most of his apprehension seems to be centered on what people are going to think of him; he is concerned that people will see him as a “newb” and a poor imitation of Peter.

In order to combat that perception, Miles does his best to mimic Peter’s movements and mannerisms even down to the mockery Peter often employed in combat.

Despite the fact that it seems like virtually everyone knows his secret, Miles jealously guards his true identity. He will go to great lengths to avoid anyone else discovering it.

Quotes

“There’s already a Spider-Man and he seems to – to love it. He loves jumping around and being hit in the face and lit on fire. I’m not that guy. Let him do that.”

“With great power comes great responsibility. What would Peter Parker do ?”

(After beating a villain, with surprise in his voice) “Hey !! Hey, I did it ! You guys see that ??”

Captain Frank Quaid: “What’s your name ?”
Spider-Man: “Uh, Spider-Man ?”
Captain Frank Quaid: “Spider-Man’s dead. Who are you ?”
Spider-Man: “Uh, can I be Thor then ?”

“Whoa !! I was going to wear my rhino suit today. Boy, that would have been embarrassing.”

“Hey Rhino ! When you fought the last Spider-man – can you tell me how he beat you ? Because that would help me huge.”

“I’m telling you… you’re right, Ganke. You were totally right. I am Spider-Man.”

By Bryan Gittens.

Source of Character: Marvel Comics Series – Ultimate Spider-Man Volume III, created by Brian Michael Bendis (Author) and Sarah Pichelli (Artist).

Helper(s): PufnStuff, Sébastien Andrivet, maficklin.

Writeup completed on the 28^th of June, 2014.