New Ultimate Spider-Man Succeeds Peter Parker

Miles Morales is half-black, half-Hispanic American
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Aug 3, 2011 9:06 AM CDT
Marvel Comics, New Mixed-Race Spider-Man: Comic Book Spin-Off Features Different Hero
In this comic book image released by Marvel Comics, a page from "Ultimate Fallout," is shown.   ((AP Photo/Marvel Comics))

Peter Parker is dead and gone, but Spider-Man is still slinging webs and fighting crime. And it's not just a new teenager climbing Manhattan buildings, it's an entirely new crime-fighter, from the color of his suit to the complexion of his skin. Meet Miles Morales, a half-black, half-Hispanic American teenager who, inspired to do good after the death of Parker at the hands of the Green Goblin, takes flight and has his first fight in the pages of Marvel Comics' "Ultimate Fallout" No. 4, in comic shops today. This Ultimates imprint is separate from Marvel's bigger universe, where Parker is alive and well.

"He's younger than Peter Parker, he's coming from a completely different background, a completely different world view," says Ultimate writer Brian Michael Bendis. "It's Peter Parker's death that inspires this kid to step up." Bendis said his decision on who would replace Parker was made before actor Donald Glover's efforts to be considered for next year's Spider-Man film went viral. But he says that when he saw Glover wearing Spider-Man pajamas on Community, he knew he was on the right track. Making Spider-Man a black character is not a publicity effort, it's reflective of an industry keeping pace with modern society, adds Marvel's editor-in-chief. (More Death of Spider-Man stories.)

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