Review by Lewis Savarese
Rounding out the Double Trouble series is Peter Parker & Miles Morales: Spider-Men Double Trouble. Vita Ayala joins the creative team of Mariko Tamaki and Gurihiru for this fresh take on Miles and Peter’s relationship. Improving on the shortcomings of the previous Double Trouble installments, Ayala and Tamaki weave a thoughtful exploration of legacy heroes, while staying true to the whimsical nature of the series.
It would be remiss to attribute the bump in quality solely to the addition of Ayala. More accurately, the unique perspectives of Ayala and Tamaki manifest in this story about what it means to be Spider-Man in a world with multiple Spider-Men. To Miles, sharing the Spider-Man mantle with Peter and patrolling Manhattan together is a dream come true. To Peter, being the original Spider-Man means that Miles can accompany him around town for Take Your Sidekick to Work Day. The conflict inherent in two generations of a superhero operating simultaneously plays out like a sibling rivalry, something very relatable to children. Peter assumes Miles is his sidekick and is largely oblivious to Miles’s repudiation of the notion. Miles has to prove that he’s not just the kid brother, the second fiddle to Peter.
Miles soon has his trial by fire after a series of mishaps at Peter’s “Top-Secret Warehouse Full of Terrible Objects and Weapons That Have Been Used Against Us.” Gurihiru renders the interior of the warehouse as an expansive assortment of crates and objects, a nod to the closing scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark. After Miles accidentally releases “furry puffy thing” creatures from a supervillain’s containment sphere, he is sucked into a pocket dimension device called the Cana-Transporter. The device belongs to Mysterio who is able to walk into the warehouse undetected, part of a running gag regarding the lax security. Mysterio brings the Cana-Transporter to Villains Con, the annual supervillain convention that coincidentally falls on the same day as Take Your Sidekick to Work Day. At Mysterio’s panel, Miles is released from the Cana-Transporter and all hell breaks loose.
The number of villains Gurihiru packs into a page (or even a panel) is staggering. There are multiple splashes and spreads full of every conceivable Spider-Man adversary, from infamous foes such as the Lizard to the more obscure like Grizzly. Almost every corner of the Marvel universe is represented with appearances by Abomination, Juggernaut, Red Skull, and the convention’s keynote speaker Thanos. This section functions as a mini-artbook highlighting not only Gurihiru’s character designs, but their mastery of movement and expressions. Additionally, the Villains Con scenes are full of easter eggs for kids and adults to find. For instance, readers will enjoy trying to discern whether a background character is a supervillain or a cosplayer. Thanos even arrives in a Thanos-themed limo, a reference to the farcical Thanos-Copter.
Miles and Peter are apart for most of the narrative which allows them to learn something about themselves and each other. While Miles tries to survive the seemingly endless stream of supervillains, he comes to terms with his intrusive thoughts casting doubt on his superheroism. This internal conversation Miles has with “Thought-Peter” helps him realise that drawing on what he has learned from Peter does not lessen his own experiences and instincts. Peter learns a lesson in humility when he stops to help an unassuming cyclist with a flat tyre and gets more than he bargained for. Ayala and Tamaki emphasise, through humour and heart, that both Spider-Men are better heroes because of one another.
