I think it was after reading issue #2 of Spider-Woman that I realized it was a part of something bigger. I thought I’d stick with that series and go back and read the rest at another time. After all, I was able to understand and enjoy the story on its own, just fine. But I started #4 today and it referenced something that happened in another series (also within Spider-Verse) and I wanted to know more. I picked the first issue in the Spider-Verse series, The Amazing Spider-Man #9. 

Holy. Shit.

Now I need to read them all - and I will do so quickly so I can dive back into Spider-Woman #4. Of course, it wouldn’t be Project Fandom if I didn’t share the experience with you. When I started this site in 2013, I wanted it to be a place where people who immediately want to talk about the great things they find would feel right at home. So, over the next week or so, allow me to fangirl over this series. When we get to a point where I’ve already read/reviewed a Spider-Woman issue, I’ll link it at the bottom of the review.

So, this issue completely had my heart and attention after two pages. Peter Parker is called out of bed by Mr. Jameson, who wants Parker to head over to a park where someone with powers is showing his ass. Since his bills have bills, Peter suits up and confronts the troublemaker.

It’s Morlun, a vampire-looking hulk of a man who happens to know Peter by name. Then he kills Peter, and bites into his neck. Don’t freak out like I did! It’s not our Peter. He was the Spider-Moon-Man of Earth-449.

And even though I knew about the other dimensions with their own versions of Spider-Man, I still lost my shit. That’s how you start a series, folks. But, wait; it gets better.

LoomWorld, Earth-001

Morlun returns to his home world and is greeted by his siblings, Verna and Daemos. Verna makes a cryptic remark before taking her hounds on a hunt, requesting a dimension where the Spiders are young - the young ones taste better. The *Master Weaver obliges and opens up a doorway. Verna’s remark was referencing the very common knowledge there’s a thread (a dimension) in the web that Morlun will not visit. Give you one guess which one.

Earth-616 (Our Earth)

Of course, it’s our Earth, with our Peter Parker, and he’s alive and well. Maybe a little too well. Silk, a Spider I first met in Spider-Woman #1, gets all up in his personal space and suggests a solution to their problem. The Problem: Silk claims to have been bitten by the same spider as Peter. Because of this, she has similar powers which come with a side of serious lust for Peter and vice versa. Her Solution: Peter needs to leave town. Clearly, