In What If… Miles Morales, a rotating creative team shows readers how differently Miles’ life could have turned out if he’d been born a mutant or hit with gamma radiation! Plus: What happens when multiple versions of Miles collide?
This miniseries kicks off with a bang, showing us a version of Miles who became Captain America after the death of Steve Rogers. The first issue of What If… Miles Morales, written by Cody Ziglar and Paco Medina is one of the strongest of the bunch, packing in a ton of action and quips into its short page count. Miles feels the most like himself here, even though he’s shouldered with the responsibility of being the Sentinel of Liberty. There are a few hoops that need to be jumped through in order to get Miles’ supporting cast in the picture, but the pieces fit together here much more naturally than in some other issues. It also raises the interesting idea that Aaron Davis might always be doomed to make the wrong moves in pursuit of glory and success.
The second issue is a fun origin story, but it feels like Miles’ character is a bit lost in the shuffle here. The redesigns of classic X-Men characters by Farid Karami are visually pleasing and inventive, as are the action sequences that see Miles slashing and punching his way through one adversary after another. But story-wise, the issue as a whole never seems to get too far beyond the hook of “Miles is Wolverine.” John Ridley nicely integrates Miles’ supporting cast in surprising roles throughout the story (particularly when it comes to a last page reveal), but it never gels quite as well as the Captain America issue before it. We’re left wondering how this world changed around these characters to put them in this position, but we don’t spend enough time here to get fully invested in where they’ve come from or where they could go next. Ultimately, this isn’t a bad issue, but it doesn’t leave much of an impression beyond the initial excitement of seeing Miles pop his claws and the reveal of this world’s own team of heroic mutants.
The Prowler of issue #3 seems to be the exception to the rule I mentioned earlier, and making his motivations much more family-driven here is a smart move on Anthony Piper’s part. The weak point of this issue is the expository dialogue, which is deployed almost constantly to help set up the various players. For instance, Miles doesn’t need to explain to Rick Jones why he’s in therapy, nor does he need to tell Rick Jones what his own job is. The exposition feels like a necessary evil, but it kind of took me out of the story on a couple of occasions. Still, once that’s out of the way, we get into a fun story that cleverly links Miles’ “Hulk-outs” to the strains of puberty, culminating in the tragedy that forces him to forge a hero’s path. It’s a good hook, and Edgar Salazar clearly has a lot of fun drawing multiple comedic scenarios mixed with monster-mashy action. However, it’s hard not to think that the momentum of the story could have been improved by simply watching it play out in the present, rather than as a series of flashbacks broken up by Miles’ banter with Rick.
Much has been made of the problems with the fourth issue of What If… Miles Morales, so I’ll be brief. The narration “rap” is a clever idea, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired, as does much of the dialogue throughout the story. Luigi Zagaria and Chris Sotomayor make every page of this book pop, though, with some truly excellent character redesigns (Uncle Loki looks so damn cool) and some high-flying action in the last chunk of the book. The story sadly falls flat, but Thor/Miles thankfully gets some redemption in the miniseries’ grand finale.
Speaking of which: Cody Ziglar and Paco Medina return for the final issue and finish the miniseries on a strong note. Bringing all of these alternate Mileses together (plus our very own Spider-Man!) against the united Aarons is such a fun way to tie the rest of story together. Every version of Miles gets a chance to shine in this final issue, with quips flying all around and plenty of off-the-wall action. The resolution feels a little bit rushed in spots, but this team manages to pack in some really great character moments and resolutions into a short amount of time. Ultimately, the sheer fun that comes from the team-up makes some of the bumps along the way feel totally worth it.
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