3 Reasons Miles Morales should be the MCU Spider-Man

Last week the bomb dropped that Marvel Studios had finally negotiated a deal with Sony Pictures that would allow Marvel to use Spider-Man in their shared cinematic universe. There was at the time of the announcement, however, some suspiciously absent details. Spider-Man was mentioned. Peter Parker was not. Nor was Amazing Spider-Man star, Andrew Garfield. What did this mean? Was Garfield out? If the role of Peter Parker was to be recast, who would take over the webs?

Or could Marvel have something completely different in mind? There was a very vocal contingent, including myself, who speculated, or perhaps we simply hoped, that Marvel would bring in a Spider-Man we haven't seen before – Miles Morales, the Ultimate Spider-Man. It has since come out that Marvel is indeed sticking with Peter Parker, but without Andrew Garfield. Those of us who cried out for a bold, new direction can only lament what could have been.

After the jump, read three reasons why Marvel should have chosen Miles Morales to be the MCU Spider-Man.

3. There have been five Peter Parker Spider-Man movies.

It kind of blows my mind when I think about it. In the last 13 years we've had five Spider-Man films. Some were truly amazing. Some merely had "amazing" in the title. Certainly, there are plenty of areas of Peter Parker's life to explore, like his time as a high school teacher, or his current status as the owner of his own scientific research company (admittedly the latter would require some pretty heavy set-up), which is why it baffles me that they're putting him back in high school. I get that a teenaged superhero is something that the MCU does not currently possess, but that only makes me want a Miles Morales film even more. There are a few other things missing from the MCU, and superhero films in general, that Miles could bring. Which brings me to my next point.

2. There have been pretty much zero hispanic superhero movies.

We've seen many superhero movies just within the past few years. As exciting as that has been, the leads of these films have had a certain ubiquity. This is certainly not limited to just superhero movies, and at least Hollywood has (yet) to "white wash" any characters in their adaptations, which is something that has caused a lot of outrage from fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender and even The Hunger Games. Admittedly, as a Puerto Rican-Mexican-Filipino-American, I have never had much of a problem appreciating heroes that looked differently from me. But the reason for this is that good storytelling allows us to imagine ourselves inhabiting other people's lives. This is what makes fiction so powerful. It fosters in us a sense of empathy for people, even people who are different from us.

That said, it would be nice if I could for once go see a Puerto Rican (a half, like me) swinging around and kicking ass and let everyone else develop their sense of empathy for the other. That would be super.

1. Miles Morales is just flat-out rad.

Diversity and representation are great, but it all means nothing if the work sucks. Fortunately, Miles Morales is an incredible character. After his debut in the relaunch of Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man, following the death of Peter Parker in the Ultimate Universe, Miles Morales quickly became a hit with readers. And with good reason. Co-creators Brian Michael Bendis and Sarah Pichelli created a character who was every bit as lovable and relatable as Peter Parker, with a dynamic supporting cast to boot. We watched Miles struggle to live up to the responsibility of being Spider-Man, a hero he watched die saving the people he loved. In the last three years, it's safe to say he's succeeded.

When the 616 Spider-Man came face-to-face with his alternate reality replacement, the two naturally had an adventure together. At the end of it, this happened:

Right. In. The. Feels.

Can't he have Marvel and Sony's blessing, too? He certainly has mine. What do you folks think? Are you on Team Miles?