Who Is Miles Morales’ Mother? What Happens to Her?

Despite being almost a month since the release of ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,’ there are still many questions about the plot and supporting characters that were really interesting in the movie. One of them is Miles’ parents, particularly his very lovely mother, Rio Morales. Her role in the ‘Spider-Verse’ movies showcased how much she supports and sacrifices for Miles Morales to have the best education and the best life in Brooklyn, New York. Of course, the comic books tell a bit different story to her ‘Spider-Verse’ counterpart, and for that, we will discuss Miles Morales’ mother and her origins.

Rio Morales is Miles Morales’ mother and a wife to Jefferson Davis. She is of Puerto Rican descent and works as a nurse in a local hospital located in Brooklyn. She is a dedicated and loving mother who tragically dies in Ultimate Comics during a massive police shootout in her hospital during the chase after the new Venom. Before she dies, she tells her son Miles to never say his secret identity to his father and stops being a Spider-Man for a year after her death. However, Miles’ good deeds during the ‘Secret Wars’ event, where young Spider-Man helps Molecule Man, resulting in the powerful being returning the favor and transferring Miles and his family to Earth-616. This meant Rio Morales was resurrected and living normally as if nothing had changed in the new reality.

Rio and Jefferson are really lovely parents, one of the rare ones in the superhero genre, and the fans always welcomed that part of Miles’ lore. Rio went through a lot in Ultimate Comics, which we will explain in more detail in this article.

Who is Miles Morales’ mother?

Rio Morales is a Puerto Rican woman who first met her future husband, Jefferson Davis, in the hospital she worked as a nurse during his physical therapy. Soon they entered a relationship and eventually got married.

After a few years, Rio and Jefferson got a baby boy named Miles. Since the beginning, both Rio and Jefferson tried their best to raise Miles in the best possible way, especially since her husband had a criminal history as a young man.

From his youth, Miles showcased his intelligence and a bright mind, which prompted both Rio and Jefferson to pay for and enroll their son in the best possible schools. Besides supporting her son, Rio always supported her husband as well. His rough childhood and criminal history he shared with his brother Aaron Davis, affected him greatly, and she knew that Jefferson tried his best to remove Miles from that environment.

At one point in the comics, Jefferson tells his son Miles that Rio saved his life and that she was the best thing that happened to him. Rio is a naturally kind and open-minded woman who doesn’t mind the superhero activity in the city, especially when Spider-Man is protecting New York from criminals.

Jefferson does not favor Spider-Man and others alike since they seem like posers to him as the officer of NYPD. Nevertheless, Rio is a perfect mother in the superhero genre and a loving mother who would sacrifice anything to propel her family to greatness.

What happens to Rio Morales in Marvel Comics?

After enrolling in one of the best middle schools in the area, Brooklyn Visions Academy, Miles Morales is soon bitten by a genetically-enhanced spider that gives him superpowers.

He is scared and reluctant to start being a superhero, but after Spider-Man’s death and the motivation from Aunt May and Gwen Stacy, Miles decides to take over the Spider-Man mantle and continue the legacy of Peter Parker on Earth-1610.

Soon enough, Rio actually discovers her son is Spider-Man but doesn’t say anything. However, with great power comes great responsibility, and Miles learned that the hard way. During his fight with the new Venom (Dr. Conrad Marcus), Miles accidentally brings the fight close to the hospital, which causes the police to start a shootout. However, when Miles saves his father from Venom and the bullets, he quickly realizes his mother is caught in the crossfire.

Before she dies, she begs Miles not to say anything about his superhero identity to his father and dies at Miles’ hands. The death of Rio Morales causes Miles to abandon the Spider-Man mantle for over a year, but after Galactus arrives on Earth, Miles reveals his identity to Jefferson, who blames him for the death of Aaron and Rio, and eventually leaves his son.

The father and son eventually reconcile, but the threat of incursions and the destruction of the multiverse is on the way. Miles manages to survive the cataclysm of his universe and ends up on the Battleworld.

With Spider-Man from Earth-616 in tow, Miles goes on a journey to track the source of Doom’s power and ends up in Molecule Man’s chamber. When Molecule Man asks Spider-Men if they brought him anything to eat, Miles gives him a hamburger he had stored for weeks.

Nevertheless, Molecule Man remembered this gesture, and when he had to recreate another multiverse with the help of Mister Fantastic, he decided to return the favor to young Spider-Man by resurrecting his mother, Rio, and transporting most of his life on Earth-1610 to Earth-616.

Rio Morales is alive, but in the new universe, she didn’t know her son was Spider-Man until the ‘Spider-Man’ #15 comic book issue when her whole world goes upside down, and she needs to come to terms that her son is a superhero.

How Old is Rio Morales?

Miles Morales has seemingly young parents and got us thinking – how old are his mother and father? Of course, this particular information isn’t shared in the comics and ‘Spider-Verse’ movies, so we will have to speculate.

In 2011, we met Miles Morales, a fourteen-year-old boy from Brooklyn who became Spider-Man after the death of Peter Parker in his universe. It was never revealed how old his parents were, but one could speculate that when Rio and Jefferson met in the hospital in their mid-twenties.

Since Rio was already working as a nurse and Jefferson was slowly but surely done with crime, we can assume these two were around 25-26 years old. Shortly after, Rio and Jefferson married and had a son, Miles.

Combining this information with Miles’ age when we meet him in Ultimate Comics, we can assume that Rio Morales is at least 40 years old at that time. The same goes for Jefferson as well.

When it comes to ‘Spider-Verse’ movies, the writers and creators didn’t mess with Miles’ origin story that much, which confirms that Rio and Jefferson share the same age as their comic book counterparts.

What are your thoughts on Rio Morales? Let us know in the comments below.

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