Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Vol. 3

Spider-Man: Miles Morales (Collected Editions)

by Brian Michael Bendis, Jan Bazaldua (Artist), Nico Leon (Artist)

After his fateful encounter with Spider-Gwen, Miles' life is turned upside down - but he's not the only one! Now, Miles' mother, Rio Morales, finds herself faced with a very different world that she doesn't know and can't even begin to understand. How will she cope? Who can she turn to? What will she do now?!

COLLECTING: SPIDER-MAN 15-21

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Spider Man, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book

160 pages, Paperback

First published November 21, 2017

About the author

A comic book writer and erstwhile artist. He has won critical acclaim (including five Eisner Awards) and is one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics. For over eight years Bendis’s books have consistently sat in the top five best sellers on the nationwide comic and graphic novel sales charts.

Though he started as a writer and artist of independent noir fiction series, he shot to stardom as a writer of Marvel Comics' superhero books, particularly Ultimate Spider-Man.

Bendis first entered the comic world with the "Jinx" line of crime comics in 1995. This line has spawned the graphic novels Goldfish, Fire, Jinx, Torso (with Marc Andreyko), and Total Sell Out. Bendis is writing the film version of Jinx for Universal Pictures with Oscar-winner Charlize Theron attached to star and produce.

Bendis’s other projects include the Harvey, Eisner, and Eagle Award-nominated Powers (with Michael Avon Oeming) originally from Image Comics, now published by Marvel's new creator-owned imprint Icon Comics, and the Hollywood tell-all Fortune and Glory from Oni Press, both of which received an "A" from Entertainment Weekly.

Bendis is one of the premiere architects of Marvel's "Ultimate" line: comics specifically created for the new generation of comic readers. He has written every issue of Ultimate Spider-Man since its best-selling launch, and has also written for Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men, as well as every issue of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Ultimate Origin and Ultimate Six.

Brian is currently helming a renaissance for Marvel’s AVENGERS franchise by writing both New Avengers and Mighty Avengers along with the successful ‘event’ projects House Of M, Secret War, and this summer’s Secret Invasion.

He has also previously done work on Daredevil, Alias, and The Pulse.

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 4 out of 5]

A huge scrap with a classic Peter Parker foe sees Miles questioning what is he doing as 'Spider-Man'. Someone else finds out his true identity and it might just destroy his family! An ex-villain has a crush on him... oh, and he nips off to Japan.

More beautifully envisaged, well plotted, real adventures from the Bendis machine. In case you don't know I have always felt that Miles was/is the superior Spider-Man, and the recent Emmy winning movie is now a testament to that :). 8 out of 12, Four Stars, to the only consistently superb on-going Marvel book... EVER!

2019 read

[Sam Quixote · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s time for another edition of Brian Bendis Attempts To Obliterate My Interest in Miles Morales! In (good grief) Volume 3, the increasingly uninspired writer finds the laziest pseudo-storylines on which to hang his copious amounts of uninteresting, soapy melodrama!

Miles’ freshly-resurrected Ma finds out (again, as she doesn’t remember her pre-death life) that her son is Spider-Man and her hubby’s a SHIELD agent… zzz... Bombshell thinks Miles fancies her because he beat up Hammerhead for hospitalising her. What should he have done, bought him flowers? Also Miles randomly goes to Japan to play at being James Bond for no reason, taking on an Inhuman Yakuza boss. What the jeffin jeff, Bendis…

So little happens (yet again) in this book I found myself wondering about irrelevant things like what on earth Goldballs - Bendis’ Uncanny X-Men character who can make, yes, gold balls appear from thin air - is even doing here. It’s not like Goldballs added anything (besides the same predictably unfunny and repetitive balls jokes that are always made around this character) or even had a storyline of his own, he’s just… there! Why??

One small thing I did appreciate was Bendis making Hammerhead’s motivations for hospitalising Bombshell understandable from his perspective. He’s meant to be this badass mob enforcer - why wouldn’t he shut down any and all challengers, especially teenage girls with explosion powers? It’s just rare to see writers go that extra mile to show things from the baddies’ point of view.

Szymon Kudranski’s noirish art on the first issue was really impressive and stylish so it’s disappointing that he didn’t get to draw the rest of the book. And, like I said about the previous volume, Bendis can write an easy-to-read and accessible book, it’s just a shame that because there’s no story behind it all that it’s so instantly forgettable.

Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Volume 3 is unfortunately more of the same pointless low-quality crap that is the post-Secret Wars Spider-Miles comics.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miles's mom finds out he's Spider-Man and his dad is working for SHIELD. It allows for a ton of great character moments and that's where the book shines. The villains are almost incidental at this point. Miles loses it while fighting Hammerhead and is afraid he might kill someone someday. He also heads to Tokyo and runs across the Technogoblin. I loved when Gahnke calls himself Ned (A little shoutout to Gahnke's name being changed for Spider-Man: Homecoming.) and when Miles chases down the purse snatcher. My one complaint is the amount of dangling subplots that are left open at the end of this. Goldballs has skipped town and no one's heard from him, Hammerhead is amping himself up, Bombshell is suddenly in love with Miles, Black Cat has some kind of turf war going on and then there's the big reveal at the end leading into the next book.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

While the previous installments were enjoyable (but not quite 'amazing' or 'spectacular' - I couldn't resist the Spidey wordplay) Vol. 3 kicks things up a notch with the violence and drama. One notable sequence has Spider-Man chasing a fleeing mugger into a nightclub - 'Romita's Bar & Grill,' a knowing tip of the hat to father / son Marvel Comics artists John Sr. and Jr. - and he proceeds to bash, thrash and trash the place into an eerie silence. Is he now swinging too close to 'the dark side'? More complications ensue with Hammerhead's savage beatdown of Bombshell (requiring hospitalization), as well as Mrs. Morales' on-going shock of learning about her son's secret identity. All of this plus a Kill Bill, Vol. 1-inspired climax and a 'tune in next time' ending. Really good stuff!

[Wing Kee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good and really bad.

World: The art is great, and also absolutely mind blowingly annoying. It's not very hard, we have google translate now, please for the love of God DO RESEARCH AND DON'T WRITE GIBBERISH ON STREET SIGNS IN JAPAN...it's not that hard. Don't be an ass, how would you feel if someone wrote in English and it was scribbles bullshit, it's 2018 by now it's offensive. The world building is great, this is a take two since Secret Wars and as much as I don't like Miles running around in 616 so far his story and his world has been good. As I said this is take two with the parents and this part of the world is done so well, I didn't like how Bendis handled the family in 1610, this rebuilding of the world is good.

Story: The family stuff is so good. As I said above this is a do over since 'Secret Wars' and with how Mum and Dad deal with Miles this arc, it's amazing. The emotions range true the dialog was on point, it was really good. The Black Cat story was interesting and the Lana angle is great!!! The Japan stuff was actually also quite interesting and I am interested to see how Bendis finished his run.

Characters: Miles is money, but that's fine cause he's a teenager and that's how they are suppose to act, his arc this time with the family was amazing and the emotions were on point. Mum was bloody fantastic and this do over I very much approve. Add to that the stuff with Lana and her arc and Goldballs...Bendis does good characters.

Other than the ridiculous art with fake letters (it's 2018!!!!) this was a very penultimate arc from Bendis.

Onward to the next book!

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much better than the previous 2 volumes of the relaunch. Justin Ponsour is on art now and, except for giving women weirdly large foreheads, is a good fit.

Overall, it's a mixed bag of stories. Miles' mom has discovered her husband's and son's secret lives and both have to deal with the fallout. On top of that, Miles has to deal with growing pains and superhero self-doubt, Hammerhead has to take care of Spidey or Felicia will kick him to the curb, and both Bombshell and Goldballs get b-plots. The problem is, none of these threads are resolved by volume's end; it's all just set up that will (potentially) pay off down the road.

[Ken W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun!

This was awesome! And Cable showing up at the end made it even better! He was always one of my favorite mutants! I can't wait to read the next graphic novel! 5 stars!

[Lashaan Balasingam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set after the interdimensional adventure with Spider-Woman and the Civil War II event, Miles Morales and his father now share an intimate moment to discuss the importance of the truth and the pain that lies can cause. This ultimately pushes the narrative to focus around the relationship around multiple characters, including the one between Miles and his mother.

