Miles Morales: Spider-Man, Vol. 1: Straight Out of Broo… (2024)

With a near impossible job of taking over Bendis' 18+ year run on the 'Ultimate' Spider-Man, Saladin takes a laid back approach, preferring to fattening up and give more insight into Miles' supporting cast... which works OK alongside the 'get the bad guy' stories.

Unfortunately for Ahmed, the bar being set so high may limit the amount of time, space and effort people (myself included) will put with before deciding that Morales is no more (without Bendis). 6 out of 12 Three Stars.
2019 read

3.5 stars

"'With great power there must also come great responsibility.' It's something the first Spider-Man used to say to me. Well, I don't know if I have great power - I'm not Captain Marvel or Thor. But I use what I have to be responsible for as much as I can . . . " -- Miles Morales, on page 10

Vol. 1: Straight Out of Brooklyn walks that tricky line (or should I say spins that tangled web?) in that it's hero and his problems will seem reminiscent of Peter Parker in his school days, yet everything still seems fresh and modern in the presentation. Arguably the first half of the volume is better - as the second tale leans a little too heavily on a ridiculously vengeful vice-principal character who apparently models his behavior on the luckless Mr. Rooney from the film Ferris Bueller's Day Off - in which the rookie Spidey teams with old-school villain Rhino AND star-spangled Captain America to investigate the alarming disappearance of several neighborhood children. This unusual combo of characters and their well-meaning actions push the story towards one of my favorite and reassuring themes - that folks will put aside their differences and band together in effort for the greater good.

Saw this in a pile of comics here in the house and realized it was written by Saladin Ahmed, whose Black Bolt I thought was all right, and who is taking the Ms. Marvel reins from Willow Wilson, whose Kamala Khan lives in Jersey City. And doing this one with some more urban East coast vibe, straight outta Brooklyn, this time. Miles is, like Kamala, a "typical teenager" going to school, and his creative writing teacher has him keep a journal. Perfect for Miles, who has some secrets about himself he needs to figure out. And he needs to fight Rhino, and. . . then things get fuzzy and super-heroishly generic, with kinda generic art, though it is a bit darker than I expected and not cartoonish, so we can know real and not cartoony things are being faced here. It has potential! I like the cover!

A very solid first outing out for Ahmed as he steps into the size 18 shoes left behind by Brian Michael Bendis. This wasn't half bad. I liked how Miles teams up with the Rhino to find some missing children. I dug seeing a different side of the Rhino. That seems to be one of Ahmed's strengths given he successfully used the Absorbing Man to be Black Bolt's best friend over in that title. Where this fell apart for me some is the lack of the supporting cast outside of Barbara. Everyone else was almost nonexistent, especially Ganke. The book could have definitely used more of Ganke's humor and wide-eyed amazement. The subplots with the assistant principal also felt very old and hackneyed. I half expected him to call Miles a slacker as he seemed to step directly out of Back to the Future.

Javier Garron's art was very solid. And kudos for making it through all 6 issues without a fill-in. That's some professionalism rarely seen by today's comic book artists.

For fans of the Spider-verse film, this new Miles Morales comic is an excellent introduction to the character in comics form. Quality writing and art, while may not revolutionizing the medium, does succeed at entertaining and reminding fans what's to love about the superhero genre.

One doesn't necessarily need an expert-level knowledge of the Marvel Universe for this one, which is its strength especially for new readers. There are some fun Spidey mythos that comes up in fresh ways, such as with the villains the Rhino and the Vulture. Captain America shows up as well. If you're familiar because of movies and cartoons, that's great. If not, then this is a good start...

Recommended for kids especially, let's support the next generation of readers!

Whohoooooo! Miles has a awesome Spider-man book again. Let's gooooo!!!!

Saladin Ahmed is a pretty big writer now days. Writing the Black Bolt series critics and people loved, Exiles, the excellent Quicksilver Mini-series, and more. Now I didn't love Black Bolt but enjoyed it and I thought Exiles was meh, but loved Quicksilver. Saying that, Miles Morales lets Ahmed really shine as he brings Miles alive here.

So Miles is still in school trying to be Spider-man on the side. This book balances his personal life with friends and family while also dealing with crime fighting and teaming up with unlikely people. What's different than Bendis run, which I liked even with its ups and downs, is Miles feels more like a real person. It could be because the slang is more updated and fresh, feels real, but also the connection to his friends and especially support from his family. It all works well to give real vibes.

