Miles Morales Takes Spider-Man to a Whole New Universe in Across The Spider-Verse

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse has exceeded expectations and surpassed its predecessor in several significant ways. The film expands on its titular multiverse by introducing more Spider-People than ever before, each with a surprisingly detailed backstory. However, the main focus remains on Miles Morales, who sets an incredibly high bar for Marvel's Spider-Man 2 with the continuation of his story. Despite being a relatively new comic book character, Miles has quickly become one of the most beloved iterations of Spider-Man thanks to his cultural depth and appeal to a new generation of fans worldwide. Insomniac must nail his character arc in the upcoming game, especially after the success of Across the Spider-Verse.

Across the Spider-Verse Sets a High Bar For Marvel's Spider-Man 2's Miles Morales

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was a groundbreaking film that introduced Miles Morales as a central hero to mainstream audiences. Despite being a relatively unknown character at the time, the movie succeeded in telling one of the most captivating Spider-Man origin stories while revolutionizing the visual style of modern animation. Through Miles' unique cultural identity and strong relationships with his family members, the film showcased how he stood out from Peter Parker and established him as a hero with his own distinct qualities and motivations. On the other hand, while Insomniac's Marvel's Spider-Man only briefly featured Miles, his family remained a significant aspect of his character development, particularly his father's death, which became a turning point in his journey as a hero.

In Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Insomniac emphasizes the importance of family by making Miles' relationship with his mom and childhood friend-turned-supervillain Phin the focus of the main story. While the game's version of Miles has his own unique personality traits, it's evident that the team drew inspiration from Into the Spider-Verse. The game shares several plot and character elements with the film, most notably Miles' journey to become his own Spider-Man, rather than simply following in Peter's footsteps.

Across the Spider-Verse continues to explore Miles' character arc, building on the themes from the first movie and taking them in new directions. Without giving away too much, the upcoming film emphasizes the importance of Miles embracing his own identity as Spider-Man and standing by his own moral code, even when those around him disagree. Marvel's Spider-Man 2 could potentially explore a similar character arc for its own version of Miles, particularly if Peter succumbs to the Symbiote suit. Regardless, Across the Spider-Verse sets a high standard for any future Spider-Man media to live up to.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 launches Fall 2023 on PlayStation 5.