Miles Morales is a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. He works alongside Peter Parker, Ben Riley, and other members of the web. However, What If Miles Morales swapped out his web-shooters for a shield. What if he became Captain America?
In this story, we look at the unexpected. What If instead of being bitten by a spider, Miles Morales consumes a variant of the super-soldier serum. After Steve Rogers became the Sentinel of Liberty and gave his life defending America, he left behind a legacy. This left the United States planning on and executing another project dedicated to making enhanced soldiers. Yet, plans change after Aaron Davis steals one of the containers. By accident, Miles Morales drinks the serum. He gains his abilities and becomes America’s greatest hero. Now, let’s ponder the question, What If…?
Miles Morales talks about how Steve Rogers became a hero before and after the serum. He talks about how he made a huge call. A decision that led to Steve Rogers being seen as an inspiration to all. We are now in a modern-day lab station. Aaron Davis is talking with his brother Jefferson. The latter is a security guard at the base. Jeff is suspicious of why his brother was there but lets him go.
Turns out, Aaron stole a sample of the serum. He would put it in his refrigerator, where Miles found it. Hungry and confused, Miles drank the serum. Aaron realizes someone accessed the serum with smoke coming from his home. Aaron is now greeted by his 15-year-old nephew, who is now jacked. After telling his parents, Jeff is angered by Aaron’s theft leading to this. However, Jeff and Rio allow their son to become Captain America.
Four years have passed since then. Miles was trained by Uncle Aaron and is working alongside him. On a mission in Russia, Miles and his uncle are on a mission. They go up against four Black Widows, two of them being Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova. After completing the mission, Natasha shoots at the men’s helicopter. This results in Aaron falling to his death.
The loss haunts Miles, but he resumes his role as Captain America. On another mission, Miles and his partner, Falcon prepare to enter a vacated A.I.M. site. They confront agents of the organization, including the Prowler. Before he is shot by an agent, Miles is saved by Falcon. In this timeline, she is Tiana Toomes aka Starling, the granddaughter of Vulture.
The pair make it to the site, but Prowler blows it up. The mission is then abandoned. Back at a S.H.I.E.L.D. base, Director Sam Wilson talks about the enemies they are dealing with. Aside from Prowler, they also have to stop Lonnie Lincoln aka Tombstone. However, in this reality, he goes by Grey Skull, who also consumed the serum.
Director Wilson orders the pair to stop the duo. To do this, they must obtain “an artifact of immense power”. Wilson also mentions the Tinkerer, who is Ganke Lee, best friend of Miles’s on another earth. Speaking of, Ganke is working on a device for Grey Skull. He is told to rush the process. Yet, doing so will lead to complications.
The device is a portal, allowing anyone to jump through any reality they want to be in. Back in Miles’ room at the base, he is talking to his parents. They could not be more proud of their son’s bravery. The talk continues as Miles blames himself for his uncle’s death. Jeff then assures him that it was not his fault and to keep fighting. Miles then ends the call as Tiana enters his room. They are also together in this timeline.
Wilson then calls Miles Morales, telling the two to get to an old Oscorp lab. The artifact’s signal went off there. Cap and Falcon suit up and make this way to the lab. Prowler, Skull, and Tinkerer are at the lab. They are ambushed by deceased soldiers with symbiotes. The fight quickly ends as they stop hosts.
The trio then make their way to the device. Skull hands the tesseract off to Ganke so that he can power the mission. Skull is in a rush to get it operating. Out of nowhere, he and Prowler are attacked again. This time it is Miles and Tiana. Falcon fights Prowler and Cap fights Skull. During this, it is discovered that the Prowler was Uncle Aaron, much like the original reality.
Miles is greeted by his uncle after turning on Skull. Aaron then explains why he faked his death. He was jealous that Miles got the serum. Even though it was not on purpose. Also, Miles got more recognition than Aaron for his heroism. Aaron realizes his mistake and is proud of his nephew. The young hero is forgiving of his uncle’s actions. Even welcoming him back with open arms.
Grey Skull recovers and activates the machine. Miles uses his shield to destroy the controls. Both the shield and Grey Skull are in pieces. Before the device shuts down, Miles sees alternate versions of himself. One as Wolverine, one as Thor, another as Hulk, and finally the main earth-616 Spider-Man. Ganke is relieved to have survived the blast as both heroes help him up. Miles and Ganke also talk about potential variants of themselves. Despite the victory, Miles is suspicious of more going on. Later, Aaron reappears holding what looks like a piece of the tesseract.
This was a very interesting issue! I loved this new take on the Miles Morales character! Seeing him become Captain America was almost a dream come true. Both are two of my favorite comic characters. Cody Ziglar’s writing was a big reason why this issue was really good. Continuing the theme of Miles Morales’ selflessness was great. No matter what mantle he takes up, he is still a hero.
I also liked how this was loosely based on the Winter Soldier storyline. And making some of the characters resemble those in Steve Rogers’s mythology. Ganke as the Tinkerer, almost being this reality’s Zemo was awesome! Tombstone as another version of Red Skull was creative. Along with Uncle Aaron basically being the Winter Soldier. Even having Sam as director and Starling as Falcon was great too! So much simple creativity with the story!
As for the art, Paco Medina, Walden Wong, Victor Olazaba, and Sean Parsons are brilliant! Details are obviously present. These illustrations tell their own stories. The fight scenes are cool, with a few one-shots, and more. Personally, I am a sucker for Miles’s suit. Paying homage to his Puerto Rican roots was bold! Like the writing, it was creative!
The combination of the flag and the black makes the suit pop! I also enjoyed Falcon’s suit. Keeping it similar to Sam’s Captain America suit was basic, but not a bad choice. Speaking of art, Chris Sotomayor is also great! The issue’s cover is fantastic! This should definitely spark interest in readers. He and the other artists understood this assignment.
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