Spider-Man: Miles Morales Vol. 2

Spider-Man: Miles Morales (Collected Editions)

by Brian Michael Bendis, Nico Leon (Illustrator), Sara Pichelli (Illustrator)

Collects Spider-Man (2016) #6-11.

Miles Morales has only been in the Marvel Universe a short time, and now he's in the middle of a war! But as Marvel's heroes are torn apart by CIVIL WAR II, which side will Miles choose? Or can he and his Avengers friends Nova and Ms. Marvel find their own way? Things really get complicated when the future-seeing Inhuman Ulysses has a vision that puts Miles at the top of the most-wanted list! What terrible prediction could change the way the world looks at this young Spider-Man? Miles becomes a target, fighting to survive. Does he have any hope of escaping his pursuers — or his fate? Plus: Discover the untold history of Miles' father! What was life like for Jefferson Davis before his son was born — back when he was an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.?!

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

127 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 29, 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

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miles plays a huge role in Civil War II, so it's not a big surprise that this volume mostly deals with that fight and the different forms of fallout that come from it. I'm sure it will annoy some people more than others that this title was hijacked so soon by another 'Event'...and rightly so. I mean, I didn't mind it, but I think I'm probably desensitized to events taking over random titles at this point anyway.



But besides Civil War II there were plenty of other things happening in the background that I thought were just as (if not more) interesting.
OMG! Miles father is harboring one hell of a secret, isn't he? What the what?! That whole storyline is (to me) extremely interesting, and I can't wait to see where it goes.



Love, love, love all of the kids surrounding Miles. Ganke and Kamla are both adorable as the best friend and secret love interest, but the others (Goldballs, Nova, Bombshell) really add something special to the dynamic of the story.



Another highlight for me was the Jessica Jones/Luke Cage cameo.
LOVE THOSE TWO!
Jessica was hired by Miles overbearing grandmother to find out why his grades were dropping. She was convinced he was on drugs and wanted some proof. Fortunately for Miles, his granny hired a former Avenger to investigate him, so he got a heads up instead of getting outed to his family.



I gotta say, this is better than I was expecting, and almost exactly what I was hoping for when I found out Miles was going to have his own Spider-Man title in the 616 universe. Good stuff!

[Sam Quixote · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmm. Yeah, unfortunately the post-Secret Wars Miles Morales stuff isn’t an improvement over the post-Cataclysm crap. Event comics have completely ruined this character. And if that wasn’t enough, here comes another one in the form of Civil War II to compound the fuck-up! Jesus, what a mess Brian Bendis ended up making of poor Miles’ series.

In post-Secret Wars Marvel, the Ultimates universe is gone with the surviving remnants folded together so Miles is Spider-Man alongside Peter Parker’s Spidey and co. - I know, it’s a stupidly overcrowded situation. His ma’s brought back to life for no reason, completely undermining the traditionally tragic Spidey origin, and his da is rewritten as a secret SHIELD Agent, also for no reason. The former X-Man Goldballs is Miles and Ganke’s new roomie. You see a story in all this? Me neither - this is just... stuff! Window-dressing that should accompany a plot, not be THE focus of a book.

Most of the book is Civil War II bullshit, which, if you’ve read that event like me (and for the record: not a bad event - not good but definitely not as bad as they usually are; it’s surprisingly readable and not totally astoopid), nothing here’s gonna interest you. It certainly doesn’t add anything to the main storyline it’s tying into.

Miles’ gran has hired Jessica Jones to spy on him which goes nowhere. Miles’ dad’s SHIELD initiation - which takes up an entire issue - was completely pointless. This is what Bendis on autopilot looks like. He gets so wrapped up in extraneous irrelevancies like character banter that he completely forgets to give them anything to do. I have no clue what Miles’ story is going forward but that’s because there doesn’t seem to be one!

Nico Leon’s art is fine but nothing special and Sara Pichelli draws the Jefferson/SHIELD ish which looked pretty cool. And, let’s be fair: Bendis is a good writer. For all my criticisms of it, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Volume 2 isn’t a badly-written comic - it’s just frustratingly dull wheel-spinning and in dire need of a story. Sort it out, Bendis!

