While the Vulture swoops in on Brooklyn, Miles Morales’ vampiric curse and thirst for blood grow stronger every second. He must find a cure. His mom, his dad, his sister – no one is safe. But is he still one of the good guys? Can the heroes of New York City still trust a Spider-Man who must feed on the living? Find out in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #23, written by Cody Ziglar, drawn by Federico Vicentini, colored by Bryan Valenza and lettered by Cory Petit.
As someone who became a fan of Miles Morales through the movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and the young adult book Miles Morales Suspended, I’ve had my reservations about reading his comic book incarnation. Not only would I have to reconcile the version of Miles I like with a different version, but I thought I’d be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of stories he’s had since his comic book debut in 2011. Thankfully, Cody Ziglar’s “Birds of a Feather” arc seems to be a good entry point for newcomers.
Taking place just after the end of Marvel’s Blood Hunt vampire event, this issue features Miles dealing with the aftermath of being afflicted with vampirism. Although Miles isn’t a mindless vampire thanks to Doctor Strange’s magic, Miles still has the bloodlust to contend with.
While I personally don’t care for vampires, the allegory between Black characters and vampirism is intriguing. Vampires are considered monstrous, powerful and alluring all at once, and Black people have historically been “Othered” for centuries. Black vampires in media, such as Marvel’s Blade and Jewelle Gomez’s book The Gilda Stories, walk the line between humanity and Otherness, embodying struggle and strength all at once.
In the case of Miles Morales, he is definitely going through it. The vampirism is affecting his Spidey-powers in that the stronger his bloodlust, the stronger his powers are. This is demonstrated when Miles venom-blasts a villain called Zip Zephyr with maximum power, beautifully illustrated by colorist Bryan Valenza and artist Federico Vicentini in an epic double-page spread. Cory Petit’s lettering is visually stunning here too, the red “Fzzt Wham!” enhancing the bright yellow venom blast.
In the aftermath, Miles remarks, “I’m just lucky the guy I planted in the pavement is a demigod.” Miles put enough power into the punch to kill an everyday person, and this shakes him to his core. It also physically exhausts him, causing Miles to go see a superhero doctor by the name of Doctor Sasquatch. Doc Sasquatch looks exactly like his name implies, but also green. Nonetheless, he knows his stuff, explaining that while Miles’ venom blasts keep his vampirism at bay, using too much could also kill him.
Before Miles leaves, Doc Sasquatch promises to work on things and keep in touch. Given how he called in therapist Doctor Kwan and suggested her for “field experience,” I suspect she might end up helping Miles in a cathartic way.
Speaking of people helping Miles, I love that he is dating Starling, a Black female teenage superhero aka Tiana Toomes, the granddaughter of the supervillain Vulture. She opens the book with an introspective internal monologue that muses on how Miles gives her love and stability, but how that love is a little overshadowed by trust issues brought on by her grandad being a supervillain, her Dad abandoning her and her mom getting sick and dying. According to what I’ve researched, Vulture has been financially supporting her all her life, but the two of them don’t have a relationship.
Given that Miles decided to go visit Tiana after leaving Doctor Sasquatch, part of me hopes she will be able to console him. However, a bigger part of me feels that her personal issues might keep her from doing so, especially since they literally land on her doorstep.
The comic ends with Tiana going to the rooftop after hearing a noise and finding Vulture there. I’m hoping he isn’t there to ask for a favor in return for him supporting her, but time will tell. I just hope that Tiana and Miles can find the internal peace they are looking for by the end of this story arc. Cody Ziglar has begun a story of struggle and strength here, and I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes.
Buy Miles Morales: Spider-Man #23 here. (Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, ComicsXF may earn from qualifying purchases.)
Latonya Pennington is a freelance contributor whose comics criticism can be found at Women Write About Comics, Comic Book Herald, Newsarama and Shelfdust, among others.
