Miles Morales now sits comfortably in pop culture royalty. Movies. Games. Toys. Sneakers. Halloween costumes. A Spider-Verse empire that has cleared $1 billion without breaking a sweat. Yet one of the people who helped bring him to life says she’s seen none of that money. Zero. Zilch. Speaking at CCXP 2025 in São Paulo, Italian artist Sara Pichelli didn’t sugarcoat it when Brazilian outlet Jamesons asked about royalties. “If only! Don’t even mention it… I would be a billionaire.” When the interviewer pointed out that the Insomniac games sold millions of copies, Pichelli replied, “Yeah, but I don’t get anything. And that’s the saddest part of my life.”
Pichelli co-created Miles Morales with writer Brian Michael Bendis back in 2011 for Marvel’s Ultimate universe. She illustrated his debut in Ultimate Fallout, shaped his look, and designed the Morales family. That work laid the groundwork for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which hit cinemas in 2018, won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, and pulled in over $384 million worldwide. The sequel, Across the Spider-Verse, followed, with Beyond the Spider-Verse currently set for 2027. That’s not even touching merchandise or Sony’s blockbuster games. Marvel’s Spider-Man sold over 13.2 million copies by 2019, prompting Sony to buy Insomniac outright.
So why no cheque? Contracts. Miles counts as “derivative” of Peter Parker, which places him outside royalty participation. Pichelli received upfront payment for her art. That’s it. The system works as designed, even if it leaves creators watching their creations make billions from the sidelines.
Things got messy after headlines stripped the humour from her comments. Pichelli later pushed back on Instagram, calling the coverage “embarrassing clickbait news” and saying the exchange was “relaxed and ironic.” She asked fans not to use her work to take sides or stir fights, especially after a long, packed convention weekend.
Still, the moment landed. Jamesons even joked about starting an online campaign. Pichelli didn’t hesitate. “Please, do it!”
Miles Morales keeps thriving. The bigger question is whether the people who built him get to thrive too.
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