#1048 rio morales

[ultimate-miles]

1048 Miles Morales is not 1610 Miles Morales (and that’s fine)

[Originally Posted @videogamesincolor 11/7/2018]

Miles Morales as a character is only officially seven years old in terms of publication, debuting in 2011 in Ultimate Comics Spider-Man and prior during the Death of Spider-Man arc in Ultimate Comics Fallout, just three or four years before Marvel’s Ultimate Marvel line would come to an abrupt end in 2015. 

From 2011-2017, Miles Morales has been consistently written and drawn by a specific team: Brian Michael Bendis, Sara Pichelli, and David Marquez. 

Since Bendis’ departure from Marvel to DC Comics, Pichelli and Marquez moving on to other projects, the character is probably now more open to reinterpretation in popular media than he was when Bendis and Ultimate Marvel were still a thing to consider.

In the case of Insomniac’s Marvel’s Spider-Man (or Spider-Man PS4), the writing team have reinterpreted the character to suit the designated 1048 universe that their game and their version of Peter Parker inhabit.

LITERAL vs. REMIX

I don’t think you can say Insomniac Games’ writers don’t know or are ignorant of Miles Morales’ history. It’s pretty clear they’re familiar with it just from what they’ve chosen or chosen not to use for their story. This is more of a case of what most multimedia Marvel properties have done to established superheroes, and that’s change parts of his backstory to suit their version of the Spider-Man canon while maintaining other elements. 

Best example I could use is X-Men’s Rogue and other X-Men characters as reinterpreted by David Hayter and the associated screenwriters for the original X-Men film. They made deliberate changes, not out of ignorance, but convenience to their own take on the X-Men canon.

It happens, it’s the backbone of Marvel’s multiverse, and that’s not necessarily a negative depending on the execution. I’m not of the mind that a character’s origin story can’t be changed or shouldn’t be changed. There’s a possibility to make a Miguel O’Hara Spider-Man without the pretense of 2099, there’s a possibility to create Peter Parker Spider-Man without the death of Ben Parker, there’s a way to make Miles Morales Spider-Man without Peter Parker in any pretense as a necessity to his story.  Again, it’s all about execution.

The expectation of a 1:1 adaptation of a character in different mediums is an expectation fans of any medium assume way too often. Yeah, it’s clear that a lot of characters are closer to their comic book carnations than most sometimes and it’s a game of pick and chose, but those choices shouldn’t be viewed as inherently malicious or done out of ignorance, not when Marvel encourages its content creators to do different things with their brand characters for the sake of relevancy.

It’s fairly clear what they were trying to do with Miles Morales, which is the same method they used on Mary Jane Watson (who has garnered similar complaints from 616 fans of the character).

I don’t think Anya Corazon is really a solution. Even if Insomniac decided to used Anya, her backstory would’ve changed to suit the canon of game, just like Miles’ was. And it’s clear that Miles was chosen for the same reasons he continues to appear in new Spider-Man cartoons: His relevancy and his connection to Peter. Anya really doesn’t have that.

The absence of characters like Ganke Lee, Aaron Davis, or even Jefferson’s frayed relationship with his brother doesn’t mean they were ignorant of them, so much as they weren’t things they could tie to Peter Parker as a means of creating a relationship with Miles. Ganke and Aaron are crucial bits to 1610 Miles Morales in a universe where Miles was, initially, only tangentially connected to Peter Parker (despite the fact his character more or less orbits around him, to his detriment) and Spider-Man was an afterthought prior to his being bitten by the Oscorp Spider. 

1048 Miles Morales is literally informed by Peter Parker’s actions, and Miles’ heroism is more or less informed by Spider-Man because he is Miles’ hero. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is more or less playing on the same scenario, but on a different track. The nameless kid from Miles’ intro more or less indicates, yes, Miles has friends, but they’re literally not important to his story arc so they’re not getting screentime remotely.

The Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon has one version of Miles Morales that attends Midtown High instead of Brooklyn Visions Academy (but he doesn’t know Peter), while the other (”Kid Arachnid”) followers his 1610 narrative a little closer (but his father is dead). The 2017 animated Spider-Man has Miles attends Horizon High with Peter Parker (they also happen to be friends). The Miles of Marvel’s Spider-Man could be attending Midtown High (but the game never verbalizes that as fact) and later becomes a friend to Peter. 

1048 Rio Morales is a school teacher (instead of an apparent stay-at-home mom) who teaches science, Peter Parker is a struggling scientist working a public funded project with Doctor Octopus. 1048 Miles is also into science, and likes to fix or tinker with things. 1610 Miles simply was not (and his original comic book title never really explores or makes plain what his favor subject or hobbies are like it does with Ganke). 

1048 Rio’s game profile says she was born in New York City, New York, 1048 Jeff Davis’ profile emphasizes that he was born in Brooklyn, but the its clear that he is a beat cop who clearly works within the city. From all of that, it wouldn’t be out there to assume that the 1048 Morales family lives in NYC instead of Brooklyn, NY in this Spider-Man canon. 

Everything they do, including attending school, is within that area. They don’t commute to or from Brooklyn or do anything there despite Miles and Jefferson being born there. There is no Brooklyn Visions Academy or Brooklyn apartment in 1048 to worry about.

I don’t see their version of Miles being a fan of Spider-Man in this canon as negative, but it is illustrative of Insomniac tying their version of Miles closer to 1048 Peter Parker, in the same way Jefferson Davis’ introduction and death acts as the catalyst for Miles and Peter’s mentor/student friendship later on in the game. 

I don’t believe Jefferson dying was ever meant to represent the death of 1610 Peter so much as it was meant to be that “tragic backstory” moment for Miles. It was also meant to give Peter and Miles a reason to talk to each other, and mirrors Doctor Octopus’ metaphorical “death” in Peter Parker’s eyes. (They were doing a whole “death of the father figure” thing, obviously.)

The removal of Jefferson from the narrative to facilitate the Peter/Miles relationship is your standard anti-Blackness. It makes no bones which of the characters is more important for their version of Miles, which, like other things in the game, is Peter Parker. (It’s reminiscent of Bendis of killing off and minimizing Riri Williams’ family to make a stronger connection between her and Tony Stark.) I find that as questionable as Marvel’s insistence to make Davis a cop in alt-universes instead of a father with a off-screen job, or, hell, an Agent of SHIELD. But, I get Jefferson’s profession is another narrative convenience in the same way Mary Jane Watson being a reporter instead of a model/actor was also narrative convenience.

1048 Miles was written and designed to be Peter’s supporting character, so a lot of the elements that make him the lead character of his own titles are not necessary. If he was made to be anything else (like a leading character or the lead character of the game), I’d probably view of all these ties to Peter as an outright negative. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a): just another way of differentiating him from his 1610, b): not far off from what Marvel is already doing with the character anyway.

The fact the writing in the game is upfront about its preoccupation with connecting Miles closer to Peter, instead of pretending otherwise (as Bendis has), probably makes me less inclined to dislike their take on Miles. 1048 Miles is just another cog in this Peter Parker’s mythos, yes, but Flash Thompson he ain’t. 

1610 Miles Morales was designed to be and had the potential to be a character set apart from Peter. Bendis and Marvel simply squandered that by undermining him with the constant fallback on Peter Parker and his history. 

Even the MCU, when they had the opportunity to create a Miles Morales Spider-Man without the pretense of needing Peter Parker, just reduced him to a throwaway line for a miscast Donald Glover to utter, then used every element in his story for their version of Peter Parker. If we’re doing a compare and contrast, I’ll take supporting character Miles Morales over a Miles Morales that’ll be standing next to his white clone as portrayed by Tom Holland.

JEFFERSON’S SURNAME

Jefferson never renounced his last name in such a way that he stopped using it. He might be married to Rio Morales, but it’s clear he never changed his surname to hers. For the entire run of Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man, Cataclysm: Ultimate Spider-Man, Spider-Gwen and the 616 soft reboot (Spider-Man), Jefferson has always referred to himself as “Jefferson Davis”.

