Miles Gonzalo Morales[1][2] (/məˈræləs/) is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by the American publisher Marvel Comics, and is one of the characters known as Spider-Man. The character was created in 2011 by writer Brian Michael Bendis and Italian artist Sara Pichelli, with input by Marvel's then-editor-in-chief Axel Alonso.
Miles Morales first appeared in Ultimate Fallout #4 (Aug. 2011), following the death of Peter Parker. The 13-year-old biracial teenage son of a Black American father and a Puerto Rican mother, he is the second Spider-Man to appear in Ultimate Marvel, an imprint with a separate continuity from the mainstream Marvel Universe.[6] He was featured in the Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man comic book series, and after Marvel ended the Ultimate imprint in 2015, Miles was made a character in the main Marvel Universe, beginning with stories under the All-New, All-Different Marvel branding that debuted that same year. The character was not the lead character in the Ultimate Spider-Man animated TV series on Disney XD but he was later added to the main cast,[7] and the main protagonist in the 2018 feature film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
Reaction to the character varied, with some, including Spider-Man's co-creator, Stan Lee, approving the creation of a positive role model for children of color. Others expressed displeasure at the replacement of Peter Parker, with The Guardian, Fox News, and Culture Map Houston reporting that some fans viewed the decision as an attempt by Marvel Comics to exhibit political correctness, and that the introduction of a minority Spider-Man was simply a publicity stunt to attract more readers,[8][9][10][11] a charge Alonso denied.[8] Alexandra Petri of The Washington Post called for the character to be judged on the quality of his stories, which garnered positive reviews.[12]
The character possesses powers similar to those of the original Spider-Man, which were derived from the bite of a spider genetically engineered by Spider-Man's nemesis Norman Osborn in an attempt to duplicate those abilities.
