Miles is canonically said to do risky shit pretty often. Is it ambition? Is it a desire to prove himself? Does he actually care about exposing the evil doers? Something else?
question time || accepting
A vast majority of his drive comes his sense of justice, empathy, and compassion. It’s all genuine, not just something he says to score brownie points. You could probably attribute it to an inferiority complex or authority issues or his questionable self-esteem, but he’s always had an overwhelming desire to look out for people who are struggling. Even as a kid it got him into a lot of fights and bad situations, because he’d involve himself in other people’s problems in an attempt to stick up for someone else.
Miles’ hatred of corporations and the like has a lot to do with the fact that he got fired, too. It left a chip on his shoulder and cemented his feeling that the people at the top would always want to screw over the people on the bottom. Taking shots at the system as a whole through his writing is something that’s definitely become more obvious as time has gone on, but again, most of it comes from a place of genuine caring.
Of course, there is a bit of ambition there, too. It’s natural to want recognition for your efforts, especially when you’ve sacrificed your life to “a cause” (figuratively and literally), and there’s definitely a part of him that just wants to be applauded for something. He sees himself as an underdog and someone who would be more successful if The Man™ didn’t kick him down so often – which is true to an extent, even if a lot of his issues are self-created. But even then, his hunger for success is more in line with “if I’m more well-known my stories will have a bigger audience and I can effect more change” than it is with a desire for personal accolades.
As for the risk? It’s not something he really thinks about. He doesn’t try to play the hero about it or act like he’s a martyr for doing what he does. It’s just part of the game.
