Miles Morales Spider-Man Costume: The Black and Red Suit in Both Spider-Verse Films

The Miles Morales Spider-Man costume is a black bodysuit with red accents and a red spider emblem that Miles paints on by hand. It first appears in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman, and it is the version most people mean. In that film the red sits mainly across the shoulders, and Miles wears shorts, a jacket, a hoodie and a pair of sneakers over the suit.

Both Spider-Verse films are animated, so there is no physical fabric to list and no costume designer credit. TMDB credits Justin K. Thompson as production designer on the first film, alongside ten character designers including Shiyoon Kim and Omar Smith. Thompson built the look of the film on comic printing traits such as offset color and line work. The miles morales spider man page covers the character and his voice cast.

The suit in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023), directed by Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson and Joaquim Dos Santos, keeps its black base and adds new fabrics, reflective patterns and a red stripe along the side. In the December 2021 first look, ComicBook.com noted the red had moved from mainly the shoulders to the arms, the hands and both sides of the rib cage.

Character designer Kris Anka says he made more than 100 designs, which the Character Paint department then refined with the directors. Spider logos of different sizes appear on the front and back, so the audience can read Miles instantly in motion. TMDB credits Patrick O'Keefe as production designer on the sequel, with Anka, Evan Monteiro, Omar Smith and Jesús Alonso Iglesias among the character designers.

Designer Israel Mateo told Andscape that Sony was adamant Miles keep his sneakers in the sequel, because in the story they were a gift from his Uncle Aaron.

The suit is black and red because that is how Miles has looked since his first comic. Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli created the character, and he first appeared in Ultimate Fallout number 4 in 2011, where his main costume is predominantly black with red accents on the mask and upper torso. The films keep that palette, which makes the screen suit instantly recognizable to comics readers.

On the page, the black and red costume was supplied to Miles by S.H.I.E.L.D., whereas the first film has him finish it himself with a spray can. That one change turns a uniform into a piece of self expression, and it fits a character whose hobby is street art. It also gives Miles a distinct place among the heroes of the spider man movies, since the paint job is shown on screen as his own decision.

You make a Miles Morales Spider-Man costume by starting with a plain black bodysuit and adding the red by hand, much as the character does on screen. The first decision is the film version. The 2018 suit keeps its red mainly across the shoulders with a sprayed spider on the chest, while the 2023 suit carries red down the arms, onto the hands and along both sides of the rib cage.

The spider emblem is the hard part, because it needs to look painted by a teenager with a spray can, so a stencil cut slightly rough suits the look better than a crisp printed transfer. Fabric paint should be applied while the suit is worn or stretched over a form, otherwise the red cracks and distorts when it is pulled on. The layers finish the job: shorts, a jacket, a hoodie and sneakers.

For sizing, the suit should fit close to the body, since it is a bodysuit worn under street clothes on screen and the layers need to sit over it comfortably. Perhaps the simplest fix for a suit that is slightly off is to wear the hoodie and shorts over the top, as Miles does, since the layers hide most fitting problems at the waist and neck.

For pairs and groups, the two Spider-Verse films supply plenty of partners. Gwen Stacy and Peter B. Parker appear in both, and Miguel O'Hara joins in the sequel, which gives a group of four Spider heroes. A pair can also go as the two film versions of Miles, one in the 2018 suit and one in the 2023 redesign. When planning a group, settle on the film versions first, so everyone arrives in a suit from the same year.