Miles Morales: Spider-Man

When Miles returns to his dorm, he contemplates telling Ganke about his violent confrontation with the neighborhood shoe thief. He ultimately decides against it, and instead tells Ganke that he needs to figure out a way to make money to help his parents. Ganke thinks Miles should use his powers to perform like the boys they’d seen earlier that week at the train station. Miles brushes Ganke off, and the pair begin to work on their homework. For Ms. Blaufuss’s class, Miles and Ganke have been assigned to find out the meaning of their names. Ganke, whose name doesn’t seem to be of Korean origin, is unable to find out what his name means. He becomes frustrated with his parents, and contemplates what would happen if he asked about his name directly. Their divorce has become messy, and Ganke doesn’t want to deal with it. The pair look up Miles’s name next and are surprised to see it originates from the Latin word for “soldier.”

The next day, the students discuss more poetry in Ms. Blaufuss’s class; Alicia is noticeably silent. In Mr. Chamberlain’s class, Alicia walks up to the white board and begins to write in silent protest. She writes several phrases like “We are people” and “We are not pawns” before Mr. Chamberlain physically pulls her away from the board. Alicia yells at him, exclaiming that he has no right to touch her, and she is told to go to the office for her behavior. As Alicia leaves, she begins to state the phrases she wrote on the board aloud.

The next day, Miles is on his best behavior and wonders about Alicia. He contemplates whether or not he should have joined her in reciting the words written on the board, and realizes that it wasn’t that he couldn’t have, but that he chose not to. On Friday, Alicia returns quietly. In Ms. Blaufuss’s class, the students continue to write poetry that they share with the class. Miles and Ganke share their poems, both feeling uncomfortable and ill prepared. Ms. Blaufuss praises them for their work and moves on with her lesson.

In Mr. Chamberlain’s class, Miles is forced to use his broken desk; to use it, Miles must sit on the floor. Mr. Chamberlain discusses the 13th Amendment and how it introduced a “smarter” form of slavery—the prison. Alicia attempts to stand up for Miles, who is struggling from his seat on the floor, but is silenced by Mr. Chamberlain, who threatens to send her back to the office; neither of them can afford to be written up again. Feeling humiliated, Miles forces himself to reel in his anger for the rest of the class, stewing in silence. Once the bell rings, Alicia helps Miles to his feet, and neither of them knows what to say to each other. Before Miles can leave, Mr. Chamberlain calls to him. Mr. Chamberlain gets in Miles’s face and passive-aggressively tells him to “stay where he belongs” (158).

After school, Miles contemplates angrily kicking around trash cans while in camo-mode and wonders how he can help Alicia speak up against Mr. Chamberlain. He receives a text from his father that says he will take Miles to see his cousin Austin in the morning. Miles runs to his dorm room to tell Ganke and finds his friend dancing in their room. He tells Ganke about the visit to the prison, and Ganke tells him to dance to help get his stress out. Miles eventually relents, and Ganke jokingly turns off the music, claiming they should get ready to leave instead.

While on the train, Miles and Ganke talk about the Halloween dance they’re supposed to go to tomorrow evening. Miles promises Ganke that he’ll ask his parents about it, and they exit the train. They cross paths with the young men who were performing for money. Ganke challenges one of the boys to a dance-off, offering Miles as the person to complete the challenge. Miles uses his Spider-Man abilities to perform tricks that catch the attention of many onlookers. He wins the bet, and Ganke and him end up splitting their 40 dollar prize. The two go their separate ways, promising to see each other tomorrow.

On his way home, Miles stops by a dollar store and buys his mother a plastic rose as an apology gift. He also stops by a local pizzeria and orders a pizza for his family. Apology gifts in hand, Miles enters his house and is surprised to see his parents dancing in the living room. His parents seem to be in a good mood, and Miles feels less anxious. He gives his gifts to his parents, apologizing once more for the trouble he’s caused. His mother asks him to dance with her, and the family jokes about Miles’s crush on Alicia.

Later, when Miles is alone in his bedroom, his father comes to check if he still wants to visit his cousin in the morning. He tells Miles not to go in with expectations, as prison changes a person. Miles’s father kisses his forehead and leaves. Miles enters a restless sleep. He dreams about the castle-like building again and sees Mr. Chamberlain there with a white cat. Mr. Chamberlain threatens him, exposing that he knows Miles is Spider-Man and that he is going to come for him.