The story jumps around a bit too much too fast in this one, often feeling very choppy throughout the same chapter. There's a lot of inconsistency and a lack of focus that perverts the overall tone of the story-arc too. It is still worth noting that it is interesting to see how writer Brian Michael Bendis explores Miles Morales's emotions throughout these events and how he makes him deal with them.

I won't lie that I had issues with the occasional change in artwork that made this far less appealing than what the first volume had to offer.

Yours truly,

Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/

[Frédéric · Rating 2 out of 5]

This volume is not particularly bad. But nothing much happens or what happens is off-kilter, so...

Miles' mom (supposedly dead pre-secret wars II, I never recovered from this lousy trick) discovers her son is Spider-Man and hubby is back into S.H.I.E.L.D stuff again. Here's where the strings come in... and here's where I start to count the pages left to end the book...

Bombshell thinks she's in love with Miles for dumb reasons. Ganke might finally have a girlfriend... Goldball, who might as well be the invisible man, disappears. See, what did I just tell you? Invisible... just like the plot.

After this sitcom interlude we get an improbable James Bond-ish 2-parter in Tokyo for no particular reason. The final panel didn't please me much and I'd hate to see the series going where's it's hinted. Fun action, though.

So it's not particularly bad. But it just isn't good enough.

[Grace Arango · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely an improvement from the previous volume! (also I may have cried a few times because these characters are literally my life).

[B. P. Rinehart · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt like this was a decent prologue, but it was missing something. I want this book to succeed & I want this character to succeed. It seems that the writers at Marvel who use him are to hesitant to explore his full potential. I keep looking back at the Ultimate Comics days with a hard longing. I feel like Morales' potential was much better realized and acted upon then. I hope the next volume lets him have a true moment to shine and a well rewarded win. The teenage angst in this book was boring, though at times it seemed to work or point to something deeper. The family conflict with was interesting and actually in interesting twist given what we know from the Ultimate-era. It did pick up towards the end, but not enough for me. I'm still backing the book, because you gotta dare to hope.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strong volume of Miles Morales in large part because it focuses on character. We get great character moments for Miles, for his dad, for his mom, for Ganke, for Goldballs, and for Bombshell. It's terrific that Bendis has put together such a strong cast, and it's great to see them written so well and with such depth.

There's also some plot, and it's good enough. It's interesting to see Miles' own interactions with Hammerhead; Bendis is clearly enjoying having Miles in 616. The last two issues, with a trip to Japan(!), wouldn't be as interesting if not for a great reveal of what's up next.

[Norman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. I loved the Ganke and Miles conversation about Miles being a Spider-Man cover band. I wish the whole series could be Ganke and Miles, but I understand the need for auxilliary characters and storylines. It’s cool. It’s Spider-Man after all.

[Haley Yochum · Rating 4 out of 5]

*rating: 4.5 stars*

This volume opens with a bang by dramatically continuing the ever-evolving familial drama of the Morales family. The art here was particularly great, having a very moody and almost cinematic feel to it. While I’ve gotten used to and enjoy the duo of writer Brian Bendis and artist Sarah Pichelli, the art of Szymon Kudranski in this opening issue was right up there with Pichelli’s work.

There’s been a major dynamic shift in the Morales family as Miles’ mom (Rio) not only discovered that her husband, Jefferson Davis, is once again working as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., but that her only child, Miles, is Spider-Man. Rightfully, Rio feels betrayed and as though her whole life is a lie. Even by the end, Rio has still not reconciled with Miles or Jefferson, keeping us on the edge of our seat as we yearn for the family to come together.

Meanwhile, Miles tries helping an old woman by catching the thief who stole her purse. As he chases the thief, he inadvertently destroys an entire bar. This leaves Miles in a mopey mood, as he contemplates quitting the whole Spider-Man gig. Luckily, Fabio AKA Goldballs has a heart to heart with him and reminds him that “everyone has a dark side. Everyone...It’s the duality of man.” Between his talk with Fabio and the fact that his love interest, Bombshell AKA Lana Baumgartner, ends up in the hospital after a brawl with Hammerhead, Miles has all the will and determination he needs to do what must be done to keep those he loves and his city safe.

It was nice to finally see Fabio in action as Goldballs. He essentially swoops in to save the day, and it’s reassuring to know that this guy who quickly showed up in Miles’ life has his back. In a weird turn, but true to form for Ganke, he’s meeting up and developing a friendship/possible romance with the always annoying Danika Hart.

