WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Miles Morales: Spider-Man #28 out now from Marvel.
Despite his relatively short career as a superhero compared to other major figures in the Marvel Universe, Miles Morales -- aka Spider-Man -- has survived plenty of classic kinds of threats. He's hopped between realities, watched his loved ones die and be resurrected, and has been at the center of major events like Secret Wars, Secret Empire, and Spider-Geddon. He's even been trapped in his own variant of the Clone Saga, facing off with copies of himself in a series of shockingly brutal brawls.
Now, the dust has settled, and almost all of the clones have been dealt with. But one of them may even prove to be the Ben Reiley to Miles' Peter Parker -- with Miles Morales: Spider-Man #28 by Saladin Ahmed, Carmen Carnero, David Curiel, and VC's Cory Petit revealing that Miles and Shift have come to see each other as not just allies, but brothers.
After being captured by the Assessor and escaping his grasp, Spider-Man was unaware this resulted in the successful cloning of the young hero -- leading to three copies of Spider-Man. Taking the names Selim, Mindspinner, and Shift, each of them has variants of Morales' powers. After an enraged Miles unknowingly destroyed the cure for their cellular degeneration, Selim and Mindspinner waged war against Miles. But Shift -- the hulking and always changing shapeshifting -- proved to have a softer heart. He freed Miles, who was able to save his mother from his clones. The battle took a darker edge though when an enraged Selim hunted down Miles' father, wounded him, and kidnapped his baby sister Billie.
Rushing to the Brooklyn Bridge after getting a message from him, Miles confronts Selim and challenges him to a fight for Billie's life. Miles is able to win the brutal fight, but leaves himself open for a surprise attack by Mindspinner. But that's when Shift arrives on the scene and rescues Billie from Salim, protecting her from his fellow clone. Enraged, Salim attacks him -- which prompts Mindspinner to defend his fellow clone. Salim then attacks Mindspinner -- with the resulting overpouring of energy from both of them seemingly disintegrating the pair mid-battle.
Afterward, Shift hands Billie to Miles, ensuring her survival. Miles apologizes to Shift over the loss of his "brothers," but promises to help him -- offering him both the full extent of Miles resources to repair the cellular damage to the clone, as well as a home with the Morales family. He even openly refers to him as his brother. Although he's been silent so far in the series, Shift shows his approval of this by creating a large picture of the pair with the banner "Brooklyn Brothers."
It's a sweet step for both young men and could give Miles a serious ally going forward -- albeit if they can solve his cellular problems. Luke Peter Parker's cloned brother Ben Reilly, Shift could even become his own hero if he wants to, expanding the Spider-Family a little bit more. However, there's also the chance that Salim -- or even other clones of Miles -- could return someday, forcing Spider-Man and his new brother into a new fight. For the time being, this ensures the Morales family is a little bit better protected, thanks to Shift's adaptable power-set, and that Billie has another guardian who can do anything to help her.
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