Miles Morales: Spider-Man #2 – The Past Comes Back

The Revenant is here, and Miles Morales is the only thing standing between him and Jeff Morales. With Miles neighborhood in the crosshairs, and seemingly no limit to what The Revenant will do to get his revenge, it’s up to Miles to save the day.

This review is brought to you by Nerd Initiative’s Megan and Shawn!

Creative Team

Writer: Bryan Hill
Artists: Valentine De Landro and Nico Leon
Color Artist: Bryan Valenza
Letterer: Cory Petit and Travis Lanham
Cover Artist: Simone Di Meo

Writing

Megan: The sins of the father come to light, and Miles is the one who has to pay the price. With a new villain making his debut in the first issue, we get more details of his origin story, and it’s unexpected. We get a look in the past at where the villain got his start in crime, and we get to see what Miles’ dad has to do with it. Meanwhile, Miles is giving the whole “dating a normal person who isn’t a superhero” a try and goes on his first date with Valentina. Of course, it’s Spider-Man, and Spider-Man doesn’t get to go on a normal date if it’s not interrupted by a disaster, and that’s where the new villain, Revenant, makes his grand entrance.

After coming off of the hype of the first issue, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I have to say, Bryan Hill knocked it out of the park once again. There are many different parts of Miles’ life at play here, and we get to see them all play out together. We see Miles trying to separate himself from the superhero life and live a normal one; we see his dating life take new turns, and we see his superhero life interrupt his attempts at normalcy. I love how Hill is able to include so many sides of Miles and keep true to the character while expanding in this new lease on life of his. This second issue easily matches the high quality of the first issue, so if you haven’t checked it out yet, it’s never too late! Dive right in!

Shawn: Wow, Bryan Hill gives us a lore deep dive on this one. Intertwined with Miles first “date” with Valentina, Hill manages to give us the backstory on how the Revenant came to know Jeff Morales and why he is so intent on hurting him. While so many people joke about “this being my villain origin story”, Hill actually shows us not only who the Revenant was before the big bad we see before Miles now, but the role that Jeff played in his origin story.

The story is what really shines about this issue. While the art is spectacular, it’s Hill’s words that show the faith people place in picking up issue two of Miles Morales: Spider-Man is well placed. There are so many moving parts here. While Valentina’s date with Miles is featured, Hill still manages to write her in a way that leaves you suspicious that there’s more to her. This not only helps move the story along, but also makes you ready to pick up the next issue and the one after that until you’re certain whether you were correct or it was all a red herring.

Art

Megan: The artists team is absolutely stacked with excellent talents and it’s all on full display in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #2! Valentine De Landro and Nico Leon bring a lot of beautiful linework that makes each page more compelling than the last. I really loved how the flashbacks were drawn differently, making them more heavy in the outlines of the characters. De Landro and Leon did a fantastic job giving both the present and the flashbacks their own tones. Bryan Valenza handled the coloring and brought excellent vibrancy exactly where it was needed, while sticking to more muted tones in places like the flashbacks with Miles’ dad. Cory Petit and Travis Lanham were the masters behind the lettering, and both provided an excellent flow of dialogue that played well with the varying emotions of the story. On the last page, it felt like every artist came together in a beautiful way with their talents meshing perfectly. The details, the colors, and the lettering all shined brightly and at its best!

Shawn: Valentine De Landro and Nico Leon really stepped out with issue 2. While the first issue of this series was received with major fanfare, De Landro and Leon made sure that the second issue elevated the art to new levels. Leon handles the main story, with De Landro handling flashbacks. While there are some clear examples of the artists’ individual styles in their work, the art flows beautifully between the main story and flashbacks.

Bryan Valenza and Cory Petit do a splendid job making the story even better. Valenza captures the colors perfectly. From the color of Valentina’s eyes to the old-school feel of the bar, every color in the story feels perfect. Valenza flows perfectly between a variety of color palettes, perfectly matching the line work with Hill’s narrative. Cory Petit ensures that you’re able to follow the story clearly and easily while letting the art take center stage.

Final Thoughts

Megan: 10/10 – Miles Morales: Spider-Man #2 is proof that the first issue wasn’t just a strong start, but a great example of the high quality we can expect from this run. The creative team is firing on all cylinders and bringing us a Miles Morales story we’ve all been craving!

Shawn: 10/10 – It’s easy to say lightning strikes twice with Miles Morales: Spider-Man #2, but that would ignore the fact that this entire creative team improved over the first issue. While the first issue was stellar, Miles Morales: Spider-Man #2 sets the tone early that this will be a series you can’t put down.

Overall Grade: 10/10

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