The characters he interacts with - either personally or professionally - always refer to him as “Mr. Davis” or “Jefferson Davis”, or “Jeff Davis”. Insomniac’s narrative does nothing to alter this whatsoever and sticks to the status quo established by the comics. The most  Jefferson ever did was dissociate himself with his brother because Aaron refused to shape-up. Miles doesn’t use his father’s surname (and, sure, you can spend a lot time theorizing the in-universe reason for that), but it’s a clear writing decision on Bendis’ part that the Morales surname was to ensure no one would question whether or not Miles was, in his words, a "Black” and “Hispanic” character.

Not once in the run of the Ultimate Marvel or Miles’ recently ended Spider-Man series, or even the Jason Reynolds penned Young Adult Novel, does Jefferson denounce his name, or refer or is referred to Jefferson Morales. There isn’t even an instance in the comic books or said book where he says, “Please, call me Jefferson Morales.”

He’s ashamed of his past, rarely talks about it, yes, but his surname? Still uses that. Jefferson Davis is a black male character created by a tone-deaf white man. The comic books (by proxy of their author, Bendis) have historically ignored the unfortunate ties behind the name “Jefferson Davis”. The most Miles Morales: Spider-Man does is have Ganke crack a joke about Miles not using Jeff’s surname, and draw explicit attention to the fact that Jefferson Davis is the name of supporter of the confederacy and a racist to boot. 

We’ve never gotten a genuine discussion in either medium about how Jefferson feels about his name.Jefferson being called “Jefferson Morales” has never been a thing in Miles’ mainline titles or alternate canons. His surname has never been ignored.

COLORISM AND ASSUMING BLACKNESS

Colorism with respect to Miles has always been fairly present with the character, though not on any level as bad as it is with someone like Storm. With his most consistent artists, Sara Pichelli and David Marquez, Miles’ complexion was consistently somewhere between medium brown and dark brown. But, outside of those artists, Miles’ skintone is fairly all over the place in other titles with other artists, with his most recently ended Spider-Man title often bringing somewhere closer to Rio Morales complexion (and it happened with Jefferson as well). It gets even worse with animated shows, which give him an almost washed out, zombie-esque, pale brown complexion.

Miles’ complexion in Marvel’s Spider-Man is definitely fairer in comparison to his 1610 counterpart, or even 1048 Jefferson, and closer to Rio’s. Depending on the cinematic, it flip-flops from extremely fair to medium brown in the same way Rio goes from medium brown to extremely pale in a lot of scenes.

And with regard to Rio Morales, there’s nothing about her character model that excludes her from Blackness? But, similar to characters like Aya of Alexandria (from Assassin’s Creed: Origins) or Jade from the original Beyond Good and Evil (who, yes, could be viewed as a Black woman), the way the character is designed (both in the game and in the comics) is inherently divorced from common markers of Blackness in such a way that it’s no one’s first assumption. 

Rio Morales has always been a fair skinned woman. She in no way was drawn to match the skintones of Jefferson or Miles, and she wasn’t lightened in the game at all. Her representation in the game is fairly close to her representation in the comics, which also flip-flops between “super-fair-skinned” to “medium brown” Rio Morales.

I think Brian Michael Bendis makes it very clear with his poor understanding of Blackness and its lack of exclusivity to folk with Puerto Rican parentage - that Rio Morales is a non-Black woman (or in Bendis’ words, “Hispanic”), and Jeff Davis is Black (African-American). 

Miles’ selling point is that he was the “Biracial Spider-Man” in the same way Miguel O’Hara is lesser known for. That’s the divide Bendis’ writing and comprehension creates for this character. The clear avoidance of the issue for something that wasn’t a walking joke (Rio’s racial caricature of a mother) or Bendis’ “who cares if I’m black? I’m also Hispanic, so...” spiel, is another indicator. 

So, yeah, even though her character design (in any medium) doesn’t necessarily exclude her from Blackness, I don’t think Rio Morales was ever a Black woman to begin with. Brian Michael Bendis never saw her as a Black woman, just the “Hispanic” side of Miles Morales’ family tree where Jefferson was the Black side of the family tree.

I can’t blame anyone for not assuming Blackness on Rio’s part, because neither does Bendis’, neither do the artists drawing her, and by extension, neither does Insomniac Games. 

