“Miles Morales: The End” is a decent end of a hero story but is it a good end of Miles Morales story? Beware spoilers ahead!
Written by Saladin Ahmed
Illustrated by Damion Scott
Colored by Dono Sánchez-Almara
Lettered by VC’s Cory PetitTHE FINAL MILES MORALES STORY! Humanity makes its last stand in the only place strong enough to survive: BROOKLYN. Former Spider-Man, Miles Morales, leads the last bastion of civilization into the future! Penned by MILES MORALES: SPIDER-MAN author SALADIN AHMED!
It’s the “final” Miles Morales story in “Miles Morales: The End” #1, a part of a series of one-shots that explore the final stories of a select few Marvel heroes. Main Miles scribe Saladin Ahmed joins Damion Scott, Dono Sánchez-Almara and Corey Petit to deliver a hypothetical end to Marvel’s Brooklyn-based wallcrawler in a walled-off version of the hero’s home in a dystopic version of New York, plagued by monsters and rednecks. Overall “The End: Miles Morales” #1 is a serviceable story but isn’t as incredible as a theoretical final issue should be.
Ahmed’s plot is very straight forward with a sprinkle of pathos. It’s the far future and Miles Morales is “El Alcalde” of a preserved Brooklyn that’s under attack from monsters and a hulking toxically nationalistic Captain America rip off and his One American Army. The other primary conflict is Miles trying to get Ganke’s (rip) daughter, Maxine, to lighten up in spite of their dire situation. There is one more attack and Mile’s sacrifices himself to save the day leading Maxine to speak on how important it is to have fun.
“Miles Morales: The End” #1’s best parts live in the quieter moments of the story, primarily after the first battle where Miles meets someone from New Jersey and even in this dystopia they share a sense of New York companionship and even mention Ms. Marvel, that friendship, and possibly more. Ahmed also offers another quiet moment with Miles sitting watching a child play with toys and talking with her father. Miles reflects on how he never got to have children and how he was too busy to focus on the importance which is family. This reflects the lesson he tries to pass on to Maxine, the closest thing Miles has to family. These moments are solid pieces of storytelling, which is why it’s frustrating that the external conflict feels so undercooked. The One American Army definitely is meant to say something about Nationalism and white power but they don’t have enough space to be explicitly that. They essentially are just versions of the monsters from earlier that just speak. Part of this lack of definition is due to the nature of “Miles Morales: The End” #1 is a one-shot. There simply is not enough page space to explore the antagonist or the state of this post-apocalyptic world so it comes off as underdeveloped.
As mentioned Ahmed really thrives in the details and much like his run on the main “Miles Morales: Spider-Man” his attempts at creating a diverse sounding New York are still so much appreciated. Characters speaking Spanish, Arabic, and even Miles’ title “El Alcalde” speak to Ahmed’s commitment to diversity being beyond just visual. Miles’ voice once again feels very “on” and it’s always good to give Ahmed credit for this. While the voices and sounds are great, I do think in the grand scheme of things “Miles Morales: The End” #1 still gets at the issue with Miles in the wider Marvel Universe right now is questioning what makes him a character separate from Peter. There have been many “Last” Spider-Man stories featuring Peter and so many of them center on responsibility and his core cast of characters, but Miles is still relatively a recent character whose 9 years of continuity can’t touch Peter’s five-decade head start. That being said, “Miles Morales: The End” #1 feels strange not having more ties to what Miles has done so far and what his legacy could be, with the only key members of Miles supporting cast felt in this book are Ganke and Kamala Khan. “Miles Morales: The End” #1 sees the most important thing to Miles at the end is protecting Brooklyn, which is great but there seems like a bit of untapped emotional potential in “Miles Morales: The End” #1.
Continued belowWith regards to the art on this issue, there is a large disconnect between the realism of Rahzzah’s cover and the intense stylization of Damion Scott. This stylization may be a barrier to some but pushing past it leads to clear storytelling and dynamic action. While Scott’s stylization is great for the action in “Miles Morales: The End” #1, there are some quieter moments when a large limb is just a little distracting, but even that is just a minor nitpick. Gesturally Scott depicts Miles accurately as a cool older man who can still hold his own. Miles feels just as on model sitting on a stoop as he does unleash a venom blast. Sánchez-Almara’s colors compliment Scott’s linework well in that they fit the stylization and also create a great sense of location with regards to Brooklyn and it’s a surrounding wasteland.
On its own “Miles Morales: The End” #1 is fairly decent speculation at the Last Miles Morales story. As a self-contained story, it sets up a Miles Morales who has lived his life missing the important things and sacrifices himself to protect the closest thing he has to family and the rest of Brooklyn. It falls short in weak antagonists and the enjoyment of the artwork may vary based on personal tastes. In the larger scheme of Marvel “Miles Morales: The End” #1, feels like another indication of the character’s slow momentum of pathos to work with. “Miles Morales: The End” #1 doesn’t do much to indicate why it’s a “Miles Morales” story and that is what holds it back.
Final Verdict: 7.0 – “Miles Morales: The End” #1 is a decent comic that feels like it could have been more.
