There’s a good chance you’re only a fan of the big screen versions of Spider-Man. Also known as Peter Parker, the character has been played by no less than three actors in fourteen years. But Sony recently dropped a full trailer for their next Spider-Man, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse film and behold, the hero isn’t Peter Parker! But just who is he? 

Spider-Man: Into of Spider-Verse is an upcoming animated feature set to hit the big screen in December 2018. It’s directed by Bob Persichelli and produced by Christopher Miller and Phil Lord, with a screenplay by Lord. The film stars Shameik Moore as Miles Morales, a Spider-Man from a different universe. See in comics, there is always more than one reality. It’s how the writers can tell different stories that are offshoots from the main arc. Miles is one of these offshoots. While the Spider-Man we’re familiar with comes from Earth-616, Miles started off with his home in Ultimate Marvel. That publication eventually came to an end in 2015 but select characters moved to the main arc, including Miles Morales.

So just who is this Spider-Man? He made his debut in Ultimate Fallout #4 in 2011 and is a Latino/African American teenager living in New York City. He was originally brought up in discussion before Obama was elected president. Character creators Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli cited Donald Glover as an influence when designing Miles thanks to an episode of Community where Glover dons Spider-Man pyjamas. Glover was a fan favourite to play Spider-Man for the Amazing reboot series before Andrew Garfield landed the role.

Miles was born and raised in Brooklyn. His father is African American while his mother is Puerto Rican. Miles is a gifted academic, with an interest in science. He gets the spider bite at his Uncle Aaron’s apartment, who was actually a career criminal known as Prowler. Miles, at the time, is completely oblivious to his uncle’s criminal profession. He stole the Oscorp formula for Peter Parker’s spider gene, but accidentally also steals one of the spiders, which ends of biting Miles when he was just 13. Aaron and Miles’ father, Jefferson used to be crooks but the birth of Miles sent Jefferson straight. Miles initially wonders if deviant and criminal behaviour is genetic, resulting in a hesitation to use his Spidey powers.

He doesn’t tell his family of his powers but does open up to his best friend Ganke Lee, who suggests that Miles become Spider-Man after Parker’s death in the Ultimate timeline. Miles is initially upset about having powers as he just wanted a normal life but the guilt of not helping Parker when he could’ve compels him to make the effort. The young teenager then contends with the burden of being a superhero while also making sure he keeps his family happy, his grades up and his life in order.

Into The Spiderverse features an animation style that feels inspired by the comics, crisscrossing CGI with “line work, painting, dots and other comic book techniques, which make it look like a painting or comic book” cited Collider. The film will be about the other realities in Marvel and will allow Miles to interact with Parker (Jake Johnson), Gwen Stacey’s Spider Woman (Hailee Steinfeld) along with villains like Kingpin (Leif Schreiber), Prowler (Mahershala Ali) and the Green Goblin. Spider Man; Into the Spider Verse hits theatres on December 18th, 2018. Check out our up to date Westworld timeline and a piece on female empowerment in the slasher genre.