Hey guys!
Welcome back to Top 10 Nerd, I’m Ron McKenzie-Lefurgey.
After decades of Peter Parker, Spider-Man went through a pretty significant change in
recent years, with the addition of Miles Morales as a new Spidey.
And he's awesome.
But sadly, not nearly enough people know much about him, so I'm here to catch you up on
the new webslinger.
If you finish this and want more, check out my video about Storm!
We'll link it at the end.
Now get ready, it’s time for the Top 10 Shocking Facts about Miles Morales!
Number 10: His character was inspired by Barack Obama.
This is one fact that comes up everywhere, but I figure not everyone spends their time
googling various superheroes, so maybe this will be news to some of you.
When Obama was elected president, writers at Marvel felt they should have their own
victory of multiculturalism.
So as a black man entered the most powerful position in the world, another became one
of the best superheroes in the world.
Thanks, Obama!
No really, thank you.
Miles is awesome.
Number 9: He's from an alternate dimension.
Miles fans will certainly be aware of this, but if you haven't been keeping up with the
comics you may not have picked up on it.
Miles didn't start on Earth 616, but rather Earth-1610, the Ultimate Universe.
The Spider-Man of his world had seemingly died against Norman Osborne, and Miles, who
had received similar powers in a similar way, took on the mantle.
He only ended up on Earth 616 after the destruction of Battleworld, when he woke up with himself
and his family transported to the main continuity, thanks to molecule man.
And I, for one, couldn't be happier.
Number 8: He was reluctant to become Spider-Man.
Even though he did eventually take on the mantle, that doesn't mean he was particularly
happy about it.
When he first got his powers, Miles didn't like it.
He just wanted to be normal, and decided to leave the heroics to Peter Parker, whom he
saw as the real Spider-Man.
However, when Peter died, Miles decided he couldn't sit idly by while the world went
to crap, so he bit the bullet and started his heroic career.
Way to take one for the team.
Number 7: His Uncle is one of his Villains.
It seems that Spider-Men are destined to have their Uncles greatly affect their heroics.
For Peter, his Uncle taught him that his powers brought with them great responsibility.
But Mileses uncle had a more direct hand.
First, it was the spider he stole from Oscorp that gave Miles his powers in the first place.
But later, good ol' Uncle Aaron, aka the tech-wielding criminal The Prowler, learned about his nephew's
abilities, and tried to blackmail Miles into committing crime for him.
Thankfully, Miles has powers pretty well-suited for taking out tech-dependent baddies, and
he defeated his Uncle.
Zap.
Number 6: He's half Puerto Rican.
Here's something that I KNOW a lot of people who haven't read the comics don't know about,
because I've seen a bunch of surprised reactions to it on the internet.
Even though his last name is kind of a hint.
But yeah, Miles is actually half black and half Puerto Rican, with an African American
father and a Puerto Rican mother.
This is the second time a Spider-Man has been part Hispanic, after Miguel O'Hara of Spider-Man
2099 who was half Mexican.
Having such a popular and mainstream character with a background like this was really exciting
for a bunch of nerds of colour, who are pretty damn underrepresented in comics.
Number 5: New powers.
Probably the coolest thing about the Miles Spider-Man is he has a bunch of powers that
Peter didn't have.
This not only sets him apart from his predecessor, but allows his comics to explore all new avenues.
On top of the powers Peter received, the Spider bite gave Miles the ability to camouflage
with his surroundings, making him effectively invisible.
It also gave him bioelectrokinesis, which allowed him to use the electrical currents
in his body to zap others.
This allows him to use his signature attack, the Venom Blast, to electrocute enemies or
take out electronics.
So cool.
Number 4: He's voiced by Donald Glover.
That's right, even though we have yet to see Donald Glover play Spidey on film, we have
the next best thing: He voices Miles in the animated series, Ultimate Spider-Man.
And he is just perfect for the role.
I always get Donald and Danny Glover mixed up, so when I first heard about this I was
picturing Spidey going "Riggs...
I'm too old for this shit."
It's probably for the best that they went with Donald.
Number 3: He isn't as smart as Peter.
A huge part of Peter Parker's character was his incredible genius.
His scientific prowess was useful not only in his heroics, allowing him to create gadgets
like his web shooters, but also in real life when he was the head of Parker Industries.
Miles, on the other hand, is just a regular guy, even if he is smarter than the average
Joe.
Most of his power comes either from his spider abilities or Peter's old tech.
Miles is a better dancer though.
That's not a race thing, that's a "Peter friggin sucks at dancing" thing.
Number 2: The Miles from Earth 616 is a jerk!
And that's putting it mildly.
While the Miles we all know is a really nice guy, it turns out he isn't quite so nice in
the main Marvel reality.
This Miles followed more in the footsteps of his father and Uncle, and was involved
with the Rigoletto Crime Family.
He spent 3 years at Ryker's Island to cover for his cousin, where he became friends with
none other than Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin.
He ended up leaving the criminal life behind him, because he fell in love with Barbara
Sanchez.
After she dies, Fisk tells Miles about the alternate universes, and Miles actually ends
up going to Earth 1610, thus effectively swapping places with the Miles Morales we all know
and love.
He found his gal, they clicked, and the rest is history.
So sweet.
Number 1: He might be immortal.
Obligatory Misfits reference: It was revealed in the Ultimate comics that the Oz formula
seems to make users immortal.
This is what allowed both Norman and Peter to survive their battle, since Norman had
treated himself, and Peter had been bitten by an Oz spider.
But you know who ELSE was bitten by a special spider?
Mothaflippin Miles.
Now, it should be noted that the immortality thing could be a lie, so I wouldn't go testing
it out, but it does seem pretty interesting.
And to reiterate, this is for the Ultimate versions of these characters.
That’s it for today!
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And if you want a sweet playlist to watch so you can just relax and let the nerdiness
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Until next time, I’m Ron McKenzie-Lefurgey with Top 10 nerd.
Later nerds!