Miles Morales: Spider-Man #2

By Saladin Ahmed, Javier Garron, and David Curiel

The second issue of Miles Morales: Spider-Man is just as entertaining as the first one, making the most out of an unlikely team-up between Miles and Rhino, in an entertaining way that’s reminiscent of the best buddy cop stories. The hero and the villain working together may be an age old trope but it’s something that Ahmed pulls off really well here, whilst never losing focus on what matters and why this book has Miles’ name listed before his superhero identity.

The whole issue is just flat-out entertaining from start to finish and has all the hallmarks of a classic Spider-Man story. Saladin Ahmed makes Miles instantly relatable and entertaining to follow as a character, giving him struggles both at home in his personal life and out on the job. His relationship with his school and superhero life is easily defined while watching him overcome struggles, like avoiding the over-enthusiastic vice principal, and getting caught yawning in class, with it being viewed as a sign of disrespect (even though it’s hardly his fault, balancing a double life is always a hardship regardless of which superhero you are). The decision to give him a classic villain like Rhino as opposed to a newer antagonist to square off with is quite welcome. Their chemistry works wonders too, and it doesn’t feel forced at all.

The artwork from Javier Garron is superb and really brings to life both character and background. There are plenty of memorable pages in this issue that are helped by the storyline’s natural flow, with the fluid, always mobile pages being brought to life in a way that fits the tone of the Spidey corner of Marvel’s output. The colours from David Curiel too add an extra vividness to book, fleshing out Miles’ life and the people who inhabit it.

One of the drawbacks of using Peter is that he has an in-built connection with antagonists like Rhino but seeing Miles handle them perhaps differently to how Peter would have done is fascinating. The back and forth between the two characters remains the highlight of this issue and it’s incredibly fun to read through as a result. The best word that can be described to sum up this issue is fun, and it will almost certainly brighten your day after reading it.

The ending cliffhanger also teases the potential for Ahmed to handle one of the most established characters in Marvel history and the potential of seeing him work with Miles is interesting enough. There may be more than meets the eye to the characters’ inclusion but it represents an interesting brand of different challenge for the character. Ahmed is one of the best writers that Marvel has at the moment (check out Exiles if you haven’t already, it’s superb), and it’s always exciting to see what he can bring to the table.

Miles Morales: Spider-Man is quickly becoming a must read superhero comic that, under the guidance of the talented creative team it has to offer and two issues in, it’s only going to get better.