Miles Morales' Venom Retcon Destroyed an Iconic Spider-Man Moment

Whether Peter Parker, Miles Morales, or any other denizen of the Spider-Verse, Marvel's Spider-Man is defined by tragedy, and yet a major retcon involving Venom seemingly erased some of Miles' most formative moments from continuity.

Miles Morales has had quite the journey since his first appearance in the Ultimate Universe. This alternate reality told new. modern stories in a Marvel Universe free of prior continuity, introducing Miles to fans after the death of Peter Parker. If Uncle Ben was Peter's chance to learn about responsibility, then Peter Parker himself was Miles Morales'. After Peter died saving MJ and his Aunt May, Miles donned the webs to honor Peter's sacrifice. In traditional Spider-Man fashion, he experienced loss involving his uncle Aaron, who was also the thief known as the Prowler, and his mother, who was killed by the Ultimate Universe's version of Venom.

Losing his mother was an understandably traumatic event for Miles, who quit being Spider-Man for a year and honored his mother's last wish not to tell his father about being a superhero. The loss of his mother and quitting the Spider-Man identity gave Miles his own version of two major events from Spider-Man's original comics (in fact, his 'Spider-Man No More' moment was far more impactful), as well as a specific reason to hide his identity at all costs. However, when Miles and his family and friends were absorbed into the main Marvel Universe following the reality-bending Secret Wars, his mother returned without explanation, effectively retconning everything Venom had done. Rio's death was a hugely tragic and pivotal moment in Miles’ life. Now, he either doesn’t remember or doesn’t mention remembering it at all.

Returning Rio Morales to life wasn’t all bad. Killing female characters to motivate male characters has been a cliché comic books have been dealing with for decades - a practice often referred to as 'women in refrigerators' - and Miles' mom has been a welcome presence in later stories. However, between his parents, his Uncle Ben, Captain Stacy, and Harry Osborn, Peter Parker's time as Spider-Man was defined by this type of loss, and Miles had a lot of characterization in the wake of his mom’s death. It gave Miles a mature, meaningful version of abandoning the Spider-Man identity like Peter before him, and influenced him as a hero going forward. Today, Miles remains the hero he became following his mother's death, and yet without the actual events that led him to that point.

While killing off women to motivate men to greater heroism is an overused and potentially harmful trope in comics, superhero stories also have plenty of ways to resurrect characters beyond just writing their deaths out of existence. Miles' Secret Wars switch to Marvel's main universe was an upbeat and positive decision, but he originally became popular because fans were able to follow him from his very earliest days as a hero and see him grow. With a segment lifted out of his history, Miles Morales is robbed not just of an iconic Spider-Man moment, but of much of the pathos and weight Venom's attack ultimately brought to his story.

Next: Venom's Ultimate Attack Would Destroy Superman Instantly

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