A TV comedy assured new Spidey's creator

All it took was a scene last fall in the NBC TV series Community to convince comic-book writer Brian Michael Bendis that he was on the right track for a new Spider-Man.

A year ago, Community star Donald Glover embarked on a Twitter campaign to play an African-American version of Spider-Man in a new movie (a role that went to white actor Andrew Garfield for next summer's The Amazing Spider-Man). As an inside joke, he appeared on the season premiere in Spider-Man pajamas.

"He looked fantastic!" Bendis recalls. "I saw him in the costume and thought, 'I would like to read that book.' So I was glad I was writing that book."

The writer gives Glover "mucho credit" for the way Miles Morales looks in Ultimate Fallout issue 4, which is out Wednesday and marks the first appearance of a new Spider-Man. His adventures will continue in September's Ultimate Spider-Man No. 1, written by Bendis and illustrated by Sara Pichelli.

More than a year ago, a Marvel Comics brain trust decided that, at least in the Ultimate Universe, Peter Parker needed to die, in a battle with the Green Goblin. When they began to think about whom they'd put under the new mask, a multicultural vibe emerged.

"It's certainly long overdue," Bendis says. "Even though there's some amazing African-American and minority characters bouncing around in all the superhero universes, it's still crazy lopsided."

Marvel comics have been populated with many minority heroes over the years, from Luke Cage to War Machine to the Black Panther, many of whom have starred in their own books. And several men of varying skin color have wielded Captain America's shield and worn Iron Man's armor.

But only Peter Parker ever crawled on walls and strapped on web shooters as Marvel's signature superhero. So to put an African American under that mask probably is going to pack more of a cultural punch than simply creating a new minority superhero.

Race may have been a question had Peter Parker been African American when Stan Lee and Steve Ditko created Spider-Man in 1962. But now, minorities play a bigger role in society. So Bendis says that if fans have a beef, it will be with the fact that the new Spider-Man is not Peter Parker, not his replacement's skin tone. "Some will perceive that (Parker) had to die to make this happen, which is not the case," he says. "This character carries on the legacy of Peter Parker, a Spider-Man who will have a completely different relationship to the world."

The creation of Miles Morales, a teenager with an African-American father and Hispanic mother, has been personal for his creators. Axel Alonso, Marvel's editor in chief, is of mixed cultures (his father is Mexican, his mother is British), and Bendis has two adopted daughters, a 3½-year-old from Ethiopia and a 4½-month-old African American.

"Wouldn't it be nice for them to have a character or a hero that speaks to them as much as Peter Parker has spoken to so many children?" Bendis says. "There's nothing wrong with that, and I think we need more of it."

Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to For more information about reprints & permissions , visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com . Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com