The comic relationship between Miles and Gwen is different
Editor’s Note: The following article contains spoilers for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.The first animated adventure on the big screen for Miles Morales in his journey as Spider-Man Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was a huge hit and won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature in 2019. Now its sequel, Sony Pictures’ Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Versehas quickly become a global phenomenon, garnering rave reviews and huge box office returns. Into the spider verse introduced Miles (Shameik Moore), the film’s hero, has a crush on his new potential classmate and eventual fellow Spider-Hero, Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld), also known as Spider-Woman. Across the spider verse takes their relationship a step further but still fails to spark a full blown romance between Miles and Gwen Stacy. That is, the third part of Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse could go in that direction. But what about Miles and Gwen in the Marvel Comics story? Is their relationship purely platonic, or is romance blossoming? Well, frankly, it’s complicated and requires further investigation.
What is the relationship between Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy in Marvel Comics?
The most significant development in Miles and Gwen’s relationship in the comics comes from the Sitting on a tree Action. This was a six-part, multi-issue crossover between Miles’ mainline Spiderman Book and Gwen’s Spider-Gwen The book was published in 2017. The storyline instantly shows Miles and Gwen in the middle of a full blown romantic kiss in the opening panels, and then Miles tells his housemates about the events that transpired. He even refers to Gwen Stacy as his “wife-to-be.” Or at least my future girlfriend. Definitely my future something.” While the prologue, cover art, plot name, and Miles’ comments look like they lead the two spider heroes down the path of romance, there’s a catch with Miles’ misleading comments. In this storyline, Miles travels to the Earth-65 dimension to search for his missing father, Jefferson Davis, who became involved in something dark in SHIELD affairs to protect his son’s identity. After SHIELD agent Maria Hill points Miles in the right direction, he travels to Earth-65 where he luckily meets Spider-Woman, who offers Miles her help in finding his missing father.
In several issues, Miles and Gwen come into contact with Earth-65’s Jefferson Davis, who turns out to be a gangster and goes by the name “Scorpion”. He attempts to harness stolen technology, bracelets that allow the wearer to move between dimensions of the multiverse. During their quest, they encounter Kamala Khan, Ms. Marvel, and Miles’ teammate in The Champions. Ms. Marvel recognizes the chemistry between Miles and Gwen, and Gwen realizes that Miles is someone who can recognize and understand her experiences as a teenage spider heroine in a way that others cannot. Throughout their adventure, Miles and Gwen bond and get along pretty well.
Eventually, Miles and Gwen are separated into different dimensions. Miles is reunited with his real father and they plan to bring down Scorpion and hold him hostage to the multiverse. Meanwhile, Gwen is temporarily stranded in the Earth-8 dimension. This dimension is home to the grown-up Miles and Gwen, who are celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary and are currently on their second honeymoon. Not only are they happily married, but they also have two children together: son George Jefferson Maximilian “Max” Morales; and daughter Charlotte Morales. When Gwen meets the children, they are being guarded by their “uncle”, Peter Porker of Earth-8, the sporktacular Spider-Ham. Thanks to the Spider-Kids’ desire to help Gwen of Earth-65, Peter Porker reluctantly agrees to lend their aid. They travel back to Earth-65 and help Miles and his father hunt down Scorpion and his agents.
The story ends with Miles and Gwen returning to the rooftop scene from the prologue. Except for the clearly visible romantic kiss they shared in the first chapter, this version is drawn by a different artist. A shadow obscures Gwen and Miles’ faces, and it’s unclear if they actually kissed. They may have kissed or almost kissed since Gwen pulls away once it’s over. The experience was too much for her. She apologizes to Miles, but after seeing Miles and Gwen’s happy family on Earth-8, she fears it may be fate forcing them together. She is unsure if her feelings for Miles are genuine or stemmed from a glimpse of their alternate universe counterparts in Earth-8. So while she leaves open the possibility that something could happen between the two in the future, she’s taking the breaks for now. The theme and story ends with Miles and Gwen drinking lemonade together and agreeing to just be friends for now. However, the image of the two heroes sitting together on a high-rise building overlooking New York looks like it was translated visually Across the spider verse.
