Warning: SPOILERS for Miles Morales: Spider-Man #12
The Spider-Man called Miles Morales may not have been the first version, but he's blessed with powers Peter Parker only wishes he had. Normally those gifts help Miles take on and take down supervillains that are bigger, stronger, and more powerful. But one of Miles' superpowers just got a lot less reliable.
Miles quickly became a fan-favorite hero after the release of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse for his unique embodiment of the classic Marvel archetype. But his unique abilities didn't hurt: able to camouflage himself into his environment, becoming practically invisible, and temporarily paralyzing opponents with his 'venom blast' attack. In Miles Morales: Spider-Man #12, however, the venomous side of Miles seems to be on the fritz, as his venom blasts let him down more than once.
The issue begins with Miles confronting Prowler A.K.A. his uncle, Aaron, for returning to a life of contract killing. Miles feels betrayed after trying to find his uncle for weeks, and does his best to talk him out of his 'hit' on an organized crime boss by telling Arron that Miles' mother is about to give birth. In a classic generational argument, Prowler insists that Miles is too young to understand the debts he owes, or that this man deserves death. The result? Miles chooses to fight Prowler to prevent him from killing. He unleashes his signature venom blast... only to watch Prowler rise, only slightly fazed.
The move was meant to disable Prowler's armor, ultimately defeating him. Yet, Miles is forced to continue to spar with his opponent when his power fails to rise to the occasion. As they continue to fight, Prowler and Miles are discovered by the very-much-alive Don Cardelino's crew below, resulting in gunfire and a missed opportunity for Prowler. As if Miles hadn't had enough shock from his venom blasts' failure, enforcer 'Man-Mountain Marko' springs into the familial disagreement. Miles, immediately using up all of his webbing trying to engulf the mountainous villain, tries to use his venom blast again. And once more, the villain shakes it off thanks to "special vitamins." Leaving Miles, Spidey eyes wide with shock, panicking after witnessing "two people shaking off my venom blasts in one day? This is ridiculous!"
Though Man-Mountain Marko is certainly a large opponent, the venom blasts have taken down better opponents in the past. In fact, the venom blasts have been Miles' top escape from tricky situations for some time now (including Miles ejecting a Carnage symbiote from his own body). Among the toughest opponents that Miles has taken down with venom blasts are Earth-616 Peter Parker in Spider-Men #2 (2012), and more recently even Marvel's oldest villain, the God of Symbiotes himself in Venom #3. Miles was able to separate Knull from Eddie Brock, and another venom blast leads to revealing Knull's true form. It's a key move against his opponents, and it's usually reliable. Yet, Prowler's insulation suit seems to be able to withstand it, perhaps because its owner knows Miles' abilities better than anyone.
This somewhat failure could become a total victory for Miles Morales. Though his signature move is becoming more manageable for his opponents, this only means that Miles can push himself to discovering new ways to handle his foes and will potentially unveil a new iconic power unique only to his Spider-Man. Even Spider-Man has admitted Miles is something special. Miles is known for his creativity, so let's see what he can create next.
Miles is caught in the middle of a war between Ultimatum and the old guard! Which means he's about to catch the hands of a monumental classic Spidey villain! And the lives of more than one Morales might be on the line!
Miles Morales: Spider-Man #12 is available now from your local comic book shop.