One cosplayer has created a new costume for the now infamous Thor variant of Miles Morales, rendering their own version of the recent variant from the controversial What If…? Miles Morales Became Thor? In the process, bringing back a character recently criticized over what some perceived to be a racially problematic portrayal.
With Spider-Man’s 60th anniversary fast-approaching, Marvel elected to celebrate the character’s history by launching multiple Spider-Man books – and Miles Morales joins in on the celebration. An entire What If…? series featuring Miles Morales centers on four variants, each imbued with the powers of a separate superhero. Miles Morales became Captain America, the Incredible Hulk, Wolverine, and eventually Thor. Harsh criticism was directed at the penultimate issue of the five-issue series, introducing its setting of Brooklyn-Asgard and Miles-Thor’s tone-deaf inner monologue.
Now an adventurous cosplayer going by the handle Far_Adhesiveness/Tafkar Design has put together a Thor/Miles Morales cosplay of his own (via Reddit). The details of the costume are faithfully replicated, from Miles’ red hood down to his signature Mjolnir weapon (with graffiti spelling “Loki” on the hammer). But this cosplayer has also elected to improve on the design in the comic; Miles’ boots, predominantly white in the comic, are nearly completely yellow in the cosplay, cementing Thor as a hero through adhering to the red/blue/yellow classic color scheme.
Aside from the yellow addition, the rest of the costume is faithfully replicated, including the red gauntlets and Thor’s hairstyle. It is important to note that out of all the Miles variants, this Thor is the only one who isn’t referred to as Miles throughout the entire story – everyone in Asgard simply calls him Thor. While this does make for a new approach to the What If…? narrative so far, it still falls short of crafting a character that rises above the rest of the amalgamated characters from Marvel history (many of which have already debuted this year in various Multiverse stories in other events).
The cosplay above suggests that the Thor variant of Miles Morales has plenty of fans in spite of the controversy surrounding the character. Even unpopular characters can win devoted fandoms, with some even returning with renewed popularity over time (one need only see the Spider-Man: Beyond arc and Ben Reilly for the proof). Miles Morales becoming Thor may simply appear in only one story, but hope remains for the future of the character.
