REVIEW: What If Miles Morales #4

With What If Miles Morales #4, writer Yehudi Mercado and artist Luigi Zagaria try to create an Amalgam of Miles and Thor but instead create a character that feels like neither. The strength of the classic Amalgam universe was that while they mashed up two characters they kept the underlying personality of one of them. So Wolverine and Batman might be combined visually into Dark Claw but the personality still feels like Logan.

This comic would have worked so much better if the character thought like Miles Morales. Instead we get an entirely new personality, perspective and visual look than the Miles we know and love. This feels like a story about a regular kid being cast into the role of Thor but certainly not Miles. Miles isn’t about sneakers and tattoos and saying ‘Hammer Time’.

The problem is not just that this is a reductive picture of any teenager, it’s also that this is simply not Miles Morales in any way whatsoever. The issues that do resonate well in this issue are the relationships between Miles and his uncle Loki and father Odin. This story very much a classic Thor outline with an irresponsible hero hanging with his warrior friends and being too quick to play the hero rather than be a leader. Miles is easily fooled by Loki, bringing a Frost Giant skull to Asgard which Loki can then reactivitate to tear Odin’s courtyard apart.

It’s an interesting version of the Thor tale from a teenage perspective. This is filled with odd use of language and perspective but it does still hold the reader’s interest. The art is a typical house style but absolutely does not look like Miles Morales at any moment in the story. Why the creators agreed to be a part of a Miles Morales series when they clearly don’t know his voice or look is perplexing. Their skills may be better off with other heroes and other books. This issue casts a pall over the entire series. If the use of Miles is less about his character and understanding who he is in new contexts then the series falls apart entirely and becomes a vapid stunt.

Writing: 1 of 5 stars
Art: 2 of 5 stars
Colors: 3 of 5 stars

Overall: 2 of 5 stars

Writer: Yehudi Mercado
Art: Luigi Zagaria
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Author Profile

M.R. Jafri

M.R. Jafri was born and raised in Niagara Falls New York and now lives with his family in Detroit Michigan. He's a talkative introvert and argumentative geek. His loves include Star Wars, Star Trek, Superheroes, Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, Transformers, GI Joe, Films, Comics, TV Shows, Action Figures and Twizzlers.