After Secret Wars, Miles Morales was permanently introduced into the main Marvel universe. Even with Brian Michael Bendis still writing the title, it doesn’t feel the same. There are a lot of unanswered questions in this merger of continuity. In order to address the transition I believe Miles Morales and Hobie Brown need to meet.
In the Ultimate universe, Prowler played a major part in Miles’ Spider-Man origin. Aaron Davis was the uncle of Miles, and directly caused his being bit by the radioactive spider. They had a complicated relationship, littered with betrayal and blackmail. This ultimately lead to Uncle Aaron being killed, as Miles looked on in horror.
This was a major moment in the making of this Ultimate Spider-Man, it haunted him much like Uncle Ben’s death did to Peter Parker. Prowler’s last words to his nephew were that he was very much like him; which terrified the young hero.
The Prowler of the 616 universe is Hobie Brown, a longtime ally of Spider-Man. He’s recently become an employee of Parker Industries, in addition to getting his own series. Hobie is a more active member of Spidey’s supporting cast now than he had been for in a long time. This is the perfect time for he and Miles to interact.
While the Spider-Man series hasn’t been terrible, it hasn’t come close to recapturing the magic of Ultimate Spider-Man. This may be more about the lack of clear guidelines following the destruction of the “multiverse.” At this point, Miles doesn’t remember the previous universe. He also has his family restored, which was not the case by the end of his time in the Ultimate universe.
Unclear rules aside, Bendis should want to recapture that magic from his original run. Jessica Jones #5 recently started touching on that previous universe’s existence. Jessica encounters a person that remembers the pre-Secret Wars continuity, and he’s not the only one. How would Miles react to this revelation?
Remember that Spider-Men mini-series about Miles and Peter meeting each other in a universal crossover? That unresolved (seriously what the hell) cliffhanger ending was Peter discovering there was in fact a Miles in the 616. Now what if Miles started doing the same thing? Researching important people from his universe that he has yet to come into contact with? Don’t you think he would be a little curious as to whether or not his uncle exists?
Looking into Prowler, would lead Miles to Hobie. As the two heroes investigate their connection, they could move the universe-wide narrative forward. This presents an opportunity to help tie together the two previous worlds and solidify the current status quo. It’s not a fully formed synopsis, clearly, but it’s an idea that could be explored. They’re also two great characters that could easily develop an entertaining chemistry.
Brian Michael Bendis needs to make these two meet and give fans a little bit of nostalgic satisfaction. Simply putting Miles and Prowler in a room together would be enough to make veteran Miles fans smile.
What do you think of this idea? How would you address the post-Secret Wars elephant in the room? Do you care about Miles and Hobie ever meeting? Let us know in the comments!