I think Miles is a great character. His growth throughout the years has been great and he's for sure very different than Peter or Gwen who are probably the next two biggest Spider-people. I think it'll be interesting to see what Ahmed has in store since so far this is giving me classic Ultimate Spider-man vibes in all the right ways. I want more team ups like here, more school adventures, more love stories. Give me it all! A 4.5 out of 5.

Gdjebdkjvbfhdfyw, I think that was enough to explain how much I liked the comic. I can't wait for the movie release.

A strong start for this creative team. They do a wonderful job of evoking early-days Spidey, not easy to do while simultaneously navigating a much more complex contemporary environment. This book is fun, and I'm looking forward to more.

Reread: 17/03/2023

This was such a fun volume and I love the way it rereads the second time. The way it's paced is perfect for new and old readers alike and I loved it. Introducing a simple story of human trafficking and having Miles face off against villains like Snatcher and Think and the latter getting a redemptive arc was fun and then showing how he is struggling to balance normal life with superhero one and the struggles of that and the drama with the supporting cast was so well done. A perfect mix of the classic Spidey stories that we love and like I said perfect. Also the villain Frost Pharoah gotta be one of my faves lol. Silly I know but works and then setting Tombstone as the bad guy for the arc was a good choice, though he should have been fleshed out more but still good volume with great art!

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THIS WAS TOO GOOD!

I remember reading about Miles here and there and some of Bendis USM work a few years back but this was like my first full on reading him and it was awesome! So this story is about Miles adjusting to his new life and his GF Barbara who I love and then he has to deal with the disappearance of her nephew, team up with Rhino and fight him first then Cap comes in and they have to rescue these kids from some mind controlling guy named the Snatcher.

And then there is this fun adventure where he goes to some museum with his friends and he fights the Living Pharoah and also fun to see how he deals with how he writes his adventures in his diary and next story with his Principle Lyle going after him and it was just fun and also loving how he fights Tombstone and sort of teams up with STARLING, a new character and her revelations and maybe stops a gang war!

I love how this volume brings back the fun of a young Spider-man and shows him struggling between school life and superhero life and teaming him with heroes and showing such a great supporting character and my fav has to be Barbara she is so cool! I love her and Miles dynamic and even in the end the tension of "Should I tell her my secret or not" and the drama that it creates.

Plus loving how we get new villains for Miles and that increases his own rogues gallery and creates challenging things for him and some great personal moments and philosophical debates. What I loved even further was the art and its such a fresh breath of air seeing how he manages the action scenes and large supporting cast and the writing is spot on. Probably one of the best Marvel books in Fresh start and hopefully it gets better from here. A must read.

Man, I’ve been wanting to read this since the singles started up. Missed the first couple and then the price shot up. Oh well, I have all 5 trades now with volume 6 in the mail. This was fun. The first 3 issues deal with Miles looking into some kids going missing. Here we get the unlikely team up with Miles, Cap and the Rhino. Crazy as that sounds it was actually pretty cool. The middle focuses on Miles and his friends skipping school. Gave me some very strong Ferris Bueller’s day off vibes. Then by the end we have a new character show up and Miles finds himself tentatively teaming up with her. Feels like there is more to come there. All in all, solid volume. Bring on volume 2!!

Miles Morales returns for the first time in a solo series by someone other than Brian Bendis, and it's definitely a breath of fresh air. Saladin Ahmed breathes new life into the character and his supporting cast, aging them up just a little and introducing a whole new slew of problems for Miles.

It's difficult to write Miles stories now that aren't ones that you could just swap a younger Peter into and get the same result. Ahmed succeeds here by making sure that Miles' choices and the consequences he has to deal with are all his own, and although he does get a little bit 'Parker Lucked' at certain points, Ahmed is mostly successful.

The real shining star is the issue midway through the volume in which Miles and friends try to ditch their overbearing vice principal to play hooky for the day (with added Spider-Hijinks, of course). It's this day-in-the-life type story that really hammers home how well Ahmed understands these characters and the types of stories he wants to tell with them.

On art, Javier Garron takes the reins and his designwork for Miles and his friends is astoundingly good. They all feel up to date and current, while maintaining their own personalities without becoming just stereotypical teens. The superhero stuff ain't half bad either, but the civilian stuff is where Garron really shines.

Miles Morales is back, back, back again, but this time seems like it'll stand out above the pack for really trying something a little different rather than relying on Miles' popularity and the same old villains over and over again. Lookin' at you, Bendis. Always lookin' at you.

An oh-so-very generic teen superhero comic with lots of high school hijinks, secret identity angst, an older superhero guest appearance, and c-list super villains, including a new one named Snatcher. (I couldn't resist, I had to yell, "Snatcher! No snatching!") I feel no need to pick up the next volume, especially if even the editors don't care enough about the book to correct Miles' main love interest, Barbara, being referred to by two different last names.

