Warning: contains spoilers for Miles Morales: Spider-Man #33!
While with his own family, friends, and villains. But in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #33, Miles Morales officially has his own personal Venom...but with a strange, heroic twist.
Miles Morales' life has had its ups and downs recently. Just a few short months ago, he experienced his own personal Clone Saga - but unlike Peter Parker, Miles had to deal with three clones at the same time. Selim, Mindspinner and Shift all had different powers and personalities, but the latter two eventually defected from the former when Selim threatened Miles' baby sister. Selim and Mindspinner were destroyed, but Shift - a large clone with shapeshifting capabilities - remains on Miles' side.
After being visited by the Beyond Corporation (who threaten to sue Miles for the use of the Spider-Man name), Miles teams up with Ben Reilly - sponsored by Beyond - to take down a supervillain. Miles believes the Assessor is behind the technology of the new foe, so he teams up with Shift and tracks down the Assessor's corporation to a large complex. Dozens of guards are alerted to their presence, and Miles and Shift easily fight them off...but Shift is considerably more violent. "We don't rip people's heads off! You hear me?" cries Miles as Shift holds one of the guards at his mercy.
"We got some stuff to talk about when this is done" Miles says as Shift drops - potentially throws - the defeated guard to the ground. Shift shares more than a few attributes with Venom, another black-clad, huge, violent spider-villain. Shift rarely speaks and it's up to Spider-Man to teach him about the world...but there are more than a few hints that suggest Shift will strike out on his own as an anti-hero. Earlier in the issue, Miles its he wants to introduce Shift to his family, but Shift is afraid of their reactions. For now, he lives in the sewers, with minimal outside of Miles.
There are more parallels between Shift and Venom when one includes the Venom feature film into the equation. Due to the popularity of the movie, perhaps Shift will venture forth as a fourth Spider-Man (ing Peter, Ben and Miles) in the Marvel Comics universe. Miles Morales has a different approach than Peter, and his treatment of his personal Venom proves it.