I particularly enjoyed the last issue where we see Miles continue to deal with his inner darkness by running away from him home, ending up in Tokyo. It was fun to see him in a new location all by himself. This issue has a spy/thriller/espionage-esque tone to it that ends with Miles having to turn to the only person he knows can truly understand and help him, his father. We later learn that the events that occurred in Tokyo, where Miles unknowingly brings down a Japanese crime syndicate, lead by a character named Tamoe, was actually all orchestrated by Cable. It’ll be interesting to see how things play out with this new villain and how this will further complicate Miles’ and Spider-Man’s life.

This was a solid book start to finish and I like that they’re playing out the story of Rio discovering Jefferson and Miles’ secrets. In real life, this would be a very emotional thing for a mother and wife to deal with, and Bendis is letting the reader in on Rio’s emotionality in an authentic way instead of rushing this particular beat.

[Clara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to give parts of this 5 stars, and other parts 2 stars, so this is a very weird thing for me to rate. It brought up a lot of interesting questions, but there were parts of it I just couldn't take seriously.

[Jiro Dreams of Suchy · Rating 3 out of 5]

His mom figures out he’s Spider-Man and her husband is SHIELD, goldballs tries to be a hero again, hammerhead gets a super suit, Bombshell falls for Miles and Genke gets the Spider-Man obsessed youtuber- decent issues

[Kai Charles(Fiction State Of Mind) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miles secrets are revealed and cause a rift in his family.

[Ross Alon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember enjoying it, but as in most of Bendis's stories (Alias and daredevil excluded), I cannot remember the plot, so 3 stars it is

[Sofia The Great · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm biased. I love spiderman and this was a really good story.

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Time to go on a Bendis bender! (#6 of 8)

The first half of the book is pretty decent. I'm liking what Bendis is doing with Hammerhead, letting him appear in his various Marvel titles working with Black Cat and keeping him the bizarre throwback 50s mobster character that he was even in his original appearances in the Marvel Universe. Hammerhead is an effective villain in this volume, driving some changes for Miles and Bombshell.

But the second half of the book involves Miles taking a little Japanese sojourn that just seems random and time wasting.

(p.s., In addition to the Hammerhead appearances, I've noticed that Bendis is also obsessed with the name Gary, as it seems to keep popping up as some sort of in-joke running gag in most of the books I've read this week.)

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really did not love Spider-Man/Spider-Gwen: Sitting in a Tree, so I was both excited and reluctantly underwhelmed to move on in the series with Vol. 3. BUT, I did end up enjoying this book for what it was: beautiful art, family drama, and some Spider-Man action.
Overall, 3.5 stars.


Beautiful art: There are two sets of artists who worked on this book, splitting the volume...
Artists:
Oscar Bazaldua #16-#18
and
Nico Leon #20-#21

with Color Artists:
Justin Ponsor #16-#18 & #21
with Rain Beredo #18
Jason Keith #19 & #21
(Dunno who did issue #20 though...)


Family drama: Is a Spider-Man story even a Spider-Man story without any family drama? Probably not.
This volume starts off with Miles & his dad Jefferson eating and schmoozing on the rooftop of a dinner. (The art & colors are so pretty!) This is post Miles saving Jefferson from being lost in another dimension/on another Earth from Spider-Man/Spider-Gwen: Sitting in a Tree, which I still don't fully get plot-wise, but anyway...
They're shooting the shit & talk about girls (and boys; Jefferson thought Miles & Ganke were an item).
When they get home, Rio is waiting up for them. Uh-oh.
She demands to be told what's going on with her son & husband and... they both come clean to her. Miles tells his mom he is the new Spider-Man, and Jefferson tells his wife he went back to S.H.E.I.L.D. as a super-secret spy to keep his Spider-Man son safe... And, Rio is beyond pissed to have been left out of the secret. More than the secrets themselves, she is upset/angry/hurt that the secrets were kept from her. I get it, I do. (I'd feel the same.)
BUT, a part of me is a little "under-excited" by the family drama here because Rio was the one parent who knew and protected Miles' secret in Earth-1610. So, chill, Rio from Earth-616. You did it once, you can do it again.