Honestly, I think Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse might be the first property Rio has appeared in where someone appeared to even consider the question, “Is Rio Morales Black?” when designing her character.

Missing elements in a reinterpreted character is neither wrong or a dsplay of ignorance on part of the writers. 1048 Miles Morales and the Morales family are not the 1610 iterations of the character, and that’s fine. Jefferson Davis has never dropped the use of his name, personally or personally. In addition none of the writers, white or non-Black, have ever considered questioning the history behind his name and let it be. 

Rio Morales was always a fair-skinned and non-Black woman on accounts of Bendis and her artists constructed her within Miles’ narrative, which outright ignores any cultural or emotional significance Rio and Miles being Puerto Rican holds. Amid varying complexions of bright she’s been depicted, her character in the game has hardly been lightened, whereas Miles’ complexion definition has.

[guadalajaradispensas]

Matrimonios 1823 parte 1-2/2(by/por linda v.)

https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9392-6BBH-J?cc=1874591&cat=29324 1823-parte-1--2/2-film-168206

0671 OAH 2510 pt.2

0672 168206

0673 MEXICO OAH ROLLO 2510

0674 SLATE

0675 CONTINUA DEL ROLLO ANTERIOR

0676 Same as img #658 Juan Crisostomo Lopez & Maria Luisa de la Parra /Tepatitlan/Toluquilla/Prov de Cordoba

0685 Continuacion de img #667 Juan Antonio Lopez & Maria Catarina Garcia Valdez /Asturias/Guadalajara

0689 Jose Salvador Aro & Maria Eusebia Alonso-mezcla illicita- /Moyahua

0693 Jose Maria Paz & Maria Isidora Vergara /Guanajuato/Guadalajara

0698 Irineo Cervantes & Teresa de Ortega /Jalostotitlan/Encarnacion *tree img #702

0705 Vicente Martinez de los Rios y Pastor & Ignacia Landa y Cervino /Guadlajara

0711 Guadalupe Hernandez & Maria Francisca Machuca /Ixtlan *tree img #713

0720 Rafael Godines & Juana Lopez-mezcla illicita- /Zapotiltic *tree img #721

0722 Juan de Hermosillo & Maria Rafaela Mata /San Juan de los Lagos/Zapotlanejo

0729 Antonio Gonzalez & Luciana Vallejo /Valladolid/Ameca/Tepic

0734 Luis de Lima & Magdalena Orosco /Compostela *tree img #736

0738 Jesus de Jauregui & Juana Guerrero /Jalostotitlan *tree img #742

0744 Juan Nepomuceno Zuniga & Maria Concepcion Martinez /Manila/Tepic

0752 Pantaleon Flores & Maria de la Cruz Valdez /Totaltiche/Colotolan *tree img #758

0760 Nabor de Jesus Ramirez & Maria Josefa Gonzalez /Santa Maria del Oro *tree img #764

0767 Jose Angel Ortega & Maria Guadalupe Mejia /Nochistlan *tree img #767

0770 Rafael Mendoza & Maria Francisca Gonzalez /Tepechitlan/Teul *tree img #774

0776 Miguel Robles & Josefa Ornelas /Michoacan/Zapotlan

0781 Bartolome Hernandez & Catarina Ramirez-mezcla carnal-/Nochistlan

0783 Jose Isidro Ornelas & Dolores Marin /Teocaltiche *tree img #785

0788 Francisco Ochoa & Margarita Navarro /Teocuitatlan/Mazamitla