The next morning, Miles’s father takes him to get a haircut before they visit Austin in the prison. They go to a local barber shop, one that Miles has been going to since he was born, and enter to hear a customer complaining about the increase in prices. Miles, his father, and the other patrons talk about what’s been going on in the neighborhood. Benny, a homeless man who used to sleep in a car on the corner, has gone missing. One of the customers says he saw Benny taken by the police, but doesn’t know why. Soon, it’s Miles’s turn to get a haircut. The barber, House, asks Miles about school while he cuts his hair. After his cut is complete, Miles stops his father from paying, and uses the remaining money he earned to pay for it. Miles states that he needs a job, and tells House that he’ll sweep hair for him on Saturdays in exchange for $10 an hour and free haircuts. House agrees, and Miles and his father leave to visit Austin.

Once at the prison, Miles and his father check into the visitation office. While they wait to be taken to the visiting rooms, Miles looks around curiously. He notices several rules lining the walls and reads them slowly. Miles feels the familiar buzz of his spidey-sense, but ignores it. A guard collects father and son, leading them to where Austin is waiting for them. They are reminded by a stern guard of the rules when Mr. Davis attempts to shake his nephew’s hand.

The air becomes awkward as the three introduce themselves. Mr. Davis asks about Austin’s mother and says he had no idea that Aaron had been a father. Austin explains that his mother was named Nadine, and that she passed away due to her cancer. Mr. Davis, uncertain of what to say, asks what Austin expects from them. Austin asks why Mr. Davis cut contact with Aaron. Mr. Davis tells him that he couldn’t stay around Aaron after he refused to give up his life of crime. Austin corrects him, saying Aaron did stop stealing, but started again to help the ill Nadine. Once Aaron died, Austin attempted to pick up where he left off and began stealing cars. When he got caught, he was given a harsh sentence due to the identity of his father. Austin tells the pair that the day he was placed in prison was the day his mother died.

Shocked and uncertain of what to say, Miles asks Austin to clarify a statement he made about having some issues that are hard to get rid of. Austin answers him candidly, stating that he has nightmares of his father stating the same words he said to Miles: “You’re just like me.” The guard calls that time is up, and begins to take Austin back to his cell. Miles asks Austin one last question that leads to Austin revealing that he sees white cats in his dreams. As the guard removes Austin, Miles notices the name written on his uniform: Chamberlain.

Miles and his father drive home in silence, thinking about what they learned during the visit. Miles’s father tells him that he regrets not reaching out and trying to help his brother Aaron. They arrive home to see Ganke sitting with Miles’s mother, watching telenovelas. When Miles asks why Ganke is there, he is reminded that they are supposed to attend the Halloween party at their school that evening. Miles, embarrassed that he forgot, asks his parents for permission to attend the dance. They laugh and ask if Alicia is going to be attending before giving him permission to go.

As Miles and Ganke get ready for the party, the pair tell each other about their experiences this weekend. Ganke sat through a surprisingly pleasant family dinner. Miles tells Ganke about visiting Austin and one of the prison guards being named Chamberlain. Ganke gives Miles one of his old Halloween costumes, a zombie mask, and the pair get dressed. Miles’s mother calls the boys downstairs to greet some guests, Miles’s father’s friends.

The pair greet the men sitting in the living room playing cards. The three men, Carlo, John John, and Sip, talk about their experiences in school. Coincidentally, all of the men had a teacher named Mr. Chamberlain who negatively impacted their experience in school. The men contemplate how their own Mr. Chamberlains ultimately led to their choices to commit criminal acts. While the men don’t blame the teachers for their poor decisions, they can’t help but feel that school should have been a safe place for them, and without it, they felt helpless.

Miles and Ganke leave the house discussing how odd it is that the name Mr. Chamberlain is so prevalent in their lives. Ganke writes it off as a coincidence, but Miles can’t help but feel disturbed. They arrive at the dance and Miles avoids Mr. Chamberlain, who is dressed as a soldier from the Confederacy. He walks over to Alicia, but before he can say anything to her, Mr. Chamberlain reminds them of what is considered appropriate behavior. Miles watches as Mr. Chamberlain leaves the dance, and he decides he needs to follow him. Not wanting to miss his opportunity with Alicia, Miles gives her the poem he wrote for her and runs off to follow Mr. Chamberlain.