Miles Morales‘ superhero name is something of a touchy topic in the world of superhero fandom. While the character became Spider-Man in a world where Peter Parker had died, problems arose when Miles was integrated into the main 616 universe, where Peter was very much alive and still Spider-Man.
While Marvel Comics and movies have been content with Miles and Peter sharing the title of Spider-Man, there is a contingent of fans who maintain that having two characters in the same universe with the same codename is confusing. Famously, to avoid confusion, the TV show Spider and His Amazing Friends gave Miles the codename of Spin to avoid confusing the series’ very young audience.
For better or worse, that title for Miles has now been canonized by an official Marvel Comic, and the result is actually more confusing than the alternative.
Miles Morales Officially Goes By Spin in Marvel Comics
Spider-Man’s Miles Morales in a yellow and black suit using his venom blast.
Radioactive Spider-Man #2 by Joe Kelly and Kev Walker takes place in the Age of Revelation storyline that’s currently ongoing in Marvel Comics. The series takes place in an alternate future where a virus either killed people or turned them into Mutants.
As a result, Peter Parker takes a heavy dose of radiation to combat the virus’ effects on him, leading to all sorts of side effects, such as a set of extra limbs.
In this new universe, a grown Miles sports a yellow and black variation of his classic costume and goes by Spin.
Though that might seem weird, Miles abandoning the Spider-Man codename does make a certain amount of sense in context. Aunt May in this universe was given some sort of ultra-powerful ability by the mutant virus, and it’s hinted that this led to the death of Miles’ family.
Given Miles’ contentious relationship with Peter, his abandoning of the Spider-Man moniker adds up. What doesn’t add up is why he goes by Spin.
Why Fans Hate Miles Morales’ Spin Codename So Much
Miles Morales stands in front of Spider-Man, Doom, and other characters in Ultimate Invasion
In the Spidey children’s cartoon, Miles goes by Spin because of a specific move he does. While that doesn’t make a ton of sense, there is at least some logic to it.
In Radioactive Spider-Man, however, there’s pretty much no justification for the name. Miles can spin a web, sure, but that’s a major stretch.
Unfortunately, Miles isn’t the first superhero who got a new codename because theirs was already taken. Famously, Tim Drake went by just Drake instead of Robin for a time,
Outside of those cases and a few others, the comics industry generally allows superheroes to share codenames. Marvel has had two Spider-Men, two Captain Americas, and two Wolverines while DC has two Robins, two Flashes, and a whole army of Green Lanterns.
Given this, it’s confusing why Marvel would go out of their way to rebrand Miles Morales, a marquee character, with a name from a show for very young children.
Fortunately, it’s unlikely that this name will stick for Miles outside of Age of Revelation. In the main 616 Marvel Universe, Miles Morales is still Spider-Man, and fans can only hope it stays that way.
First Appearance
Amazing Fantasy
Alias
Peter Parker, Ben Reilly, Otto Octavius, Yu Komori, Kaine Parker, Pavitr Prabhakar, William Braddock, Miles Morales, Kurt Wagner
Alliance
Avengers, Fantastic Four, X-Men, Secret Defenders, Future Foundation, Heroes for Hire, Mighty Avengers, New Avengers, Web-Warriors
Race
Human