- What's going on, you wonderful nerds?
Let me ask you a question.
Legacy, what is a legacy?
As we continue our month of spider-related videos
for Webruary, I started to think about how the role
of Spider-Man in movies is almost like a legacy,
much like James Bond, Batman, and the Doctor,
Spidey has been played by a few different actors
over the years, yet they're all playing Peter Parker,
a character who, for the longest time in comics,
was unwaveringly the Spider-Man.
I mean, sure, we've had occasional clones or stand-ins
or future versions, but for the most part, Peter Parker
was Spider-Man, and Spider-Man was Peter Parker.
That is, until Marvel's Ultimate Comics universe came along.
In the year 2000, Marvel decided to experiment
with a brand new universe where they could update
their heroes, tell new stories, and create an environment
where the writers could take risks without impacting
the main continuity that has decades
of previous characters and storylines.
It would also serve as a decent jumping-on point
for new comics readers who may have been overwhelmed
by the countless stories that Marvel had been printing
during their 50 plus years in the industry.
The result was Ultimate Comics which started with Marvel's
biggest superhero, Spider-Man.
The idea was a surprise hit for awhile,
but years in it began to stagnate.
To get more attention back on Spidey,
they decided to do something radical, kill Peter Parker
and replace him with a brand new character.
A teenager named Miles Morales was bitten
by a genetically-enhanced spider very similar
to the one which bit Peter Parker.
After gaining spider powers, including abilities
that Pete never had, like camouflage and bio-electrokinesis
with his venom blasts, he tries out the hero life
when he rescues civilians trapped in a burning building.
But Miles discovers that being a superhero simply
isn't for him, besides, there's already
a Spider-Man swinging through New York,
does the city really need another one?
Unfortunately, a few months later, Peter Parker dies
in a battle with his greatest foes.
New York is without its Spider-Man.
The death of Peter hits Miles hard,
he believes that if he had stepped up and become a hero
earlier, he could have saved Spider-Man from dying.
In a way, Peter is to Miles what Uncle Ben was to Peter,
a death he feels he could have prevented
if he had only stepped up and used his powers to fight evil.
He decides to carry on Peter's legacy
and become the new Spider-Man.
As the first letters page in the back of this new Spider-Man
relaunch showed, reviews were a bit mixed at first.
Some said they liked the idea of having another person
take on the mantle of the web-head.
Others said the writers betrayed the fans and the character,
that it was a cheap move only done
for the sole reason of diversity.
One even suggested the familiar argument of,
why not just give him his own name
instead of taking a pre-existing one?
I think it's important to note that the act of superheroes
passing on their names and roles to successors
is incredibly common in comics.
There's precedent for these so-called legacy heroes
all the way back to the Phantom from the 1930s,
pre-dating most popular superheroes like Spider-Man,
Batman, and even Superman himself.
The Phantom was a title passed down
from father to son for over 20 generations.
When one dies, another steps forward
in his place without anyone the wiser.
- I've tried to make you believe that the evil spirit
of the swamp had done away with me.
But as you see, the Phantom lives.
- This persistent chain of Phantoms allows the hero
to become less of a man and more of a myth,
a legend, a symbol.
He was even given the nickname, The Man Who Cannot Die,
even though, in reality, the Phantom has died
many many times, but his seemingly unbroken legacy
makes him appear as something more than human.
Since the Phantom, many heroes have created legacies
by passing on their titles to successors.
The obvious example would probably be all the Robins
from Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, and so on,
but even Batman himself hasn't always been Bruce Wayne.
In fact, I seem to recall an entire cartoon series
where the plot was that he passed down
the mantle to someone else.
Over at Marvel, things are no different.
Rhody was Iron Man for a stint instead of Tony Stark,
Thor obviously, and Captain America has even been a title
held by many people outside of Steve Rogers,
so many, in fact, that we made an entire video
about it years ago when my head looked like this.
The list of legacy heroes could go on for hours,
but there are generally two ways
that superheroes pass the torch.
You could keep the changing legacy private,
like with the Phantom, or you could
make the transition clear and obvious,
like when Sam Wilson became Captain America.
You could just kinda see that they're not the same person.
This noticeable visual transition
sends an entirely different message.
Captain America is not just one person,
not just Steve Rogers.
Captain America is a role that can be
and has been filled by many others.
Fans are even expecting Rogers to be replaced
in the MCU at some point.
Miles Morales combines aspects
from both private and public legacies.
Because Peter's death is public knowledge,
many rightfully believe that this new Spider-Man
must be someone else carrying on the original's name,
but since the characters of the ultimate Marvel books
are aware that they live in a universe
where heroes and villains are constantly coming back
from the dead, there's an air of uncertainty and ambiguity.
Villains initially think that he is the same Spider-Man
back from the dead, I mean, he even says the same quips.
There aren't many clues that inform observers
of Spider-Man's identity, he wears a full-body costume.
Before Peter died, one person saw Miles spring into action
and took that as confirmation that Spider-Man was black.
The original Spider-Man, they simply had no idea.
But we the readers have the privilege
of being able to see under the mask.
We can confirm that Spider-Man isn't just Peter Parker.
As one Marvel fan wrote in a letters page
of Ultimate Spider-Man, quote, "Today's generation
"of young readers will get to live
"in a world where anyone can be Spider-Man," end quote.
So with that, I leave you with three questions.
Number one, now that a few years have passed,
do you think Marvel made the right decision
in introducing Miles as Spider-Man?
Number two, do you prefer heroes with private
or public legacies, or none at all?
Number three, and this is one is just for fun,
who is your favorite legacy hero or villain?
Mine would probably have to be Jeffrey Mace as Captain
America, his story in the comics is so much better
than whatever they have him doing
over at S.H.I.E.L.D. at the moment.
But as always, I would love to know
your thoughts in the comments.
I wanna give a huge shoutout to all of our patrons
supporting these videos over at patrion.com/nerdsync,
the names of those beautiful people are in the description
down below, if you wanna learn more about all the characters
who have taken up the Captain America name
including Jeffrey Mace as I mentioned,
click or tap right here.
Or you can watch some other videos that we make
here at Nerd Sync, I know you're gonna love 'em.
My name is Scott, reminding you to read between
the panels and grow smarter through comics, see ya.