0793 Brigido Hurtado & Maria Trinidad Rodriguez /Jerez *tree img #794

0797 Jose Maria de la Concepcion Salas & Maria Timotea Salas /Reales de Salinas

0801 Jacinto Navarro & Maria Ignacia de la Mora /Ocotlan/Analco

0808 Jose Ignacio Medina & Maria Ignacia Decideria Sanchez Morales /Tecolotlan

0814 Rafael Gonzalez & Maria Ignacia Gonzalez /Zapotlan *tree img #816

0819 Rafael Rios & Ignacia Espinoza /Tomatlan *tree img #823

0826 Lino Sandoval & Juana Maria de la Cruz Lopez /Tomatlan

0834 Ramon Delgadillo & Ignacia Gutierrez /Ixtlahuacan *tree img #837

0840 Manuel Estevez & Maria del Rosario Jontan /Reinos de Castilla/Atotonilco

0842 Matias Mendoza & Maria Ignacia Lopez /San Pedro Piedra Gorda

0847 Macario Cueto de Santo Domingo & Maria Cecilia del Castillo /Manila/Guadalajara/Autlan

0855 Sabas Pena & Trinidad Lozano /Guanajuato/Guadalajara

0859 Jose Manuel de los Reyes & Maria Marcelina Sanchez /Jerez/Teul

0867 Jose Maria Rosales & Eduarda Ortiz -Refugia Ortiz-illicita amistad-/Jerez

0869 Pedro Armenta & Maria Petra Camarena /Portozuelo/La Barca

0873 Julian Sermeno & Dolores Martinez /Valle de Huejucar *tree img #874

0877 Isidro Perez & Maria Ignacia Figueroa /Cocula *tree img #882

0883 Francisco Navarro & Maria Agustina Ruiz de Velasco /Poncitlan/Ocotlan *tree img #885

0888 Jose Antonio Nuno & Maria Francisca Herrera /Ocotlan

0893 Pedro Castellanos & Maria Guadalupe Jimenez /Ocotlan/La Barca

0896 Jose Pilar de Llamas & Maria Nestora de Haro /Tlaltenango *tree img #898

0901 Jose Rafael Canela & Maria Justa de Santiago /Colotlan *tree img #906 & 909

0911 Jose Anastacio Gonzalez & Eutemia Maldonado /Tepatitlan/Analco/Zapotlanejo

0914 Juan Jose Marcos Medrano & Acencion Nunez /Mexicaltzingo/Leon

0918 Jose Hilario de Llamas Berumes & Maria Petra Bugarin /Tlaltenango/Montes de Escobedo

0923 Jose Anastacio Quezada & Juana Casillas /Yahualica *tree img #923

0929 Gabriel Perez & Margarita Galves /Reinos de Castilla/Cotija/Guadalajara

0933 Jose Atilano Rosel & Maria Quirina Aguayo /Michoacan/Tepatitlan

0939 Ignacio de Escalera & Jacinta Gallegos /Reino de Espana/Tepatitlan/Panuco

0958 Rodrigo Gil de Taboada & Maria de los Angeles aka Angela Leon /Durango/Zacatecas

0965 Jose Gertrudes Mercado & Maria Josefa Gonzalez /Cuquio/Tepatitlan *tree img #968

0972 Tiburcio Casillas aka Saldana & Antonia Lozano /Ixtlahuacan *tree img #974

0977 Jose Rafael de la Mora & Maria de Jesus Sanchez /Cuquio/Ixtlahuacan *tree img #979

0983 Mariano Gregorio Casillas & Maria Antonia de la Cruz Corona /Analco/Zapopan

0989 Jose de la Cruz Fernandez Marmolejo & Maria Feliciana Becerra /Hostotipaquillo/Ixtlan *tree img #994

0996 Jose Francisco de la Luz Vasquez & Vicenta Bustos /Michoacan/Guanajuato

0999 Juan Jose Ramirez & Catarina Luna /San Pedro Piedra Gorda

1006 Julian Dominguez & Maria Gregoria Alcocer /Leon

1010 *same as img #911*Anastacio Gonzalez & Maria Eutemia Maldonado /Tepatitlan/Zapotlanejo

