Ever since the magnificent animated movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse introduced Miles Morales to the world at large, he has become a considerably more popular character, and is soon to be seen in his own game Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Building on his newfound renown, a fan film simply titled Miles has now been released, imagining the newest Spider-Man on his first crime fighting outing.
The movie uses images and deleted footage to place it in the same universe as Sam Raimi’s trilogy. A month after the death of Peter Parker in an explosion at Oscorp where he battled Electro, Miles makes the decision to use his newfound abilities in an attempt to fill the gaping void left by the hero’s absence and restore hope to a city quickly losing it without their web-slinging paragon.
After Miles locates a team of thieves led by Shocker and a gender-flipped version of obscure villain Rocket Racer, who break into a warehouse to steal some of the Green Goblin’s weaponry, he soon discovers whether he has what it takes to be a superhero.
The short was written and directed by filmmaker Tarrell Christie, and was apparently made for a mere $500. Although the judicious use of visual effects (also by Christie) doubtless lowered the price tag, it’s still a spectacular achievement to have made something this high quality so cheaply.
It also wisely skips showing Miles attaining his abilities, and tacitly suggests that with the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man out there, he didn’t feel the need to immediately turn to the life of a vigilante. Only after the hero’s death does he first don a mask, with the short’s events detailing his first attempt to take down villains.
Like Peter, Miles is someone with powers, but lacks the training to properly use them right away, making his victory in the various fights far from inevitable conclusions. The film also briefly explores why some people turn to a life of crime, there often being more morally ambiguous motivating factors than simple greed, sadism, megalomania or just generic evil leanings.
Fan films come in a multitude of quality levels and understanding of source material, but this version of Miles Morales and Spider-Man is up there with the best of them, and promises greater things to come from the creative team behind it.
