Despite the novel being called Miles Morales: Spider Man, the titular character hardly spends time fighting crime as Spider-Man (thus, the prioritization of Miles’s name). Instead, Spider-Man functions as a symbol representing the side of Miles that he views as heroic. Spider-Man is strength, a hero, while Miles is just an average teenager. Miles separates his identity as Spider-Man from his identity as Miles Morales, viewing them as two entirely different entities. In doing so, he constantly compares one part of himself to the other, growing frustrated with his other half when something doesn’t go correctly.

In an effort to meet the expectations of his family and community, Miles decides to shed his identity as Spider-Man so he can focus on school. When Miles does put on the mask—a metaphor for him putting on his Spider-Man persona—he only recognizes Spider-Man in the mirror, and is unable to see Miles Morales beyond the lenses of his mask. Throughout the story, Miles places himself and Spider-Man at odds, stating that only one can exist at a time. For example, in Chapter 4, Miles remarks that “all the cool he thought he had was currently balled up into a spandex mess in his closet,” believing that Spider-Man’s traits can’t simultaneously exist when he is Miles Morales (54).