There could not be a better time to grab the companion novel to Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales than now. The game dropped on PS4 and PS5 November 12 to rave reviews, as the pop cultural significance of Miles Morales seems to be losing zero steam, and rightly so.
Author Brittney Morris (Slay, The Cost of Knowing and Together, Apart) packs a ton into the prequel novel — from Miles’ dealings with police outside of his uniform, to Peter having to grapple with being a mentor to a Spider-Man whose reality greatly differs from his own. Wings of Fury delivers a story both heartfelt and absolutely action-packed that leads directly into the start of the game on consoles.
Miles and his mother have just moved into a new neighborhood, and with the loss of his father still gripping the family, Miles is having an even more challenging time juggling his heroic responsibilities with that of a son, student and regular kid trying to live a normal life. Peter’s presence in the novel is as you’d expect — friendly, sincere and supportive, and the relationship between teacher and pupil grows organically as it experiences its fair share of challenges.
Miles’ friendship with tech-nerd and classmate Ganke Lee is also explored as the two deal with school, family and new foes who push Miles to his limit. The themes found in Wings of Fury are necessary ones — we tend to forget that when he’s not swinging around Brooklyn and Harlem, Miles deals with the same societal challenges and obstacles many young men of color his age face.
Morris does an exceptional job marrying the issues of race, responsibility, and heroism into a prequel that does the game such immense justice. The sights and sounds of the city are as vibrant as the opening sequences of the game on console, and it came as no surprise how thoughtfully crafted each conversation on the street was captured in the novel.
The re-introduction of one the franchise’s most classic villains sets the tone as Miles has to face off against a newer and greater threat to his city. Wings of Fury is the perfect book to grab before swinging through New York on consoles and is available now at Titan Books!
