UPDATE: Sara Pichelli has released a statement on the matter on her Instagram, clarifying that her comments in the interview were misinterpreted:
"It got to my attention a headline about me saying something about Miles' royalties that was written after an interview here at CCXP. I wanted to let go, but since many of you are writing to me, I want to make things clear. That headline is an embarrassing clickbait news. Who wrote that, twisted completely the tone of our conversation, which was relaxed and ironic, plus that was a tiny part of our conversation where I wasn't complaining or mad at all, just saying [a] few lines about the business industry.
I know royalties and copyright are [a] hot topic, but please don't use me or my work to take sides or talk sh—t. I won't let you do that. Also, when a creator [does] an interview during a show (and CCXP was insanely busy) [they're] being generous and kind, please don't ever take advantage of that to create questionable content to get more followers. Be better, do better."
The original article follows below:
Despite being a relatively new creation, having debuted in 2011 from artist Sara Pichelli and writer Brian Michael Bendis, Miles Morales has become an integral part of the Marvel Universe. He has his own comic book and is the center piece of Sony's animated hits, 2018's Into the Spider-Verse and 2023's Across the Spider-Verse, which have grossed a combined total of over $1 billion. He is also one of the stars of Insomniac's Spider-Man video game franchise, which has been a massive hit for Sony and PlayStation.
Unfortunately, the character's financial success has not been shared with at least one of his co-creators. Sara Pichelli attended CCXP 2025 in São Paulo, Brazil, where she gave an interview to Brazilian outlet Jamesons (interview translated by X's translator). Jamesons asked asked her if she received a share of the profits generated by media starring her creation. Pichelli revealed she doesn't: "If only! Don't even mention it... I would be a billionaire."
When the outlet state she should be compensated, the artist responded she agreed: "Yeah, but I don't get anything. And that's the saddest part of my life. Jamesons stated it was unbelievable, to which she said: "I know, I can't believe it myself." When an online campaign was suggested, Pichelli agreed: "Please, do it!" The outlet stated there should be one, given all the media Miles has starred in. Pichelli agreed once again, saying: "Yeah, it's insane. I [know]."
Compensation for characters has long been a point of contention between creatives and comic book companies. In 2021, The Hollywood Reporter published a report on the matter, detailing the struggles artists and writers experienced to be fairly compensated for their creators. Some of the ones mentioned were Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster for Superman, Jim Starlin for Thanos, and Len Wein for Wolverine.
The issue is so prevalent, that other star writers for Marvel and DC have spoken out about the matter. They include Winter Solider co-creator Ed Brubaker—who opened up about his low compensation for Bucky's MCU role—and Black Panther writer Ta-Nehisi Coates. While speaking to Polygon in 2021, Coates spoke about the struggles many creatives in the comics industry face when it comes to being fairly rewarded for their work:
"I'm not talking about myself here, because I feel like I'm somebody who is fortunate in the sense that I’ve been able to make a living in all kinds of other ways. But there are people who make their living off of comic books. And I wish that Marvel found better ways to compensate the creators who helped make Black Panther Black Panther. I wish that they found better ways to compensate the folks who made Captain America Captain America.
I'm talking very specifically here, I wish they found ways to compensate the author of the greatest Winter Soldier stories that you're ever going to read. I don't love that there's a Falcon and Winter Soldier show on TV and I'm hearing from Ed [Brubaker] that he can't even get in contact with... I just don't love that. [...] Look, I had a great time. I had a tremendous, tremendous time writing for Marvel. I am indebted to Marvel. [...] The corporate side of this, though [...] the corporate side of this is not pretty. It's not pretty at all. How you treat people who create the basis for this, I don't love it."
Venom co-creator Todd McFarlane also spoke about the issue to THR, stating:
"You are paying the original creators crumbs. The first person who says, 'We're going to pay three times crumbs,' is going to look like a genius, and have a flood of talent coming in your direction." He further stated he was in the process of creating a contract for future creators in his planned Spawn universe that would, "address that in a much more significant way."
Miles Morales will return to theaters with Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse on June 18, 2027.