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miles reacts to all the stuff going on with him in Civil War II. Plus, his dad's got some secrets. Jessica Jones has also been hired by Miles's grandmother to find out his secret.

The Good: Brian Michael Bendis! I hope we never live in a world where someone besides Bendis is writing this book. Yeah, some of his other stuff isn't so great, but you can definitely tell that Spider-Man is his baby.

The Bad: The Civil War II stuff is definitely getting old and I'm looking forward to just letting Bendis tell some Spidey tales.

The Ugly: Nico Leon's art is a bit subpar compared to Sara Pichelli's.

[Prabhjot Kaur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miles Morales is being followed by a private eye who was hired by his grandmother in the last book. The private investigator is none other than Jessica Jones. She follows Miles around and finds out his secrets in no time. Miles's mother tries to talk to Jessica Jones but Jessica doesn't tell her Miles's secret. Jessica along with Luke cage confront Miles and tell him that he needs to be more careful as his secret is too easy to know.

Meanwhile, Miles gets contacted by Tony Stark and a new inhuman shares a vision in which Hulk may bring devastation. Tony and Captain Marvel invite all the superheroes to try talk to Hulk as Tony wants to save Bruce but somehow Hulk ends up dead and Tony blames Captain Marvel. The inhuman shares another vision concerning Miles and Miles is out to prove that vision wrong but things don't go the way he wanted them to. Miles' father was recruited by SHIELD and now he is missing.

This was such an improvement from the first in the series. I love Jessica Jones so I definitely loved her appearance with Luke Cage however brief. I also loved the avengers' story line again even though it was brief, it was amazing. I can't wait to read the next.

4 stars

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

The regular issues collected here were pretty good; one of them was even great. The Civil War II crossover issues, on the other hand, were a waste of paper.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vol. 2 was pretty damn good when it adhered to the 'problems with a secret identity' story-line idea (a Spider-Man specialty, no matter which incarnation) that carries over from the previous book. Morales has many conversations in the edition - with his father, with teen superheroine Bombshell ("I'm Bombshell. I blow stuff up." - LOL), and the best, a Luke Cage / Jessica Jones meeting on a rooftop - in which the dialogue is so well-written with its mix of humor and heart. When things switch gears into Civil War II drama there's a noticeable disconnect and it becomes less interesting.

[Terence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miles Morales life is full of drama. His grades are suffering because of his superhero actions so his grandmother hired a private eye to learn what's going on with him. Gainke told a total stranger Miles' secret identity. A new Inhuman has shown up with a power that will lead to heroes fighting each other and Iron Man wants him on his side.


This volume further confirms that it's just no good being Spider-Man. The amount of drama the name draws should encourage everyone to simply drop the name for safety sake. Maybe they could just join Shield as specialists, they'd get paid and in many ways things would be easier.

Miles has a rough time when Ulysses arrives. His predictions really complicated things for all the heroes, but Miles got hit with it harder than everyone. Truly he handled things quite well despite his age and the heroes who were behind Ulysses.

[Baba · Rating 4 out of 5]

What happens when a super powered teenager gets caught up in a Civil War between superheroes! Almost perfectly paced, Miles goes through the ups and downs of Civil War II in a volume that pretty much out strips most of the others in the event! Hold on to your hats! 8.5 out of 12

[˗ˏˋ janet ˊˎ˗ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miles has been through so much someone cut him some slack oml 🥺

[Natasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

God I really do hate the Civil War II arc

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was actually quite fun to read!

Miles being investigated and we see the drama there and he meets Jess and Luke, Bendis making his two creations meet and its fun and we see the advice from pro to new blood and i like that sort of thing and the thing with Luke is just perfect! <3

And then we have the start of Civil war 2 and its tying into it pretty hevaily like the dream Miles has of Hulk destroying stuff, meeting with Iron man regarding various things and deciding on the alliance, reeling from the vision of what he does to cap and that one on the Capital Hall building was crazy and I love the fallout from it between Miles friends and his team-mates and its crazy good how the drama there is and Bendis really excels at it and shows Miles turmoil and its perfect in a crazy way!