Spider-Man action: In an effort to clear his mind (from the family drama), Miles goes out and accidentally beats up a whole bar (kinda lol sounding). He (as Spider-Man, of course) chased a purse snatcher inside, when the whole bar turns on him and started attacking. Yes, it was all self-defense, but that spread of Miles standing amidst the wreckage, bodies strewn everywhere, and his tiny "uh-oh"... it was visually a BIG moment. He feels super out of control & not worthy of the name Spider-Man. (But, what's more Spider-Man than feeling like you're not worthy of being Spider-Man?!).

Miles then goes after Hammerhead (unrelated to the above action) and gets totally demolished. Thank God for Goldballs though!! <3 <3 <3 <3
Fabio to the rescue!! (I love Goldballs!)

And then back to the family drama for a bit, Rio gives Miles some good advice about being better. And young love is in the air with Ganke and his gf (Danika, the Spider-Man vlogger) & Lana (Bombshell) "in love" with Miles after he goes after Hammerhead in a revenge attack for her demolishment. Eh.

In the last issue of this volume, Miles runs away to Tokyo. He's looking to get away from his life for a bit, but ends up in the middle of a Yakuza Inhuman compound, of course, with Tomoe (the Techno Golem). It's all very fast (one issue) with a cameo from Cable at the end. Eh.

On to the next and last volume of this BMB run (!!!!!!!!!!).

[Liz (Quirky Cat) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Spider-Man: Miles Morales Vol. 3 as single issues through the Marvel Unlimited app.

I was torn between rating this volume a 3 ½ or a 4. I’m sticking with 3 ½ for now, but I may cave and change it later. We’ll see.
Miles is back, and as per usual he seems to be getting himself into trouble. Okay, to be more accurate, this volume is mostly about consequences of the last volume (the one with him and Spider-Gwen). Well, mostly.



Volume three of Spider-Man felt a lot more emotionally driven than the last couple…but it works fairly well on the whole. Miles has to face the consequences of the last volume (even though he was just trying to save his dad), maintain friendships, and be a superhero all at the same time. Oh yeah, and deal with school work. That too.
More and more people keep finding out who Spider-Man really in. His best friend knows, Goldballs knows (courtesy of said best friend), Gwen, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, his dad…and now his mom. And his mom is one of those personality types that reacts really strongly to just about everything…so that was just as explosive as I expected. Not that I really blame her, she just found out that both her husband and son were lying to her, running around with secret lives, and covering for each other…so…yeah. I get it.
Along with dealing with that Miles still can’t keep himself out of trouble. Though he really did try. In his defense, the first time he got caught up in something this volume was because he rushed in to save a friend of his. Go ahead and argue all you want about wether or not she should have started that fight, but I won’t judge Miles for rushing in to save the day…even if the day ended up getting saved by somebody else.
Side note: I actually loved how that plot ended. Well, not the true ending. I mean more who the person is that stops the fight, and how he gets talked into it. That was all really well done. I hope that wasn’t the last time we’ll see him around.
The other plot is short, and a little bit silly. I will say that I loved how supportive Ganke is during that plot. Actually, Ganke is totally the unsung hero of the series, I swear. He’s an actual, supportive friend, with almost no hint of jealously about the super powers (okay, there was a little bit of that at the beginning, but now he’s really settled into his place in all of this). He’s unflappable, supportive, and knows how to motivate heroes and get their butts back in action. That is an understated talent that needs to be recognized more. So yeah, Ganke is getting that extra half star from me. I’ve just decided that. Go Ganke, you amazing dorkable kid you.
I’m looking forward to the next volume of Spider-Man. Hopefully Miles feels like he’s gotten a better handle on everything that’s happened, so he’ll be more emotionally stable in the upcoming plots. Either way, I know I’ll be reading what happens next.


For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really strong volume of an excellent comic book.

Miles and his father Jefferson return from their adventure in Earth-65 to find that Miles' mother Rio has discovered they have been lying to her- that Miles is Spider-Man and that Jefferson has returned to SHIELD. This leads onto to Miles questioning everything.

