When Did Miles Morales Spider-Man First Appear In Comics?

38! This is Peter B. Parker, the Spider-Man we see in the movie ‘Into the Spider-Verse’. This is a 38-year-old man. Typically, Spider-Man is young, agile, acrobatic. But Peter B. Parker is your typical middle-aged man. He’s a guy who can do a few kicks and groan at his age, looking back at ‘the good old days’. What makes Peter so lovable is that his failures, his divorce for example, have so much weight to them. But in the end he finds back to his hero days. His relationship with Miles is great because Peter B. Parker is not an idol. He’s a normal adult, with flaws, but who’s still inspiring.

McFarlane's work on Spider-Man in the 1990s was pure genius. I have found Spider-Man #1 lying about for $15 or so in stores. Amazing Spider-Man #300 is another key book, but even in mid-grade it can be found for $500 or so. The cover for Amazing Spider-Man #328 is particularly nice with Spider-Man's suit torn. You can find trends and what people are paying for such comics by looking up completed eBay listings. I have noticed a large increase in price for Venom related comics when a new Venom movie comes out. Grading is also important, a 9.8 can triple the value of the same lower graded comic. As always, I say buy what you like because the comics can fluctuate in value, but the work of McFarlane will never depreciate in value.

The origin of the Spider-Man in the comic book series Ultimate Spider-Man is very different from that of the classic Spider-Man. Instead of a random radioactive spider in a subway tunnel, the spider here is genetically altered in the labs of Oscorp. He was designed to rewrite human DNA. The transition wasn’t immediate or without discomfort and illness. He suffered from sweating, from painful cramps, from blackouts. And, yes, it is all depicted with lots of body horror, including a rather memorable page where his skin starts to peel off during the transformation. It’s interesting to note that the Ultimate universe pretty much makes Oscorp into a secondary antagonist by constantly hunting down Spider-Man. Yes, it’s a pretty paranoid take on Spider-Man, but it does make one appreciate the ‘relative simplicity’ of Spider-Man in other comic books. In addition, how Peter’s relationships fall apart under his newfound pressures is something that is also well done in this comic.

Cameos for cosmic characters are something I really enjoy and the first appearance of the Living Tribunal, the judge of reality, is a great example of how to do a cameo well. The first appearance of the Living Tribunal is in ‘Strange Tales’ #157 (June 1967). This is a very brief appearance but extremely powerful. It isn’t a big action scene but rather a statement to the readers that there are some beings greater than heroes and villains. It even sets up the three faced appearance of the Tribunal as well as his ‘judge of reality’ role. From his first appearance onwards, theLiving Tribunal was cultivated by the writers of Marvel’s cosmic stories, and used sparingly as a comment on the level of threat which is presently being faced by either side. A brief introduction to the Tribunal’s first appearance in Strange Tales #157 (June 1967) followed by a number of the major cosmic events in which the Tribunal makes an appearance will provide the reader with a good insight to the Tribunal’s role in the cosmic scenes of Marvel today.

Making strength debates in comics is messy. I’ve written previously about how in Ultimate Spider-Man the character’s lifting capacity was consistently written to be higher to reflect the more adult-toned world of the Ultimate Universe. I’m talking higher than classic Spidey swinging to lift a train in one cool panel. But 616 Peter has ‘old man strength’-type power, meaning he’s got decades of trained power plus lots of various power boosts (The Other, anyone?). Inversely, the strength of Ultimate Peter was a given at the start of his book while classic Peter’s increases in strength are revealed over time. Who’s stronger? Nobody. It totally depends on who’s writing him and what kind of story they’re trying to tell.

I tend to view the character of 'Venom' in relation to Spider-Man. At first the symbiote linked with Spider-Man to enhance his powers and grant him a far more aggressive appearance. But eventually the two had to be separated as it was deemed too detrimental to Spider-Man. Realizing he wasn’t good for the hero the symbiote went in search of a new host. Resulting in the miserable tale of Eddie Brock and his dealings as Venom. What I like most about their battles is that they delve into issues of revenge and identity crisis and therefore reflect in a nice way problems we face in our lives. As an anti-hero the character of Venom is flawed and tortured. At the core of Venom’s being is his struggle to come to terms with Spider-Man and his ongoing desire to destroy him. In comics, TV shows and films their complicated relationship makes for brilliant reading and viewing – it’s truly fantastic to witness their unfolding story.

This makes total sense to me. The Flag is an ageless, patriotic, vengefully healthy vampire, in the sense that he is a mythic figure, without a birthdate, only an origin (July 4, 1920). Today he is an eternal sentinel. I accept this as canonical, headcanonic, factual.

I hate to let unverified rumors of vile content sit unchallenged. So, I tore through old issues of comics and old forum posts on the issue. From what I gathered, most of the examples of Kitty being called the n-word were either doctored panels, misinterpreted conversations, or from an adult parody comic not tied to any “official” run of X-Men comics. Comics of all eras and genres, published by a variety of publishers, can contain awful amounts of bigotry. But that does not mean every report of it is true. In fact, the vast majority of such reports are probably false. And I, for one, do not want to perpetuate a lie about a beloved character. As someone who is concerned about how bigotry is treated in media, as well as the responses of various communities, I like to rely on solid evidence: the original scan, the issue #, the publisher's statement. In terms of mainstream Marvel continuity, I am relieved that there is no concrete evidence to support this claim. While that does not excuse other edited/comic work that is racist/offensive, it is important that we call out the appropriate things when necessary.

There are so many completely normal names in the world, and yet they have the power to create a vortex of fandom thoughts. I can only think of this character as having a comic book debut in 2020. She is just a normal supporting character in a school setting as a friend, and my greatest memory of her is the initial shock of reading her name and then the subsequent “wait, what?” reactions from fans who recognized the name. Her comic book debut created a small, ongoing internet in-joke within certain parts of the DC fan community.

I have to give a hat tip to Marvel’s “Marvel Broadcast Spoiling Spider Man” for its very Meta take on spoilers. In this version of the Spider Man story, there are actually in-story news reports of upcoming events. Most of them are ignored by the characters but the audience gets to see them on TV sets and newspapers in the background as they happened. Many of the ‘spoilers’ are even embedded in casual conversations with phrases that seem to be just throw away lines but end up being key to later events. The show is also incredibly inventive when it comes to telling a story visually. For example, the damage to Spider-Man’s suit is gradually revealed over the course of several episodes before the cause is finally explained. Also, great use of mirror shots to reveal a character’s secret identity. For example, in a conversation between two characters, the reflections of both characters’ faces are shown swapping places briefly giving the audience a clue before the characters are. The show also is very humorous and gives the characters many near misses in their attempts to find out the truth. For example, Spider-Man constantly interrupts J. Jonah Jameson just as the publisher is about to discover a deep seated secret. Each twist has heavy emotional impact because of previous moments that get referenced. In one moment a throwaway line from before the episode even started is used in a tragic scene where a beloved character dies. Even the opening credits get changed up to foreshadow future reveals. For example, a character’s shadow will appear in the background once their secret identity is revealed.