Miles Morales is a recent addition to the Spiderman Marvel universe. First appearing in Ultimate Fallout #4 in 2011, the character was jointly created by the writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Sara Pichelli. Miles was introduced as an Afro-Puerto Rican teenager from Brooklyn who inherits the title of Spiderman after the death of Peter Parker in the Ultimate Marvel universe. Miles’s story embraces a multifaceted focus on diversity and identity, both of which are illustrated by the boy’s unique challenges of growing up in an urban environment while balancing his superhuman abilities with everyday life. Unlike Peter Parker, Miles must navigate the complexities of being biracial, and this issue adds extra layers to his daily experience.

Since the character’s debut, Miles has appeared in multiple comic series, including Ultimate Comics: Spiderman and Miles Morales: Spiderman, and he has also been at the heart of various animated projects, such as the Oscar-winning film Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) and its sequel. The film challenged conventional animation in the same way that Miles’s character challenges conventional superhero tropes. These stories often explore ideas of responsibility, identity, and social justice while maintaining the adventurous and action-driven elements that define Spiderman narratives.

Miles Morales: Suspended fits into this larger universe by presenting a grounded, literary take on Miles’s life in school, his relationships with his peers and family, and his inner moral development. The book emphasizes Miles’s propensity for introspection, his literary creativity, and his keen awareness of underlying social issues, and the blending of these contemplative scenes with more conventional moments of comic-book action serve to emphasize the relationship between Miles’s superhero responsibilities and his own personal growth. Because the novel consists of a mix of poetry, prose, and graphic art, the overall narrative adds depth to Miles’s character and his universe.