Matt Haigh, writing for Den of Geek, felt that the identity of the killer was one of the few endings amongst first season episodes that he had found genuinely surprising, though he attributed this to the episode's focus on Mulder's personal history. The use of Mulder's visions of his sister Samantha as a motivation for his actions in this episode has been seen as "opening up" the overarching search for the truth about her through the series. The plot for "Miracle Man" was also adapted as a novel for young adults in 2000 by Terry Bisson.
Matt Haigh, writing for Den of Geek, found the killer's identity to be one of the few surprising endings from the first season episodes that he had found genuinely surprising. The use of Mulder's visions of his sister Samantha as a motivation for his actions in this episode has been seen as "opening up" the overarching search for the truth about her through the series. The plot for "Miracle Man" was also adapted into a young adult novel in 2000 by Terry Bisson.