Miles Morales: Spider-Man #1 Is a Fun Return to Form, But Spider-Verse Haunts Its Shadow (Review)
Few characters are as massive, influential, or beloved as Spider-Man. He’s the underdog that everyone roots for and the hometown hero that practically anyone can relate to. He’s iconic in every metric you could use, but as amazing as Peter Parker is, he’s not the only person to rock the web-shooters. Miles Morales is just as much Spider-Man as Peter, and he’s more than proven he can handle his own villains and mythos. Miles started his career as his world’s second Spider-Man, picking up the torch after Peter passed, but he quickly moved into the proper Marvel Universe and staked his claims as just as good a hero as his predecessor.
Now, Miles is rocking out in his own new series, Miles Morales: Spider-Man (2026), which just dropped its very first issue. This series is penned by Bryan Hill, whose recent Marvel works include Ultimate Black Panther and Blade: Red Band. Nico Leon and Valentine De Landro split artistic duties, with Simone Di Meo providing the cover. This series is pitching itself as a return to form for Miles, putting him back in his classic suit and starting him over with a down-to-earth, friendly neighborhood status quo. However, despite its great start and interesting new villains, its depiction of Brooklyn’s favorite Spider-Man feels like a strange mix of movie synergy and appeasement for new fans.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
| Pros | Cons |
| New status quo that puts Miles in Friendly Neighborhood territory | New villain seems somewhat generic |
| Fun cast and set up for a new villain | Strange Spider-Verse movie synergy energy permeating the whole thing |
| Incredible art that moves with bright colors and life |
New Villains, Old Problems, Strange Connections
This issue started with Miles deciding to stay low-to-the-ground as Spider-Man. He wanted to take a break from magical or multiversal adventures and focus on helping his home and getting to know the new girl in school. Of course, he was inevitably drawn into trouble with the arrival of a new villain, Revenant, who bears a serious grudge against Miles’s dad for his part in how he came to be. This issue is a great mix of action and character work, providing a great look at Miles as he adjusts to his new status quo, almost like a day in the life issue. The dialogue flows naturally, and this is one of the best instances of characters who talk like real teenagers that only came across as cringey sparingly.
There’s a whole lot to love in this setup. Valentina and Miles bounce off of each other, and the new villain has a lot of potential, even if I wasn’t wowed yet, but what stuck out to me isn’t what’s on the page, but what it says about Miles’s recent adventures. For one, it continuously repeats that Miles is figuring out “this Spider-Man thing,” which seems strange to say for someone who has been established as Spider-Man for so long. It paints him in an inexperienced light, which could be ignored if not for how it’s a sign of a bigger, systemic approach to Miles. This series is establishing its own status quo by throwing out the old one.
That’s not a bad thing on its own, as a new writer with a new vision can be great, but this issue definitely disrespected what came before it. Miles apparently broke up with his previous girlfriend, Starling, off-screen, and this comic seems to reference Spider-Verse adventures with Miguel O’Hara and Ghost-Spider that just didn’t happen. Obviously, this is referencing the Spider-Verse movies, but those aren’t canon to this Miles, yet this issue treats those types of stories like they’re normal for him. Even then, based on Ganke calling this Ghost-Spider an alternate-universe version, that means this isn’t even the Gwen that Miles knows!
These are little things, obviously meant to make the comic more approachable for movie fans, but they bother me to no end. Again, new status quos and resets are fine, but this seems to disregard everything Miles has done up to now for an imagined version of himself. The story has a lot of potential, and I genuinely enjoyed it, but it’s set to ignore the wonderful mythos that his other comics have built for over a decade now. It’s a good start, but one that any established Miles fan will find very, very strange.
Punchy, Flashy Art That Packs Some Serious Heart
The penciller for the majority of the issue was Nico Leon, and he absolutely knocked it out of the park. Every page shone with tons of action, be it character acting or cranes falling out of the sky. The entire page of Spider-Man saving a man from the collapsing crane is already some of my favorite Miles art ever. Miles swinging in and holding the man, with the angle letting us see the New York sky above him, with the sun shining and pigeons flying, is beautiful and captures Miles’s style to a T. I especially love how the blur on certain sections of the background helps sell the speed they’re swinging at. Revenant’s axe is especially cool, its fuzzy light design perfectly contrasting the well-defined world around it.
Valentine De Landro drew for the flashback section. His gritier style evoked noir stories like Batman’s own “Year One,” which is the greatest compliment I can give a comic emulating that type of story. It sets the tone expertly, and I’m excited for more flashbacks in the same style. We also need to give a shout-out to Bryan Valenz for spectacular coloring the whole way through. The vibrant colors made everything pop in the present, and the darker shades helped steep us in the shadows of the past. All around, an incredible showing by every artist.
Overall, this is an effective return to form for Miles. The art is amazing on every level, and the story and characters have me interested, but not hooked yet. The real thing holding it back from a higher rating is the strange movie synergies, which bothered me a lot. Still, I’m excited to see where this comic goes next!
Miles Morales: Spider-Man #1 is on sale now!