What I love about this book is how it manages to juggle so many balls. In this volume we have Rio's discovery of the lie and everyone's reaction to it, more machinations from Black Cat and Hammerhead and some epic battles with the latter, Goldballs stepping back into the action, Ganke in a relationship and a Bombshell having feelings for Miles. Some writers could have spread all this out of a much longer period but we get all this in six issues, plus a trip to Japan!

Miles' mother hasn't been around for long (she was dead before Miles joined the 616 universe in this rebooted run). Jefferson was relatively accepting of Miles being Spider-Man but it's interesting to see Rio being considerably less happy. It's generally an interesting exploration of the relationship between a teenage boy and their Mum, something that is rarely done to any depth in any medium.

Once again Miles battles with his inner demons- as well as Hammerhead and some ninjas (taking inspiration from Jackie Chan, of course). This series really feels like it understands teenage boys in a way the classic teenage Peter Parker stories never did. Miles continually doubts himself and questions the darkness inside of him but as it is pointed out, by doing that it shows he is a good person.

There's a great use of the extended cast here. Bombshell, Goldballs and of course Ganke all have important roles to play here- this is a hero who relies on his friends. The relationship with Ganke works so well it was echoed in the Spider-Man: Homecoming film and Ganke even uses the name Ned in this volume in reference to it. It's good to see him have his own storyline away from Miles too though no doubt it will lead to trouble!

Dare I say that this is the best volume yet of Miles Morales. It's certainly right up there with the perfect mix of relationships, teen angst and superhero antics. Superb.

[Rolando Marono · Rating 3 out of 5]

De todas las últimas series de Bendis en Marvel, antes de su partida a DC ( y fueron muchas: Iron Man, Infamous Iron Man, Defenders, Guardians of the Galaxy, Spider Man Miles Morales y una que otra tal vez que se me fue), Miles Morales es la única que medianamente me gusta y no me causa la sensación de que solo leí personajes hablando sin sentido de cosas que no sucederán y que tampoco ayuda a su desarrollo por una hora.
Miles Morales me gusta porque aunque tiene varios de los problemas de Bendis, el personaje me gusta mucho y puedo empatizar con el. Este tomo aborda el tema de que la mamá de Miles, Rio, se entera de que Jefferson es agente de SHIELD y Miles es Spiderman, todo al mismo tiempo. Mientras Miles lidia con todo eso, también se enfrenta a Hammerhead tratando de dominar el negocio de los crímenes en NY. Me gusta que Bendis se ha concentrado en los impulsos oscuros de Miles, pero creo que se podía desarrollar más.
La última parte del tomo es la aventura de Miles en Tokyo, se siente anticlimático con lo demás que nos había contado y un poco sacado de la manga.
Tampoco exploran mucho la relación entre Miles y Lana, solamente lo ponen con Ganke e inclusive la relación con Fabio, personaje que creó Bendis también y que podía ser una gran adición, se queda sin explorar.
Algunos de los diálogos, principalmente entre Miles y su familia, rayan en lo polémico. Hubo algunos diálogos que me hicieron sentir incómodo y no los sentí naturales acorde a la historia.

[Alex E · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bendis continues to explore the psychological effects that the Civil War II event, hell the whole business of "superheroing" is having on Miles. And it's damn fascinating to read.

Miles is realizing he has a lot of anger and inner toil that is festering up to the top. And after a couple of incidents where he goes overboard and shows his frustration in violent ways, he has to stop and reevaluate what might be going on with himself. He has a talk with Ganke, and he really puts thing in perspective. He basically says he is like a cover band playing another bands music. He's trying to model himself after Spider-Man but its not really something he came up with... just something he aspires to be. Very interesting character work by Bendis.

I'm really enjoying the art on the book as well by Szymon Kudranski and Oscar Bazaldua. They really do a great job of keeping the tone that was established in the first volumes. It's fun yet dynamic, and that's a great combo for any spider book.

