Miles Morales has always been known as Spider-Man since he first debuted, co-existing alongside multiple versions of the popular Marvel Comics character. However, Marvel confirmed that they previously considered changing the name of the character’s superhero moniker, and the rumored name is absolutely terrible.

Miles Morales first appeared in Ultimate Fallout #4 (2011) and was co-created by Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli. The character breathed new life into the Spider-Man persona, as the half-black, half-Hispanic web-slinger resonated with an audience that hadn’t seen much representation in superhero comics. Initially existing in the Ultimate Universe, which was separate from the main Marvel Comics continuity, Miles was eventually brought over to the main continuity, where he’s remained a popular character in the comics. Miles popularity truly exploded as he starred in the Academy Award-winning into the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – and is set to headline his own video game. It can be legitimately argued that a whole generation of kids first Spider-Man is Miles, but that almost wasn’t the case.

SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY

Business Insider took a deep dive into Marvel’s pledge to improve diversity, where Miles’s popularity came up. In the article, Marvel confirmed that they had previously considered stripping Morales of his Spider-Man name. However, those discussions never actually led to a name-change. Former Marvel editor Charles Beacham said that it would have made Miles “less important” to lose the title and that he would have become “Spider-Man with an asterisk. It takes away the power for kids who relate to this character.”

As CBR notes, Morales’s secret identity was rumored to be changing from Spider-Man to ‘Spy-D,’ which would have been a truly awful decision. Miles’ Spider-Verse co-star Spider-Gwen, had her named changed to Ghost Spider around the same time. While Ghost Spider makes sense considering it doesn’t have Gwen’s name in it and doesn’t give away her secret identity, Spy-D is tacky sounding and completely buries Miles’ history as Spider-Man.

See also  South Park: Jimmy's 10 Funniest Quotes

Multiple Spider-Man’s can exist in both different or even the same timeline. Audiences are capable of understanding that two different versions of Spider-Man can co-exist. It’s why for a whole generation of readers and movie-goers, Morales is their Spider-Man. It would have been an awful mistake to take that title from him and ultimately Marvel made the right decision by keeping the name. The rumored ‘Spy-D’ name would have done irreparable damage to the credibility of the character. Miles Morales is Spider-Man just as much as Peter Parker has ever been. Crisis avoided.

Source: Business Insider

Spider-Man Calls Out DC Comics in Background Gag Most Fans Missed

About The Author


Liam McGuire
(2562 Articles Published)

Lead writer for Screen Rant’s comic team. [email protected]. Find me on Twitter @LiamRMcGuire for comic news and reporting.

More From Liam McGuire