He really does well with the drama and then with Miles father and SHIELD and the trials and the fallout of it will be interesting to see. I love this volume and it raises the stake here and Bendis really excelling at all the drama and what not. The art just gets better with every issue! <3

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far, the Ulitmates version of Miles Morales was infinitely superior. This just isn't as good, complete with retconning the death of his mother and the addition of his over-the-top grandmother (yech--she even goes so far as to hire a private detective to follow her own grandson! that's not funny or insightful or anything). And then the events of Civil War II creep in. Miles' story is always better in the little moments between friends in school or the dorm room or in the interactions between him and his father. This isn't terrible, but it isn't the Miles Morales I came to love in the first place, either.

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Time to go on a Bendis bender! (#4 of 8)

Well, look at that, the only decent Civil War II cross-over I've read, probably because it was written by the event writer himself. How marvelous would it have been if this little book had been the Civil War II event in its entirety, and everyone was like, "What?! [Name redacted] and [name redacted] were killed in some flashback sequences in a secondary Spider-Man book?" Minds blown, and everyone's lives are better.

[Ken W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

I wasn't sure how well I'd like the Miles Morales Spider-Man since Peter Parker has always been my favorite superhero. But I am totally loving Miles! He's an excellent character and this is an amazing storyline! Highly recommended! 5 stars!

[Wing Kee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very real emotions and drama.

World: Great art that is full of emotions and personality. The tone is great cause of the art. The world building being mainly Civil War II is aight. It's done well and ties into the event well (cause Miles is a huge part). The small pieces of Miles' is also great and character driven. Good stuff.

Story: The tie in stuff works cause it's about character and that's the core. We really get into Miles' head and his friends and family. Good stuff. The tension is done well, the dialogue fantastic, just good writing. The drama is great, it's about character and not just another villain and just action scenes. The family stuff, Jones stuff all top shelf.

Characters: Miles is done so well, he's young, he's real and flawed. It's good. Ganke had a wonderful arc after the fall we had last time. He's a great rock of a character. The rest. Just read it and enjoy these great characters.

A solid tie in with real emotions.

Onward to the next book!

[Lashaan Balasingam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a bit disappointed that the Civil War II event had to take over the narrative in this one, drifting away from the narrative of the first volume a little bit to turn the focus on a new story while also trying to build on some of the threads presented previously.

With that being said, there are some fun moments spread out in the volume but everything felt choppy, like different stories being glued together without a guideline. It was interesting that Brian Michael Bendis gave so much focus on Miles Morales's father and his secret but it also pushed the protagonist all the way behind the scene.

The artwork remains stellar and a thrill to gaze at but there are moments where the transition feels wrong, missing pieces between panels or even pages to help the reader understand how things evolve.

Yours truly,

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

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again, the Miles Morales comic continues to mostly be about friends and family. That's what makes it great. So we get Miles and his school friends and we get Miles and his dad (and mom) and now we even get Miles and the Champions.

The first two issues feel like they're just as focused on Mile's personal life. It's Miles confronting Jessica Jones (and Luke Cage) about who he is and what he's doing. It's delightful seeing Bendis write this sort of crossover between two of his major characters, Jessica and Miles (even if I have no idea how it fits in with the continuity of Jessica Jones, Vol. 1: Uncaged!, since there's a major plot point there that seems to be ignored here).

And the rest of the comic: it's about Civil War II. The Miles comic is much more embroiled in it than I'd like, with three different issues being about vision fall-out. It really keeps the Miles comic from breathing. But at least Bendis uses the crossover to really drive the growth of both Miles and his supporting cast.

[Des Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the Civil War II tie in volume, and as usual, the event drags the book down. Honestly though, Bendis makes the best of it, and provides some meaningful story content that both provides more context for CWII and expands on some new solo Miles threads. It's downright impressive how well that dude handles crossover content, and I was pretty surprised at how well written and readable this volume is. It's wordy, but for the sake of characterization. Everyone gets a spotlight as things get heated, including all of Mile's non-super-friends, who have become important supporting cast members for the book. It's still a lot of fun, and the CWII stuff manages to generate some interesting character growth. You'll have to get over the constant awareness of having missed huge chunks of story between issues, but if you're paying any attention at all, you'll be fine with a healthy does of "oh, I guess that happened."

