5 Reasons Why PS5's Miles Morales Is Better Than Peter Parker (& 5 Reasons Why Peter Is Better)
PS5'S Miles Morales gives players control of Spider-Man's young protégé. From the very first mission, the differences between Peter and Miles are immediately noticeable. In fact, Miles is better in certain ways over Peter, especially in terms of powers. However, Peter is no slouch in the skills department either.
Insomniac Games manages to make both characters powerful and interesting in their own rights. Nobody could objectively say one Spidey is completely better than the other. Still, there's no denying the two heroes have their own strengths and weaknesses.
The most obvious difference between Peter and Miles is the latter's "Venom Strike" ability. To be fair to Miles, this universe does not have an active symbiote running around just yet, so the copyright is probably fine.
That being said, Venom Strike is the most important ability in differentiating Miles' playstyle from Peter's. Using this ability, Miles can dish out a lot more burst damage than Peter can ever hope to without the use of gadgetry.
Sure, Miles has his cool new shock power, but what he doesn't have over Peter is the love of the people. Peter has proven himself time and time again to the people of New York, and there is an unparalleled amount of trust and friendship towards Spidey that isn't seen with other heroes.
Miles, especially at the start of his journey, is far from the "friendly neighborhood Spider-Man" that Peter is. In fact, this characterization has a lot in common with his Into the Spiderverse characterization, as well as the naive elements of Tom Holland's Spidey.
Miles' doesn't just dish out high damage energy, he can absorb it as well. During the terrorist attacks on Harlem, Miles has shown the ability to absorb the power of generators and other energy sources.
This ability was crucial in saving the city from total destruction near the end of his game. It's fascinating to think of how Peter would have handled this situation, but there is no denying that Miles' powers helped him minimize the casualties as much as possible.
Many players likely had a lot of fun seeing how different Miles' body language was while swinging across New York, but it can't be denied that Peter is a much sleeker web swinger. The difference is immediate from the first time the player takes control of Miles.
Aesthetically, Miles stumbles and overextends his reach. When he lands, there's a small chance of him landing completely flat on his back. With Peter, there is absolutely no chance of that happening, and his swinging just looks a lot more confident and safe.
Another skill Peter doesn't have that has helped Miles often is the ability to camouflage. Where Pete has to sneak along the rafters and crawl across ceilings, Miles can just walk by enemies without missing a step.
This ability is incredibly handy for Miles, and it has saved his life on more occasions than one. There are probably a thousand moments in his life when Peter would have loved the ability to turn invisible, and he's not shy about saying so to Miles.
Peter's iconic Spider-Sense is significantly more powerful than Miles'. Peter can sense danger farther away and well before it actually happens. Moments such as the attempted assassination of Osborn by Mr. Negative prove this.
In contrast, Miles only senses danger when it is immediate, which means Miles has to rely more on his normal senses than Peter does. While time will tell if his Spider-Sense will grow stronger, it should be noted that Comic Miles Morales doesn't have a strong Spider-Sense either.
A stark difference between Peter and Miles is how they hold themselves outside of the suit. One could even say they are the inverse of each other. While Miles is incredibly awkward and inexperienced as Spider-Man, he is a lot more socially confident than Peter is now.
Meanwhile, Peter outside the suit is still struggling to come off as "cool" and is still kind of dorky. Not to knock on Peter, but it's pretty consistent even in the comics that Peter was a dorky dude. Miles is the type to share stories with random folks on the street and leave a mark. Still, they're both lovable, just in different ways.
While Miles is no slouch in the gadgetry department, Peter is on a whole other level. In addition to making all of his own suits by himself (unlike Miles, who used hand-me-downs from Pete), he also utilizes gadgets a lot more in his Spidey work.
From the adorable Spider-Bro to the sleek Anti-Ock suit, Peter has proven how much of a technological genius he is, which helps to give him an edge against many opponents.
While many fans praised PS4 Spider-Man for not rehashing the origin story of Peter Parker for the umpteenth time, it did feel a bit strange playing like an experienced Peter at first. Miles Morales gives fans that familiar "coming-of-age" story vibe that's present in most other Spider-Man works.
A huge part of the story is Miles carving out his own legacy as Spider-Man in New York. The people don't make a secret of their dislike of Miles for being "sloppy" and riding on the "real Spider-Man's coattails." However, Miles proved he can do things that only he can, and he eventually earned their respect.
Of course, while it's nice to have a coming-of-age story, a superhero story where Spidey has already been in the game for a long time is refreshingly new. None of the movies really focused on an experienced Spider-Man.
In PS4's Spider-Man, the game literally starts with Spidey reaping the rewards of years of fighting crime. Taking out Kingpin would be the major plot of most other series (such as Daredevil and Into the Spiderverse), but here, it's just a taste of what's to come. A wiser and more confident Spider-Man is awesome to see. That's exactly why people consider PS4 Peter to be one of the best versions of the character.