In this issue of Miles Morales: Spider-Man #32, Miles has a rematch against the demigod Zip Zephyr!
MILES MORALES: SPIDER-MAN #32
Writer: Cody Ziglar
Art: Marco Renna
Main Cover: Frederico Vicentini
Variant Covers: Skan Srisuwan, Meghan Hetrick, Logan Lubera
Page Count: 22 pages
Release Date: April 2, 2025
This review contains spoilers
Miles Morales: Spider-Man #32 opens up with a therapy session between Miles and Dr. Kwan. Most of his worries are about Jaime, formerly known as Shift, whom he let be Spider-Man while Miles was cured of his vampirism. Because of this, Jaime was attacked, got hurt, and could have died, and Miles blames himself for that outcome.
Dr. Kwan tells Miles that he was dealing with a lot at the time and that asking for help is okay. She reminds him that learning lessons is a part of life and sends him back to school.
Meanwhile, Zip, who was previously defeated by Miles and locked in the Raft, is visited by Ares, who offers him his bag of winds in exchange for becoming one of his war dogs, and tells him that if he kills Spider-Man, he will grant him full divinity. Zip accepts and uses the winds to escape the prison.
Back at school, Miles has a short encounter with his classmates, dealing with the aftermath of Jaime’s attending the school in his place. He reveals to Ganke that Jaime is enrolled in a school on the east side.
As they settle for class, Anansi appears in Miles’ head, warning him that Agent Gao’s benefactor would soon reveal his true intentions. Zip creates a storm and breaks into Miles’ classroom from the window. Miles uses the dust as cover to change into his Spider suit, and they begin to fight.
Zip overtakes Miles and is able to hurt him despite the vibranium suit. When things look bleak, Thor and Hercules arrive. They manage to defeat Zip and reveal that Anansi tricked them and told them that Ares himself was there to get them to help. In the middle of the back and forth between Anansi and Thor, Ares arrives with Agent Gao.
Thor tries to say that Ares cannot be there, but Ares claims that since Olympus is no more, so is the pact that they enforced, and instead challenges Anansi to an “Agon.” Anansi accepts, but does not fully explain, only calling it a “tournament of the gods.”
Analysis
The continuity in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #32 from the last several issues deserves praise. Miles still meets with Dr. Kwan, and Jaime’s integration into a new school is not just mentioned but also explained. Miles also has trouble with his classmates because they don’t know that he wasn’t in school, and he doesn’t know about Jaime’s interactions with them. These are small moments, but they’re a great way to show the passage of time and ease the reader into the story.
The Spider-Man comics have been full of crossovers lately, ones that put the title heroes into the background in favor of highlighting the crossover hero or villain. While the part about Ares visiting Zip went on a little longer than I would have liked, it was a good series of moments that created some space between the Spider-Man and civilian segments of the comic. Other than that moment, Miles was featured throughout Miles Morales: Spider-Man #32, making it clear that this is still his story, even with Thor and Hercules’s arrival.
While I think Miles becoming Anansi’s Champion served its purpose as a plot point at the end of his crossover with Deadpool in the last comic, this issue makes it feel like we’re approaching the moment where that connection will truly shine. The conflict is set: without his vampiric powers, Miles is not strong enough to take on Zip or, presumably, whatever other champions he will have to face in this arc.
That being said, Anansi hasn’t yet proven himself to be someone who can catch the reader’s interest. He’s intriguing, sure, but for someone who’s supposed ot be guiding Miles, he hasn’t held the attention more than most of the side characters. So far, he’s been forced not to intervene with the fights directly, leaving Miles at a disadvantage in the Gao fight and putting him in harm’s way during his battle against Zip.
He’s a character with promise, considering the text continues to emphasize what a trickster he is, but until this issue, his only trick was to have Spider-Man and Black Panther fight. Hopefully, we’ll be able to see him do something powerful or more helpful than being a substitute Spider-Sense in the future. Otherwise, his patronage will feel like an empty plot point that the writers got locked into when they had to find a way to cure Miles’ vampirism.
Miles Morales: Spider-Man #32 had me hopeful about his future role, as he used his trickster tendencies to get Thor and Hercules to the battle against Zip. While I’d like to see him use more power, his turn of phrase and avoidance of explanation really enforced his trickster personality in this issue.
Final Thoughts
The continuity and character moments shine through in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #32 while keeping Miles at the forefront of the story. However, despite his prominent role, Anansi’s presence still feels underwhelming compared to Thor and Ares, leaving the story feeling like it needs a bit more.
