This article contains spoilers for Amazing Spider-Man #48.
Peter Parker has officially chosen Miles Morales to succeed him as the next Spider-Man. Let's face it, if you choose being a superhero as your career, your life expectancy isn't particularly good - and no insurance company will be willing to touch you. Granted, most superheroes won't worry too much about this, because you also have a good chance of being promptly resurrected.
Peter Parker is tied to the Web of Life and Destiny, and as such he will always have a successor. In the wake of "Spider-Verse," Peter was almost able to hand over the mantle to Mary Jane. But in truth, he has no shortage of candidates, ranging from Silk to the dimension-hopping Spider-Gwen, from Jessica Drew's Spider-Woman to the second Madame Web. Still, in this week's Amazing Spider-Man #48 the wall-crawler revealed who he would choose as his own replacement.
Amazing Spider-Man #48 saw Spider-Man wrestle with an ethical dilemma, seeking guidance from the rest of the Spiders. Spider-Man is caught between two enemies, the new Sin-Eater and his classic foe the Green Goblin. As always, Peter's maxim of power and responsibility means he can't simply let the two villains take each other on; for one thing, he has no way of knowing who else might get caught in the crossfire. Miles cautions that it might be best to allow the Sin-Eater to get to Norman Osborn first, simply because that may well mean Spider-Man is safe from his threat. But, of course, Peter Parker rejects that idea. "If that is what's gonna happen," he tells Miles, "at least I already know somebody will be there to step up when I'm gone."
Amusingly, the comment goes completely over Miles' head. He focuses on the idea he still needs to step up, feeling he's been reduced to a second-stringer or B-lister. What he fails to realize, though, is that Spider-Man has singled him out as the one Spider who is ready to take his place. He's discarding older and more experienced heroes such as Silk or Spider-Woman, and instead trusting his legacy to Miles. That's a pretty staggering declaration of confidence in Miles.
It remains to be seen whether this confidence is misplaced, though. When Amazing Spider-Man #48 comes to a close, the various Spiders have agreed they must stop Peter Parker from interfering. In their view, the Sin-Eater should be allowed to get to the Green Goblin - and they're united in that opinion. It seems Miles Morales' philosophical perspective is very different to Peter's, and that may well mean his friend comes to regret considering him a worthy successor as Spider-Man.