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

[Read as single issues]
Brian Bendis and Nico Leon take Miles Morales through the minefield of Civil War II, and you would think it'd be more successful considering Bendis was the writer of the main Civil War II book. Instead, this feels very superfluous as Miles grapples with the conflict going on around him and his father decides that rejoining SHIELD is the easiest way to make sure his son is going to be safe.

Nico Leon's artwork is the saving grace here, and while he's no Sara Pichelli, his fluid figures and the lovely colours by Justin Ponsor (I think) make even the most straight forward scenes look great.

I feel like, since Miles has joined the Marvel universe properly, other writers have been tackling Miles with more interesting and engaging storylines than Bendis has, which this volume supports entirely.

[Alex E · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume delves into the state of mind that Miles is in after the revelations of Civil War II.

I notice that when a tie in is written by the person who is writing the main event, it tends to be better than some of the other tie in's. And by better, I mean that it rounds the story out more with detail that is not essential, but certainly appreciated. For instance in this volume, we see how Miles is reacting to the vision that Ulysses had where Spiderman apparently kills Captain America. And I appreciated that Bendis wrote Miles in a realistic way. He's a kid, so naturally he is overwhelmed and scared. It reminds the reader that Miles is ultimately just a kid trying to do some good, and sometimes the world that he finds himself in is very much not for the young at heart.

The art by Nico Leon is a nice follow-up to Sara Pichelli's art, as it looks dynamic and fun all at once. He had the tough job of drawing a lot of slower scenes such as conversations, sit downs, and moments of deep introspection. So while he can do the action scenes very well, this volume proves he can do it all and have it look great at the same time.

Overall, one of the better tie in's to Civil War II. I would recommend this to reader's who enjoy the good tie in's to big event books.

[Delirious Disquisitions · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked it. But it didn't have the zing! the earlier Miles stories had.

[Colona Public Library · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy reading this volume. It looks like they have some interesting developments that i'm looking forward to keep reading about. The art in this book is amazing! Also I'm totally on board with Spiderman x Ms. Marvel ~Ashley

I'm enjoying these but not as much as I liked Miles in the ultimate books I first started with. I really wish I could see him doing more kid stuff, I feel like he's got so much responsibility for a young hero. I'd like to see him in more individual adventures for a few issues would be great... maybe just a scene with him playing video games with ms. marvel ?

[Sofia The Great · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was great. Can't wait to read more.

[Travis Duke · Rating 4 out of 5]

A step up from volume 1, Bendis does a great job at tackling a lot of story. Civil war 2 is in full swing ( already read it) and comparatively Bendis does a better job through recaps than the actual Civil war 2 book. Profiling is a big deal and it is handled very well in the book as it pertains to civil war, Bendis has a solid but delicate touch to a big part of the story. Meanwhile Miles is struggling to get involved with either side of the Civil war. Ganke and Goldballs become great sidekicks along with miss marvel, and bombshell in the background. In 2 issues Bendis manages to highlight Civil war 2 and it flows nicely this way, then we move on to the dad of Miles and his relationship with SHIELD which is a cool turn of events. I like the series but more so Miles, he has great conflict and personality.

[Jake · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let me start this review by saying I love Miles Morales, I love reading about his new perspective and spin on Spider-man. I find his crush on Ms. Marvel extremely cute. And I love some of the subtle interactions worked into this volume, like where he questions Tony Stark's perspective on profiling, where he gets dozens of cops guns pointed at him and starts thinking about the dozens of instances of police profiling and brutality against people of color.

However, all these good points are lost in a disjointed, hodge podge storyline, which is jumbled up with the events of the second marvel Civil War and something going on with Miles' dad. This whole thing means that most of the novel is not well connected, nor does it do a good job focusing on Miles.

I had high expectations, but honestly did not enjoy this volume.

[Norman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked it. Not having read the main Civil War Ii event but judging by the reactions, I'd say it's safe to say Bendis is still on top of it with the Spider-Man writing. Wasn't crazy about the whole free will premise to begin with, but we get a more in depth look at Miles to understand he's more a child compared to our adult Peter Parker, especially in his current state and even in his younger days - they are two completely different characters who just happen to share the same superhero name.