Despite being a bit excessively cheesy, it does reset the game for Miles Morales and offer him the chance to shine as Spider-Man. There are some very awkward hero-villain moments that throws you off but it isn't that bad considering the humour writer Saladin Ahmed aims for here. The story-arc focused on Miles and not Spidy, with the vengeful principal, was unexciting though. I could've lived without having to go through that.

Yours truly,

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

This was really fun to read!

I dropped out after volume 1 of Bendis' 2016 run. I just wasn't feeling it, but I'm glad I gave Ahmed's run a chance!

This book feels youthful and fun! I really love seeing Miles balance his daily life with school, friends and family + being Spider-Man. He sounds like a teenager and I like seeing his thought process as the book went along. This book also tackled issues with deportation and it tackled it pretty well, in my opinion. I like the way Ahmed included aspects of Miles' culture, as well. It felt much more authentic than past runs I've read for this character.

I loved seeing Miles work with Rhino and Cap. I really love how much Miles admires Cap and how much Cap trusted Miles to come up with a plan to save the kids. I loved seeing Rhino come to trust Miles as a partner. I think Ahmed likes to take villains and reveal them as human beings. That was the vibe I got from his Black Bolt run.

I really loved Judge and Starling was a super cool character! I'm sure she pops up again later in the run. I also really loved her backstory and tying her to Toomes.

Anyway, definitely a recommend from me. A really great, fresh new take on a character I really love.

Pretty good volume! Was expecting a bit more though. I love the miles speaking spanglish content :D

When he was first conceived in 2011, the African-American-Hispanic Spider-Man Miles Morales has always been written by co-creator Brian Michael Bendis, with the exception of the character popping in event titles and superhero team-ups. As Bendis has left his beloved creation behind to hang out with the Man of Steel in DC, Miles Morales is now under the helm of Saladin Ahmed, who has already proven his talents at Marvel with Black Bolt.

Balancing high school life at Brooklyn Visions Academy with the super-heroics as the other web-slinger in New York, Miles crosses paths with the classic Spidey baddie, the Rhino. However, when the two discover that they share the same dilemma of children being kidnapped by a mysterious villain, the Spider and the Rhino join forces whilst our young hero has to cope with the everyday problems of school, friendships and relationships.

Having read a lot of Miles Morales from his inception to his appearance in the 2015 event Secret Wars, I have not read any of his post-Secret Wars adventures and based on the initial issue of this volume, clearly a lot has happened that I am not aware of, most notably his family, who now knows about his secret identity. That said, some things haven’t changed as Miles still struggles with his double life, with a dose of levity from his best friend Ganke Lee. As much as I enjoyed Bendis’ writing, Ahmed nails a more contemporary spin on Miles, who is a little bit older and has slang in his dialogue. Although the first issue was published around the same time that the cinematic masterpiece Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was released, the two versions of Miles share a similar rhythm.

Due to what Nick Spencer has been doing with Peter Parker in Amazing Spider-Man, Ahmed is conscious to not repeat the similar tropes for Miles, who has his own issues. For starters, as part of his creative writing class, Miles has to write a journal, which is cleverly used as his inner monologue throughout the book. Showcasing his thoughts and feelings about his recent experiences, we see the consequences of having great responsibility, such as a romance falling apart due to his secrecy, to having a vice principal as his own J. Jonah Jameson. Some of the ideas have been explored before, most notably the well-worn teenage romance, but Ahmed maintains some strong characterisation for our hero.

As for the crimefighting antics, you have a mixture of old and new villains, some of which form an uneasy alliance with Miles, such as the Rhino and Starling, providing humour and warmth. Although characters such as Snatcher and Tombstone don’t leave the greatest impression, the well-orchestrated action makes up for it as artist Javier Garrón and colourist David Curiel presents one of the most visually stunning superhero comics. Great attention to detail towards a diverse range of characters, the art team knows to convey the many emotions these characters, especially Vice Principal Drutcher, who is just driven by anger as shown through his physicality.

With a new creative team tackling Miles Morales, this first volume arguably does more justice to the character than what Bendis conceived.

A satisfying, thorough re-introduction to the Mile Morales version of Spider-Man. Bland storylines are spiced with welcome cameos, such as a hero turn for the Rhino, the helping hand of Captain America (??), and a new frenemy in Starling. I can't say I enjoyed every minute of the volume, particularly finding myself sleepy during the Miles vs. Vice-principal Whoever issue, but it was overall a mild, nice time. Very reminiscent of Saladin Ahmed's run on Ms. Marvel. More hijinks than plot, although I guess the Tombstone/Starling thing could go somewhere. Swell art, easy on the eyes.

