Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse. Fries and chilli sauce. Miles Morales and Nike Air Jordan 1s. There are some things that are just synonymous, and feel “right” when put together. Take them apart and put them with something else, and you just might start an upset. Like pineapples on pizza.
As it turns out, Insomniac Games is once again in the spotlight, and not for the best of reasons, with regards to Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Recently, the developer posted up new images pf an excerpt from the fictional local news Daily Bugle depicting two Spider-Men swinging abut New York City. One of them – presumably the titular Miles Morales, is seen wearing a pair of what look to be red high-cut Adidas Superstars with Peter Parker’s Spidey following him close by.
While to the lay man, this may seem a harmless move, but for those who have been enamoured by the teenage superhero, who became synonymous with the Air Jordan 1s as he was seen wearing them in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse in 2018, this is seen as somewhat as an insult to Miles Morales’ character.
Many who have watched the movie have become sold on the idea that the Air Jordan 1s are a part of the character, with even Nike themselves going so far as to produce a pair of the sneakers inspired by the movie back in 2018.
But while it is easy to place the blame on Insomniac Games for not sticking to the cultural canon, so to speak, it is also worth noting that the movie and game are two separate entities, despite being under Sony’s collective umbrella.
Interestingly, however, the companion art book for Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales depicts the webslinger sporting a different coat, suit, and more importantly, a pair of Air Jordan 1s, albeit without the Nike swoosh for some reason. For the fans that felt slighted at the Adidas move, this might allay fears that Miles Morales might lose his “identity”, and that there might be the ability to swap between the two brands in the form of in-game skins.
Regardless of what you might think of the new sneaker swap, it most certainly is here to stay, as is the new face for Peter Parker in Marvel’s Spider-Man: Remastered.
In any case, there is still plenty of reason to be excited for Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales when it launches on 12 November for the PS4 and PS5.
Marion has a serious RPG addiction. Sometimes it bleeds into real life; he forgets to sleep because he thinks he has a Witcher’s body clock. Forgive him in advance if he suddenly blurts out terms such as “Mind Flayer” and “Magic Missile”, because never once does he stop thinking about his next Dungeons & Dragons game.
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