[Chris Talbot-Heindl · Rating 3 out of 5]

GAH! This is not getting much better. The story starts with the boys talking about the friend zone and Miles talks about how you can move out of the friend zone, but it's understandable that femmes are weary of cismen (my interpretation, but they of course were talking specifically about ciswomen and cismen). It's like Bendis almost gets it, but then dashes in that casual misogyny anyway.

The story was super disjointed and hard to follow. The femmes in the story had their personalities dulled waaaaaay down. Maybe it's just me since I love and read Ms. Marvel and Jessica Jones, but their personalities seemed like a hugely muted version of their characters. Ms. Marvel spends a lot of her time crying and not knowing how to express herself. That's...pretty out of character. Ms. Marvels is entirely a jump first, think later problem solver; not a cry into a puddle. Jessica Jones was vanilla-ed pretty hard. It was disappointing.

At least this volume had some nuance to the reactions of people of color. Miles talks about profiling, and sort of segue into racial profiling before pulling it back; Miles is scared of cops because he knows racial profiling for him can be deadly; Luke Cage tells Miles how important it is that there IS a Black Spider-Man and how he needs to be better than his white counterparts (I may have read into his warning, but it seemed he was implying that he needed to not make any missteps as they would not be forgiven); another superhero refers to Iron Man as "another rich white guy telling us what to do," etc.

I don't know if it's worth seeing if Bendis pulls it together and gets some sensitivity readers. I probably will because I need to read everything, but shit if this isn't frustrating as hell.

[sia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Civil War 2 tie-in. Miles is asked to help Tony Stark. He wants to do the right thing but he's till conflicted about what to do. This volume gets into themes like racism, much like the previous volume. Tony explains to Miles how what Captain Marvel’s plans to do is much like profiling. And while Miles’ is wary at first, the use of that world really stuck with him.

This is such a sad read. Miles’ is struggling so much. Bendis perfectly mixed both CW2 with Miles’ own problems and how being a hero while being a person of color also fits into it all.

Having Tony fall into a comma right in Miles’ arms must be one of the most wicked choices ever made. I screamed my eyes out-or my throat out... Not only Miles has to grow up so fast to be able to fight alongside Tony and later on for himself, but the guilt that comes after seems to be consuming.

I really enjoyed to see Ms. Marvel and Nova interacting not only with Miles but with his dad and friends as well. Ganke serves his own run at this point. The way he cares for Miles is so compelling, to not say —again— realistic to every extend. Yes, they fight and have disagreements but—in which Miles has expressed his desired to kill him more than once— they end up talking about and have a stronger friendship because of it. Miles allows himself to be vulnerable around Ganke.

All of Jefferson’s involvement into the story was so inconsolable. He gave up his own life to have Miles safe, he lied to everyone just to protect him, and when he hears what Ganke says behind the door… it broke my heart into a thousand pieces.

Such an amazing volume!

Before I forget… (I did in the last review) THE ART! Amazing. Miles’ is drawn as a proper teenager, his facial expression’s are captured down to every inch. Same with the other characters. Incredible, and perfectly compelling with the story.

[Nadja · Rating 3 out of 5]

3* My main issue with this book was that there was that a lot of it was tying in to Civil War II and since Miles playes a pretty big part in that story it’s not tying in in a way that you get everything that is going on without having read Civil War II. If this explanation just sounded confusing then the whole story is even more so. I had to consilt the internet and read up about the Civil War II storyline because otherwise I would have been completely lost... After reading up on Civil War II I of course already knew most of what was going to happen, so that really also wasn’t ideal. I just found the whole thing to be quite frustrating...

But on the other hand there was also a lot I liked about this book. The main thing honestly is just the characters, I love Miles and his friends and also his family. All the characters mess up sometimes but they are also great friends and I loved all the little moments between them. I also really enjoyed it when Miles was dealing with the more personal stuff, like his self-doubt and having to keep a secret from people he loves and all the other issues that come with being a superhero...

I also liked the light and fun moments and I quite enjoyed the art. So I‘m really looking forward to the next volume, I just hope it doesn’t have any tie-ins to some big event...