Okay here is the bottom line. The artwork is solid and the writing is good on this book. But? It just isn't that exciting. For those who are becoming fans of the Spider-verse film this book works as a great jumping on point for new readers. Its just I have been reading Miles adventures since Bendis created the character and what truly made the character unique is missing. Miles just worked better in a universe where there was no Peter Parker. Do not get me wrong I like when Pete & Miles team up once in a while. But when Miles was in the Ultimate universe he had to rely on himself a bit more. He started to fight unique villains of his own. They were not all of Pete's hand me down rogues gallery. But as far as the story goes here it was okay. Miles has to team up with the Rhino & Captain America to investigate why teens have been disappearing and reappearing with powers all over the city of New York. The dialogue was handle well between the main characters. The supporting cast is where things are falling apart. Ganke and Miles parents just aren't as interesting here as they were in the Bendis runs. From what I here Marvel is contemplating the return of the Ultimate Universe. But for now I really hope the series will get more exciting. For right now Nick Spencer is writing the better Spidey book. But I am still interested in seeing what Miles will become now without Bendis. Mr. Ahmed has introduced Uncle Aaron aka the Prowler back into the mix so I am curious to see what is coming down the road for our younger Spider-man.

3,5/5

The story didn't really flow, but it was a lot of fun to read anyway. Loved the rhino especially and a nice cameo from Cap. Kinda wish they'd spent longer on the story in the first couple of comics.

Velmi sympaticky napsané postavy a dialogy (skvělé pojetí Rhina). Bohužel zápletky jsou dost jednoduché a trochu i nezajímavé. Kresba je v pohodě.

Pretty fun Spider-tale, but nothing ... Spectacular. I like Saladin Ahmed and that he chose to bring in Rhino as an ally for this first book, and expect the series to blossom in future volumes.

The strength of the new Miles Morales is definitely the characterization. Ahmed gives Miles a very authentic feeling voice, and also does a great job with his supporting cast, including new cast-member (apparently) Starling.

The weakness of the new Miles Morales is the plotting. There's just no chemistry in this volume's fight against Tombstone, and that's not even talking about the shudder-worthy fourth issue, on truancy.

Still, definitely 3.5 stars, and I'm hoping the plotting will come up to the level of the characterization in the next volume.

Miles is a killer character. Great jumping on point for those new to him. Makes me want to go back and reread his earlier stories.

I didn’t read the back of the book because it was a gift and I started reading it immediately so when I say I got Captain America jumpscared I’m being one hundred percent serious

A quite good appropriation of Bendis' character by Saladin Ahmed and crew.
Ahmed doesn't try to reboot Miles and pursues the story where Bendis left it with characters maybe slighly older.

At this stage the stakes weren't in the plot/subplots but in the vibe. Would Ahmed capture Miles, Ganke, the high school atmosphere and stuff and compare with his illustrious elder's take on the book?
Actually he did. Truth be told I even found it better than Bendis' last run.

Action, humor, cool dialogues, good sentiments, a bit of teenage romance, it's all there. Not to say it's amazingly new or creative but it captured the title's essence and I'd say that's no small feat.

Jag växte upp med Spindelmannen-serier på nittiotalet. Dåomkring var handlingen väldigt episk och storslagen - skönt att Saladin Ahmed ger tillbaka en lättsammare och mer lokal ton till Spidde.

In the first annual of the first (and best) run of New Warriors, there is a short story where Speedball is trying to activate his super powers. He basically needs to experience force, so he keeps trying to jump off or get hit by something, but keeps getting saved by the various super heroes who call New York City home. Eventually he wonders how many super heroes are actually in NYC, and Marvel Boy (before he become Justice and total douche) gives some sort of answer.

Speedball’s question is a good one, and I found myself wondering about it in the opening chapters (issues) of the Miles Morales story because seriously, why would any super villain or criminal think that operating in NYC is a good idea considering the high number of super heroes that hang out there.

That point aside, you can aid more to the Miles Morales Fan Train. I mean, Spider-Ham is still my favorite Spider-Man, but Miles is a very close number 2. Honesty, Peter Parker who?

It is absolutely refreshing to see a character who has a relatively stable home life being given the space to actually be an interesting character. I mean yes, he has his family issues and his school’s vice principal is out to get him for some reason, but his family is loving and solid. His parents support him, his friends support him, he is well adjusted. It’s nice. ( I keep thinking about what a writer once said about Firestar, how she wasn’t interesting because she had no family drama, despite her mother having died. Miles is allowed to have that solid family without overly tragic drama).