Miles Morales ends up in the friend zone in Marvel Comics
unfortunately, Sitting on a tree offers a lot of build-up for a disappointing moment. In the story, Ms. Marvel even notes the apparent chemistry between Gwen and Miles, but cautions Gwen against hurting his feelings. Unfortunately, the opening prologue and the fantastic cover art by Sara Pichelli And Jason Keith, in which Gwen and Miles show an iconic kiss on the head are misleading. In the actual story, there is no such moment when the two kiss upside down. It is even suggested that the kiss Miles and Gwen shared at the beginning of the story did not take place as depicted in the prologue. Given that this scene was part of Miles telling his friends his take on events, he may have embellished or edited what happened.
Regardless, it’s disappointing how the story keeps readers hooked for six issues, and returning to the moment hinted at in the opening scene, it now lies in obscurity and shadows. The cover art and opening prologue are gigantic lures and switches. Since Sitting on a tree In the storyline, Miles and Gwen have remained in the friend zone, although Miles sees Gwen as his “future something,” even though he could only have been referring to Miles and Gwen from Earth-8. Since the storyline, Miles and Gwen have progressed to separate relationships in the comics, so the romantic pairing has been shelved unless revisited in the future.
One thing the writers Brian Michael Bendis And Jason Latour This multi-issue crossover is a version of a happily married Miles and Gwen that exists in the Marvel Multiverse. The couple’s two children are the proverbial kids, and they too are aspiring superheroes like Spider-Boy and Spider-Girl. Gwen never gets a chance to meet the Earth 8 versions of Miles and Gwen because they are on vacation. Miles doesn’t meet her kids until they arrive to help them and save the day, but he learns a little about their home dimension. Witnessing the alternate Spider-People versions of herself and Miles was just too much for Earth-65’s Spider-Gwen, so she decided to back off from dating Miles for the time being. She is unsure if the attraction she feels to Miles is real or stems from what she saw in Earth-8. However, she leaves open the idea that the two might get together in the future.
What does the future hold for Miles & Gwen?
Miles and Gwen’s relationship, or “Gwiles” as fans call it, won’t be fully developed in the comics just yet, although both characters technically leave open the possibility of a future date. Spiderman: Across the spider verse continues to hint at a possible romantic relationship between the two, and scenes from “Sitting in a Tree” clearly influenced the sequel. The scenes in which Miles and Gwen share their experiences as Spider-Man and Spider-Woman and how they can relate to each other in ways others don’t understand influenced how the animated film portrayed the relationship. However, the film goes a few steps further.
In Across the spider verse, there is a funny “meet the parents” scene where Gwen meets Miles’ parents Jefferson and Rio Morales. Jefferson and Rio, especially Rio, can tell that Miles likes their Gwen. Gwen even visits Miles in his room and he awkwardly tries to make it more presentable to impress her. On the surface, the scene plays out as if a child were introducing their girlfriend, or at least the boyfriend who wants to be his girlfriend, to their parents for the first time. When Gwen and Miles get back together, she finds his sketchbook and sees that he has drawn quite a few artworks of hers. Gwen is no fool and realizes that Miles is attracted to her. She points out that Gwen Stacy falls in love with Spider-Man in every other universe, but then warns that it ends badly for both of them in every other scenario.
Consequently, there are moments in the film where Miles shows mild jealousy at his suspicions that Gwen is closer to Spider-Punk aka Hobie Brown than friends and teammates (Daniel Kaluuya). given Spider-Man: Across the Spider-VerseAfter the film ends and what Gwen learns from her experiences with Miles, the door doesn’t quite close before the two finally get together Beyond the Spider-Verse. But whether or not the Gwiles ship will finally set sail in the Threequel remains to be seen, and fans will have to wait until March 2024 to see the conclusion and possible emotional fulfillment of this long-awaited romantic pairing.
Fans can check out more from Miles and Gwen here Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Versewhich is now in cinemas.
