Miles Morales goes on a delightful date with someone he feels he can connect with in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #32 written by Saladin Ahmed, art by Christopher Allen, colors by Guru-eFX, and letters by VC’s Cory Petit.
Do you remember your first date? Your favorite one?
Were you nervous? Did you hold hands?
Did you go dutch, then go home and tell your mom you went dutch, only for her to remind you, not so gently, that if *you* ask them out, *you* need to pay?
(Ok, that last one might have been a little personal.)
Well, no matter how memorable your date was, I doubt it was as interesting as Miles’ date with Starling, (aka Tiana Toomes (alliteration!), granddaughter of the Vulture) and Taskmaster in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #32. This might not have been the best date, or even a good date, but it was breezy, bountiful, and enjoyable in ways I haven’t felt from this comic in a long, long time.
The date might have sucked, but the comic didn’t.
We catch the action in media res, as Tiana, reminiscing about the freedom her wings brought her, faces frustration as she wakes in the grasp of Taskmaster, who kidnapped her in the last issue. Why did he take her? Who is he working for? How does he sneak up on people in that ridiculous getup? Of course, none of these questions are answered, but that doesn’t matter. This issue isn’t about those kinds of answers; it’s about the more esoteric kind:
What motivates you?
Tiana, who thankfully, blessedly, and all too rarely for Black female characters, exhibits agency here by telling and owning her story (her criminal grandfather gifted her wings, wings she chooses to use for good instead of “evil”) and her own liberation. She’s not merely a damsel in distress, but a hero who can more than hold her own.
And Miles, battered and more than a little broken, finds himself on the street, in the care of kindly EMS workers. Spider-Man is supposed to be a “street-level” hero, so it’s – appropriate? – that he gets some help from those very streets.
Both of our heroes here are motivated by guilt borne from the need to repair harm. This guilt, and the narrative device by which our heroes express this guilt, gives their characters a depth that I’ve been asking for from Miles for a while. It’s not perfect by any means, but it’s there, and I appreciate there more than absence any day.
Thanks to an assist from Riri, Miles finds Tiana, who was able to break free. A quick fight ensues that’s ended not by a punch, but by a clock: Taskmaster had a contract, and once the terms of that contract expired, Taskmaster leaves the scene. Our boy said “no free labor,” and thus I’ve now become a Taskmaster stan.
Workers of the world unite, indeed. Seriously.
I loved the panel setups; I like the direction of action, and the details, and the colorwork (shout out to GURU-eFX). But the faces, drawn by Christopher Allen, just don’t compare to the work of Carmen Carnero, whose depiction of Miles I’ve come to love. Something just feels…off. Not necessarily bad, just not my style. That said, my preference does not take away from my enjoyment of the action. This is solid work.
The episode ends on a cliffhanger, as the Beyond Corporation hands Miles a cease and desist order for operating as Spider-Man. That Taskmaster couldn’t stop Miles but a court order (delivered from a flying, stretched Escalade, because of course) can says a lot about the hold capitalistic ideas have over our imaginations. Is this good or bad? I’ll let you decide. One thing’s for sure, either way:
At least this date was memorable.
A proud New Orleanian living in the District of Columbia, Jude Jones is a professional thinker, amateur photographer, burgeoning runner and lover of Black culture, love and life. Magneto and Cyclops (and Killmonger) were right.
Find more of Jude’s writing here.
