Stop reading now if you haven’t watched Spider-Man: No Way Home yet!
Spider-Man: No Way Home is a great Peter Parker story. In fact, it offers up more than one Peter, something many fans have been dreaming of for years. That collision of Spider-Mans is great, but there’s also another big question: Where’s Miles Morales? The Ultimate Spider-Man has been a fan favorite since his debut in 2011. Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse made him nothing short of a global phenomenon. So how does he fit into No Way Home? We’re here to answer your burning questions and bring you a little hope this holiday cinema season.
Is Miles Morales in Spider-Man: No Way Home?
Sadly, no. While many fans thought this seemed like a smart way to introduce Miles Morales, the film stuck to the core Peter Parker Spider-Mans. It does seem like a slightly questionable choice. But it did allow Sony to wrap up their stories and connect the Peters together in a way that Spider-fans have always wanted. We did get a small nod when Electro (Jamie Foxx) revealed he always thought his universe’s Spider-Man was Black. He’s sad it’s not the case but as he suggests, “There’s gotta be a Black Spider-Man out there somewhere.” And we agree. The good news is that if we look at the comics, the end of No Way Home actually sets up the arrival of Miles Morales nicely.
How Does No Way Home‘s Ending Hint That Miles Could Be Coming?
Aside from that Electro nod to Miles—which is the second time he’s been referenced, the other was in Homecoming—Peter’s fate actually hints at the arrival of Miles. The movie ends with the world forgetting Peter Parker completely. While that’s happened in the comics during One More Day, Brand New Day, and One Moment in Time, we think the MCU will use it differently. Now that Peter Parker essentially doesn’t exist, it would be easy to replicate the story that introduced Miles Morales into the Marvel Universe: Death of Spider-Man, Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man, and the eventual return of Peter Parker.
What Happened in the Death of Spider-Man?
Spoiler alert: Peter Parker dies. In the huge crossover event from Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Millar, Leinil Francis Yu, Mark Bagley, David Lafuente, Sara Pichelli, and Chris Samnee, fans lived through a true tragedy. Peter died while fighting the Green Goblin and the Sinister Six. After being shot with a bullet meant for Cap, Spidey violently attacks Green Goblin with a truck and it explodes. It kills Peter alongside Norman Osborn. In an interesting inversion of No Way Home, Peter saves Aunt May, who asks him “What have you done?” The new Spider-Man movie reverses both of these actions, giving Peter a more tragic and redemptive arc. And, of course, in the film he survives. But we’ll get to that later. The brutal reality of Peter’s death was explored in the Ultimate Fallout comics which also introduced Miles Morales in issue #4.
So What Happened to Miles After Peter Died?
In Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man, Miles gets his powers after his uncle Aaron—who we’ve already met in the MCU, played by Donald Glover in Spider-Man: Homecoming—broke into Oscorp and a spider snuck into his bag that later bit Miles. While the Oscorp part is unlikely after No Way Home, we’re sure it will be Donald Glover’s Aaron who ends up having a hand in Miles getting his super powers. We also learn Miles actually saw Peter die in the fight with the Green Goblin in the comics. It gives him the tragic push he needs to embrace his superpowers and take on the mantle of Spider-Man. With the help of Aunt May and many figures from Peter’s life, Miles becomes the hero the Marvel Universe always needed. But what does any of this have to do with No Way Home? Well, that all comes down to what happened next…
So If MCU Peter’s Not Dead, How Does No Way Home Tie In?
Us comics fans have a saying: “no one really dies in comics.” Death of Spider-Man was no different. In fact, we learned Peter Parker was actually alive. His Spider-serum saved him and gave him a certain amount of immortality. The huge reveal led to Miles being the first person to realize Peter was still alive. This discovery led to a deep connection and mentorship between the two. It would later see Miles fight alongside the mainline Peter Parker in Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli’s Spider-Men series. With Peter now erased from existence, the MCU has set up a brilliant way to introduce Miles and have Peter mentor him without ever having to kill the latter and bring him back to life.
While Spider-Man still exists in the MCU, Peter Parker is a non-entity. This means that Spider-Man can be a figurehead and inspiration, but no one can truly know him. And it also means that we won’t see him palling around with the Avengers anytime soon. This leaves a space for a new neighborhood Spider-Man, one who looks up to the mysterious webslinger. And if that kid, Miles, happens to have been bitten by a radioactive spider, we could see him go on a journey of discovery more traditional to the street level Spider-Man we know and love. But the big reason we think this really heralds Miles is because Peter still exists. He can reappear at an impactful time without having to be resurrected.
How Could Peter Meet Miles?
If Miles does get an MCU origin story, we see plenty of ways he could meet Peter, including simple comic book options. Peter could become a teacher and one of his students could be Miles. Their Spider-senses could lead them to each other in that scenario. There’s also the really cool route where Miles tracks down Spider-Man once he gets his powers. Or they could connect through Aunt May. While she may have died in this movie, Miles could have known her through F.E.A.S.T. Having him and Peter meet at her grave could be really fitting. But if any of these do happen, it’ll likely be a while after we meet Miles because it needs to have that massive impact that Peter’s return to the comics—and life—had on readers.