I also really love the supporting characters, even Rhino who seems, at least here, to be in the reformed villain lane. But the thing about Rhino as opposed to another reformed villain, Emma Frost (who emotionally and mentally abused her students) say, is that he is actually aware that in some ways his in-laws have a point. Even though it hurts him to be ignored by his in-laws, he doesn’t judge or condemn them for their choice, or even accepts as reasonable. In other words, he is aware of the wrongness of his actions. In other words, as compared to Frost who got her second chance after her students were killed and was immediately put in charge of more students, Rhino is being held to account.

I also love Starling, though I wonder why she is calling herself Starling but using red plumage in her costume because that is a totally different bird. But she is great. She seems older than Miles, and I like that. I also like her take on the whole costume hero gig.

It’s also great to see that Miles’ friends and girlfriend are able to call him out when his behavior hurts them, but they are shown as doing so in such a way that is not whining or complaining. This is true both of his girlfriend who knows that he is hiding something, and his best friend who helps with his weaponry. IT’s even true of Judge, another friend. It was a good touch, especially when part of the reason I stopped reading Marvel for many years was a writer suggesting that the reader should feel sorry for Empath after he used his powers to get the woman he loved to say with him, taking away her free will.

I also love the fact that while Miles is smart, he is normal smart as opposed to super duper smart and a secret inventor. He is an everyday student, and that is great.

Totally enjoyable. (As an aside, part of me wishes that the writers that are behind characters such as Miles and Ms. Marvel had been writing when Firestar was active in New Warrior because they would have done her so well).

"Straight Out of Brooklyn" is an awesome book. I've been wanting to read more Miles Morales comics after watching the two Spider-Verse movies, and I'm glad I read this one. Miles is a great character. He has a great heart and is selfless. He also has a fun sense of humor, especially when he fights criminals. His humor makes the book a lot of fun and a joy to read.

Another great thing about this book is how it covers his struggles. He is having trouble balancing school and his superhero work. It often leads to him being late for class and/or exhausted. Ahmed does a great job in showing this, and I feel for him because he wants to do the right thing, but is often pulled in so many different directions. It doesn't help that the vice principal, Lyle Dutcher, has it out for him (and scapegoats him as a troublemaker). Ahmed writes this very well and Dutcher is a character I've come to despise.

Ahmed does a nice job in writing Miles' other struggle - keeping his identity a secret. This comes to a head when Barbara, his girlfriend, suspects he's hiding something. Plus, a different character, an antihero named Starling, also confronts him about this. I can see Miles' points, but I can also see where Starling and Barbara are coming from and empathize with all three characters.

Indeed, this book has a lot of great characters. We see Rhino and Captain America, with Rhino not being like what we expect, which was a nice twist. It so was fun seeing Miles work together with them both. I also like Starling and Barbara. Starling's conflict with Miles is written well and she has a great backstory (and is a complex character). Barbara is caring and fun. Plus, Judge is also fun and witty. It was particularly fun seeing Barbara, Miles, and Judge hang out and enjoy a day off - all while being interrupted by various criminals that Miles/Spider-Man has to stop.

Nonetheless, while there are a lot of great characters, the book doesn't give enough space to fully develop them and is a bit rushed. The pacing is super fast and I think it can slow down at times. For example, I think Barbara and Miles' relationship moved a long a bit quickly - and she quickly suspects he's hiding something (which could've been fleshed out more). The antagonists were okay, and we got to see a bit of their plan, but the book rushed through that.

Still, it's a very good and fun book. I like how Ahmed has written Miles and how he writes from Miles' POV (especially via journal entries). The stories are enjoyable and there is some great social commentary in them too. The characters are good overall, though the pacing is a bit fast. Altogether, it is a solid read. I love how Ahmed wrote Ms. Marvel and I love how he wrote Miles too and look forward to reading more of his Miles Morales books.

I can hardly understand the world of comics in terms of origin stories, understanding the interconnectedness of universes, where to ACTUALLY start, so most of the time I just jump right in. I really just want to be entertained because I didn't grow up comic-loving like others did. And I am definitely enjoying this Miles Morales storyline as Spiderman-- going to a visions academy but his family is sort of close by, saving people but also still going to school, having to juggle a girl he likes who is suspicious of him (but how can you tell her you're SUPERMAN?!), and living out the responsibility of superhero-ness.

It's action and justice and slice of life at the same time. The illustrations were phenomenal, I'm a fan of Miles' roommates and the Rhino was awesome. I will definitely borrow volume 2 and follow this thread.