This is a really good series. While Peter Parker is dealing with his international company shenanigans, we have the contrast of Miles dealing with real life problems, and that's usually when the spider books are best. Highly recommended for spider fans.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've loved Miles Morales since he was first introduced and this volume continues the high level storytelling goodness. There are a lot of quiet scenes in the dorm, with Miles and Ganke (and Fabio/Goldballs) just talking and being friends, which are the things I like best about the book. With a bit of retconning, Miles' mother is still alive and in his life and she discovers his secret, and the accompanying lies both father/husband and son have been telling her for years. Miles fights Hammerhead and shows him up, with a little help from his friends. Somewhat unrealistically, Miles travels to Tokyo, with nothing but $467 in his pocket, and manages to fall-in with Tomoe, the Techno-Golem, one of the more promising new villains in the Marvel universe. This was a bit disjointed and, unfortunately, the art changed frequently from one issue to the next (seriously, why can't they assign one top-notch artist to what has to be one of the company's flagship titles?). But it's all held together by sterling characterization and realistic dialogue. I'm not going to miss a lot of the company-wide crossover junk Bendis was responsible for, but I will miss his work on this title.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Peter Parker put on the black suit, we saw darker and evil thoughts coming from Spidey. That turned out to be the violent thoughts of the Venom Symbiote. Miles' suit has always been black. Is he under an alien influence when his thoughts begin to go dark and violent? The answer is no....
Miles's life has become slightly crazy and hectic. Coming off his adventure with Spider-Gwen, he has saved his father, his mother just found out he's Spider-Man, he still has problems with Black Cat, and he's got all the normal college drama of classes and rooming with Ganke and Goldballs. Anyone is bound to be stressed...
When Bombshell (a fellow superhero and cute girl that Ganke likes) tries to make a name for herself, she gets taken down by Hammerhead. Miles dives in full force and the rage comes out, but is he biting off too much in this gang war?
Lastly, trying to live his ultimate dream to take on Yakuza, Miles heads off to Toyko to take on Techno Golem. But wait..... why is Cable looking for him?

Fast-paced and showing a very human side to match his Spidey side, this Volume of Miles Morales shows why he's become one of the most popular MU characters. Recommend.

[Public Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goldballs to the rescue!! This series is so consistently entertaining. I love it. In this volume we get mucho family drama as Miles and his dad come clean to mom, Rio, about what's been happening behind her back ... for years. Um yeah. She was none too pleased. Miles is worried that the bad part of his uncle might resurface inside him when he's facing down evildoers making him lose control. Then he has a showdown with Hammerhead and gets totally hammered. Fortunately, new buddy Goldballs jumps in and saves the day. I liked that Hammerhead seemed so over getting constantly accosted by costumed superheroes and reluctant to engage when Miles's teenage pal Bombshell tries to throw down. Then Miles hops a slow boat to Japan?!? There's a two-issue adventure where he just up and heads to Tokyo? It didn't really make sense because there's a constant tension in the story about Miles barely holding on in school and missing classes because of his spider powers. I get that Wolverine can just go off to Japan because he is a grown man and doesn't have to worry about missing calculus - but Miles? Whatever, there was a big bad ninja fight - yay, everybody wins.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miles hadn't had much time for introspection lately, it seemed to me, as he's been rushing around between universes, getting roped into Civil Wars, and dealing with having his entire universe destroyed but then him plopped into 616, so it's nice to get some issues where he's really doing some self-examination. After he freaks out that a friend of his was beaten up and (to paraphrase a version of Peter Parker) stopped pulling his punches, Miles wonders if the violence that was his uncle's personality and part of his dad's past is part of him as well. He wonders if he's going to become like they were. He also truly begins to ask himself the question "Should I be Spider-Man anymore?"

We also see his mother come to grips with his alter-ego in a somewhat different way than when he was in the Ultimate Universe (where she basically found out and then immediately died), and so rather than being fridged, she gets some agency of her own here.

I liked all this. Better than most of the recent Spider-Man solo stuff. Miles gets to actually star in his own book again!

[Dubzor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bendis continues to be the most inconsistent writer in Marvel's stable. This volume, while mostly good, has a lot of bad in it as well. The first two issues are the most egregious. Out of nowhere the writing and dialog becomes clunky and jumps from one thing to another elegantly. This culminates in an entire issue of dialogue that is mostly sentence fragments that make little to no sense. Almost like the whole thing was rushed out the door.

Story threads are left dangling for several issues after hinting of their greater importance. And in the last two issues Miles just up and leaves for Japan for an story that is neither fun, nor terribly important. As far as he tells us, it doesn't even teach him anything or further Mile's current character arc. It just seems like that standard Brian Michael Bendis waste of time.

So, yeah. You should still probably read it, but expect it to be a bumpy road.