Who actually IS Miles Morales? Where did he come from? How does he compare to Peter Parker, the Spider-Man we all know and love? Well things can get pretty complicated in the Marvel multiverse – but luckily for you we’ve prepared a handy guide to Miles Morales packed full of 15 fun facts you might not have known about this amazing character!

Once you’re done swotting up on the future of the Spider-verse, you can have a look at these other amazing facts! We’ve got Black Panther facts, hidden secrets of Harry Potter – and for something totally different, some high-flying Albatross facts! Wahoo! Ok… back to Miles!

1. He was inspired by Barack Obama

Well, kind of. Miles Morales was never meant to actually be like Barack Obama, but when Obama was elected President of the USA it made the bosses at Marvel think about how they could make Spider-Man better reflect multi-cultural America. So they found a way to make a black Spider-Man, who spoke to a different audience of Marvel fans! And Miles was born!

2. He got his powers the same way

Just like Peter Parker, Miles got his spidey powers through a bite from a radioactive spider. The difference between the two though, is that Peter’s was a total freak accident and Miles’ bite was because of his criminal Uncle’s dodgy dealings.

3. Miles replaced Peter… or did he?

In the original storyline, Miles takes over Spiderman’s job when Peter dies. Which is confusing because Peter isn’t dead! Well, there’s more than one Spider-Man storyline! Miles is the Spider-Man from the “Ultimate” Marvel Universe, and Peter Parker is Spider-Man from the regular Marvel Universe. But how can there be more than one Universe? Let’s find out!

4. The Multiverse

Having more than one Universe is an idea that Marvel uses a lot – but it’s based on real science! Some very clever physicists reckon that every time anyone makes a decision, a new universe is created for each possible option. So whilst there’s a universe with Miles as Spiderman and another with Peter, there’s also a universe where you remembered to brush your teeth his morning. And another where dinosaurs are still alive. In fact, there are infinite universes! Apparently, anyway!

5. This can make Spider-Man pretty confusing!

The multiverse allows Marvel to have lots of different Spider-Men, and they can meet each other occasionally and discover different Universes where they died long ago or were replaced by someone else. This can get pretty confusing but it allows for wild storylines and unexpected twists… like Spider-Man with Captain America’s shield! And we can thank modern science for all this excitement! Nice one, physics!

6. Now they’re in the same Universe anyway!

Marvel decided that having “Ultimate” and “regular” Spider-Men was getting a bit confusing (we could have told you that) – so they fixed it by collapsing both Universes into each other in a huge event. Now, Miles is in the regular Universe alongside Peter! So there are 2 Spider-Men in the same Universe now! Still following all of this?

7. Miles wasn’t happy about his new powers

When Peter got his Spidey powers he was obviously shocked, but there’s no denying he was very excited too! The same can’t be said for Miles – who was a lot more upset when he realised his body and life had changed forever. It took him a little while to learn to appreciate his powers – which is fair enough! We’d need to take a minute too!

8. His powers aren’t exactly the same

Miles and Peter have a lot in common, but Miles’ powers are actually a bit different. He has a few extra abilities – like venom blast, which can zap nearby enemies. He also has venom sting, which can paralyze anyone, no matter their size. And on top of that he can even blend into his surroundings like a chameleon!

9. His Uncle is the Prowler

Miles’ arch-enemy is the Prowler, a man with no real superpowers but who instead has all kinds of evil weapons and gadgets. Much like Iron Man! The plot twist (and apologies if we ruined this for you – but we’re sure you already knew) is that the Prowler is also Miles’ uncle! Imagine Christmas dinner round their house!

10. He also has a troubled family life

Maybe we shouldn’t joke about Christmas dinner at Miles’ family home – because like Peter, Miles had a difficult childhood. Miles’ dad disowned him after he became Spider-Man, and his mum was killed accidentally by Police when he was young. Argh! Yet another similarity between him and Peter Parker.

11. Miles has already been on TV!

Miles has already hit the small screen, and been featured in the animated show Ultimate Spider-Man. In the show he was briefly called “Kid Arachnid” if you can believe that! This was the first adapation of Miles as a new character from the original comic, so was kind of his big break!

12. Miles Morhames?

Real Spider-Man fans will know about Spider-Ham (AKA Peter Porker) who was a very weird Spider-Man spin off that was basically a human-shaped pig in a Spider-Man outfit. Spider-Ham’s story lasted a surprisingly long time – and they even brought in a Miles Morales version, called Miles Morhames, the Ultimate Spider-Ham!

13. He might be immortal

We already spoke about how Miles’ has a few extra powers that Peter doesn’t have – but there’s another. Whilst this hasn’t been confirmed or denied, many fans believe that he’s been affected by the OZ formula and as a result is actually IMMORTAL. How’s that for a superpower?

14. He’s an inspiration – but not to everyone

Miles is a great example of Marvel trying to keep up with the times – they realise now that superheroes have to look like everyone, no matter their race or gender. It’s not fair to have all the superheroes just be white men! But this has upset some people, who have tried to make Miles into a political issue. We think anything that makes stories more fun and exciting for a bigger group of people is a good thing! And Miles definitely does that.

15. Miles Morales the Movie?

There are lots of rumours about a live-action Miles Morales movie of some kind, but at the time of writing there isn’t one. Will he get his own movie? Or will he appear alongside Peter Parker like he does in the comics? We’ll have to wait and see!