Spider-Man’s Hulk-Sized Brother Has a Major New Role in Marvel Continuity

Warning: Contains spoilers for The Spectacular Spider-Men #8!

As the clone brother of Miles Morales helps the development of a diverse underground community, his overall status and Spider-Man’s relationship with New York could be changed in Marvel lore. Though Miles has had a busy and messy year, Shift has been positively making his way through the city and has become a sort of leader. The hulk-sized clone has successfully proven that he has the DNA of a hero.

The preview for The Spectacular Spider-Men #8 – written by Greg Weisman with art by Emilio Laiso and Andrés Genolet – deals with the falling out of the events of the Spidey duo’s last storyline masterminded by various villains including Jackal, Hammerhead, and the new K.N.A.I.V.E.

Taking in the Jackal’s clones, Shift adds new members to the growing community he’s helping develop that lives in New York’s underground. The different types of clones and a colony of unhoused people create a diverse group that trusts and looks up to Shift as a hero in his own right.

Spider-Man’s Brother Could Become One of the Strongest Leaders in the Marvel Universe

Miles Morales’ clone brother Shift has been making more progress as a character with each new appearance, and the trend continues as he’s now fostering a growing community of people and clones that support each other. Since debuting back in 2021, the supposed experiment gone wrong has become an important figure in Miles’ life and supporting cast. In The Spectacular Spider-Men #2 by Weisman and Humberto Ramos, it’s established that Shift has gone underground and helped reform Vermin. The Vermin are giant rat clones that now protect and live alongside the people living underground, even helping find food and supplies.

Later on in the series’ latest issue – The Spectacular Spider-Men #7, also by Weisman and Ramos – the clones of Shift’s underground community were even responsible for saving Miles and Peter. When both Spider-Men were against the ropes with one of their most powerful villains to date, Shift and the Vermin provided a necessary assist at just the right moment. With this development and both types of clones now by his side, Shift has the potential to call upon an army of Vermin and Jackals to help him fight bad guys or even provide any necessary support to people in need.

Shift’s Potential Continues to Grow As One of Marvel’s Most Lovable New Heroes

It’s not just his expanding underground community that is fond of Miles’ clone, as he has also been officially welcomed into the Morales family. Though he is the size of a hulking beast, Shift has proven to be a gentle giant with a heart of gold. With extraordinary powers including organic webs, shape manipulation, and the strength and spider-sense of his brother, Shift is not only a beloved hero in the Marvel universe, but one of its major powerhouses. Important to both Miles’ hero and home life, the relatively new spider-hero has major potential for substantial character growth moving forward.

As Shift’s sewer support system continues to develop underground in New York City, he takes on a real leadership position for a growing population of people in an extremely important part of Earth-616. Shift has proven himself as not only an extremely powerful hero, but a seriously unique take on the Spider-Man formula with his hulk-sized stature and unabashedly sweet attitude that makes him adored by almost anyone who crosses his path. A protector of the city’s other clones, the clone experiment of Spider-Man and brother of Miles Morales has become integral to Marvel’s evolving New York landscape.

The Spectacular Spider-Men #8 will be available October 16, 2024 from Marvel Comics.