Warning: SPOILERS for Spider-Man #1
Peter Parker has revealed Miles Morales‘ true identity as Spider-Man in the worst possible way, thus proving he is no longer the superior hero – at least, in one important category. Parker may be a scientific genius who develops his own web fluid (while plenty of other imitators cannot), but lacks the street smarts necessary to be a perceptive superhero. This is absolutely the case in Spider-Man #1, in which Peter all but dooms Miles’ superhero career.
Miles and Peter are quite different; in many ways, Miles has the life in high school that Peter always wanted. He has friends, a supportive family, and most important of all, people know his secret identity (and they often help him in his adventures). Miles is also far more well-adjusted to balancing his life as an average student and as a superhero than Peter, though he still encounters problems. One of those problems is heroes in need; Miles often comes to Peter’s rescue, much like Peter came to his own during the beginning of his tenure as a new Spider-Man.
In Spider-Man #1, written by Dan Slott with art by Mark Bagley, the villain Morlun steps through a portal and appears before Spider-Man, who immediately attacks. Morlun has Spider-Man on the ropes thanks to his tremendous strength, but he’s saved at the last minute by Silk and Miles Morales, who eventually bring Peter into the grander Spider-Verse story. “Silk! Miles!” exclaims Peter. “I don’t know how you got here, but you gotta go! This is Morlun! Even three of us won’t be able to stop him!” Peter is quite cautious when it comes to supervillains – but he should be equally cautious when it comes to secret identities of his allies.
Spider-Man Should Really Be More Careful
Spider-Man’s identity is one of the best-kept secrets in the Marvel Universe, but whenever a supervillain finds out his secret, it’s usually Peter’s own fault. When Peter publicly revealed his identity in 2006’s Civil War crossover event, the decision came back to haunt him when an assassin attempted to kill him but fatally wounded Aunt May instead. This isn’t even the only time a Spider-Man’s identity was revealed in this manner: Mary Jane blurted out Spider-Man’s real name in Amazing Spider-Man #9 earlier this month.
Miles Morales will most likely be safe; the utterance made by Peter was brief and onlookers were distracted by the fight. But this moment also proves that Peter isn’t as good as protecting his allies as he believes himself to be. Thought the Spider-Man name is shared by many in the Spider-Verse and even in the 616 universe, Miles Morales is the better hero; he would never accidentally reveal one’s secret identity like Peter Parker.