1011 Mariano Galindo & Maria Loreto Fuentes /San Juan de los Lagos/Guadalajara

1015 Nicanor Quezada & Maria Josefa Villasenor /Tenamaxtlan/Tecolotlan

1030 Jose Agaton de Abalos & Maria Pioquinta Blanco /San Juan de los Lagos/Guanajuato

1033 Pablo Leon & Maria Susana Navarro /Aguascalientes/Guadalajara

1039 Agustin Flores & Maria de Jesus Navarro /Patzcuaro/Guadalajara

1048 Jose Salas & Maria Antonia Salmeron /Reinos de Castilla & Etzatlan

1059 Jose Antonio Velasco & Maria Josefa Martin del Campo /Villa de Zamora & San Juan de los Lagos/Analco

1063 Francisco de San Juan Barrueta & Maria Ignacia Morelos /Mexico/Guadalajara

1068 Jose Antonio Castro & Ana Maria Marin /Lagos/Michoacan

1073 Jose Maria Aspeitia & Maria Guadalupe Gomez Portugal /Mexico/Lagos de Moreno

1077 Benito Diez de Bedoya y Rios & Maria Feliciana Hernandez /Reinos de Castilla/Fresnillo

1086 Jose Maria Elizarraras & Maria Antonia Villasana /Irapuato/Real de Catorce/Real de Pinos

1091 Pioquinto Garay & Maria Tiburcia de Casas /Jerez *tree img #1094

1097 Jose Guadalupe Martin & Maria Gomez /Jalostotitlan *tree img #1100

1101 Jose Tomas & Maria Isabel /Tapalpa *states: Ciudadanos que antes se decian Indios*

1110 Jose Nasario & Maria Melchora -Adulterio-/Tuxpan

1117 Pablo Bernal & Maria Ignacia de Haro /Compostela

1122 Francisco Montano & Maria Sanchez /Compostela *tree img #1124

1127 Ignacio Ramirez & Maria de los Dolores Zavala /Michoacan/Aguascalientes/Encarnacion

1133 Mariano Lopez de Nava & Nasaria de Loera /Huejucar *tree img #1134

1137 Juan Nepomuceno Servin de la Mora & Maria Guadalupe de Cuellar /Encarnacion *tree img #1141

1142 Lazaro Renteria & Maria Josefa Velez /Guanajuato/Guadalajara

1147 Jose Zavala & maria Antonia Lopez /Arica, Lima/Talpa/Tepic

1153 Jose Maria Guerrero & Mariana del Pedraso /Silao/Zacatecas

1160 Ignacio Patron & Maria Arias /Tepic/Compostela *tree img #1163

1167 Jose Pablo Garcia & Maria Rafaela Gomez de Portugal /Aguascalientes/Lagos/Analco

1176 Pablo Chavez & Maria de las Nieves Riestra y Ulloa /Guadalajara]

1182 Calistro Castillo & Dolores Ortiz -concubinato con Victoriano Castillo- /Tepatitlan

1186 Jose Miguel Maria Rodarte & Luciana Garcia /Zacatecas

1194 Antonio de Robles-ilicita amistad con Maria Cayetana Salamanca, hermana de su esposa- /Juanacatic /Tabasco

1197 Anastacio Villalobos & Vicenta Moreno /Villa de Lagos *tree img #1197

1201 Jose Francisco Moreno & Maria Narcisa Gonzalez /Adobes *tree img #1202

1207 Jose Narciso Ochoa & Maria Dorotea Perez /Tizapan

1215 Mariano Santillan & Nicolasa Moreno /Analco/Tepatitlan

1225 Jose Moreno & Filomena Arenas Rangel y Chico /Adobes *tree img #1225

1232 Dionicio Solache/Solachi & Maria Regina Jimenez /Zacatecas

1239 Jose Cecilio Acosta & Paula Diez de Mier y Torizes /Zacatecas

1247 Jose Antonio Sandoval & Maria Raymunda de Loera /Tabasco *tree img #1252/1253

1254 Jose Trinidad Aguilera & Maria Merced Aguilera /Rio Chico/Teocaltiche *tree img #1256

1259 Jose Luciano Ramos & Maria Guadalupe Mesa /Magdalena *tree img #1264

1266 Pablo Lopez de Velarde & Paula Lopez de la Cerda /Aguascalientes *tree img #1272

1274 Jose Maria Martinez Lopez de Miranda & Maria Eduviges Rodriguez /Espana/Salinas

1280 Nepomuceno Carbajal & Maria Buenaventura Gonzalez /Yahualica *tree img #1280

1286 Jose Maria de Abila & Maria Antonia Rodriguez -Concubinato don Dolores Garcia-/Jalpa

1287 CONTINUA EN EL ROLLO SIGUIENTE

1288 MEXICO OAH ROLLO 2570 FIN

1289 END OF ROLL