Releasing November 12th, Spider-Man: Miles Morales is a sequel to the PS4 original from Insomniac Games. With a mostly new cast of characters, the relationship Miles has with each of them is one of the many reasons the story is so compelling. One of these new characters in Spider-Man: Miles Morales is Rick Mason, a fairly minor character who nevertheless impacts almost every aspect of the main story.
[Warning: Spoilers for Spider-Man: Miles Morales below]
In the comics, Rick Mason was the son of Phineas Mason, more commonly known as the Tinkerer. However, Spider-Man: Miles Morales shakes that up quite a bit. In the game, Rick is actually the older brother to Phin, Miles' childhood friend. Rick is shown to have a good relationship with his younger sister and Miles, and both characters look up to him.
Rick Mason is a tech wizard and incredibly smart, and he works for Roxxon. The energy company, a longtime mainstay of Marvel comics, plays a big part in the main plot of Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Rick is working with Roxxon to create a new clean energy, although Roxxon has some shady corporate motives. Rick uncovers some hazardous side effects that come from Nuform, the new energy source, and when he tries to pull the plug on the project he is tragically killed. This is arguably the biggest inciting incident in the entire game, since it spearheads several of Spider-Man: Miles Morales' main characters to take action.
How Rick Mason's Death Impacts Spider-Man: Miles Morales
When Rick Mason is killed, it causes his younger sister Phin to become the Tinkerer. She then becomes leader of The Underground and declares war on Roxxon. This also means that Phin (as the Tinkerer) is now fighting her childhood friend Miles (as Spider-Man), adding to both the tension and dramatic irony of the game's story. Rick Mason's death directly impacts the future for both Phin and Miles, but its importance doesn't stop there.
Rick's death also illustrates the true evil behind Roxxon. It sets up Simon Krieger as the real villain of Spider-Man: Miles Morales, since Krieger kills Rick Mason for discovering the hazardous effects of Nuform. Essentially, the entire plot of Spider-Man: Miles Morales hinges on Rick Mason's death. Even though he's a fairly minor character in the game, he is incredibly important to its narrative.
Rick Mason's death in Spider-Man: Miles Morales is incredibly heartbreaking. It also sets Phin, Miles, and Simon Krieger on a path that will ultimate lead them to one final confrontation. How each of the main characters react to Rick's death is a major part of the plot, and it shows just how important Rick Mason was.