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Back Issues: ‘Spider-Verse’ infested with wall-crawlers

AP Photo Characters, from left, Peni, voiced by Kimiko Glen, Spider-Gwen, voiced by Hailee Steinfeld, Spider-Ham, voiced by John Mulaney, Miles Morales, voiced by Shameik Moore, Peter Parker, voiced by Jake Johnson, Spider-Man Noir, voiced by Nicolas Cage, in a scene from “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.”

How many Spider-Men and Women does it take to save the day?

According to Sony’s new animated feature, “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” and recent Marvel comics, a lot.

While Peter Parker will naturally play a major role, the film is shifting focus onto Miles Morales, a younger version of Spider-Man who first appeared in Marvel’s Ultimate line of comics.

The Ultimate titles were launched in 2000 as a way to update and modernize characters like Spider-Man, the X-Men and the Avengers, who were renamed the Ultimates. The Spider-Man comics were written almost exclusively by Brian Michael Bendis, who focused on Peter Parker in high school and eventually killed him off.

A new Spider-Man appeared in 2011’s “Ultimate Fallout” #4, removing his mask at the end to reveal the stunned face of an African-American/Hispanic boy, Miles Morales.

Like Parker before him, Miles got his powers from the bite of a genetically altered spider, in his case one that hitched a ride in items stolen from a lab by Miles’ uncle, Aaron Davis, aka the Prowler. In addition to super strength and agility, a spider-sense and the ability to crawl on walls, Miles can turn invisible and hit foes with a bioelectric “venom blast.”

Upon learning of the original Spider-Man’s death, Miles set out to take up the mantle, eventually earning the approval of, and a snazzy red-and-black costume from, Nick Fury himself.

Miles went on to join a new version of the Ultimates and eventually teamed up with characters from the main Marvel Earth (known as Earth-616), including Peter Parker and the X-Men. When the apocalyptic “Secret Wars” storyline went down in 2015, Miles was one of only a few survivors of the destruction of the Ultimate world and migrated over to Earth 616 in the aftermath. He shares the Spider-Man name with Peter’s blessing and became a member of the Avengers and then the youthful Champions.

Much like “The Ultimates” influenced the Avengers movies, some elements of “Ultimate Spider-Man” were used in the “Spider-Man: Homecoming” film. Peter’s friend Ned is a dead ringer for Miles’ comic book pal Gangke, and Donald Glover’s character in the movie is named Aaron Davis and mentions his nephew.

Miles also played a role in the Spider-Verse event, in which a group of beings called the Inheritors began hunting spider-powered beings across reality. They brutally killed many, including a version of the old Saturday morning “Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends,” forcing others — including the 616 Spider-Man, Miles Morales and more — to unite to stop them.

The early parts of that storyline were gory and depressing, but it finished off in signature Spider-Man style. I haven’t watched or read too much about the movie, in an effort to avoid spoilers, but hopefully the darkest elements will be absent.

The Spider-Verse comics advertised that they would feature every Spider-Man ever and brought back existing versions like Pavitr Prabhakar, from the “Spider-Man: India” series, a film noir Spider-Man (to be voiced by Nicolas Cage in the movie) and my personal favorite, the anthropomorphic Spider-Ham. Also known as Peter Porker, this character starred in early ’80s comics featuring other animal versions of Marvel characters like the Punfisher and Doctor Octopussycat.

Spider-Verse also introduced new characters, none more popular than Spider-Gwen, whose origin had Spidey’s great lost love bitten by the radioactive spider and Peter eventually becoming the villainous Lizard. Believed responsible for Peter’s death, this Spider-Woman became a fugitive, tracked by her police captain father.

The character got her own ongoing series and has frequently interacted with other Earth-616 characters. As part of the new “Marvel Rising” animated franchise, she got renamed Ghost Spider.

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Recommended Reading

* “Ultimate Comics Spider-Man by Brian Michael Bendis” Vol. 1 — Miles Morales’ introduction finds the boy with spider powers compelled to take up the legacy of Spider-Man in the wake of Peter Parker’s death.

* “Spider-Men” — The original Peter Parker becomes trapped in Miles Morales’ dimension and the two Spider-Men team up to take on Mysterio.

* “Spider-Verse” — The vampiric Inheritors hunt Spider-Men and Women across dimensions, forcing the wall-crawlers and web-slingers to fight back in the face of extinction.

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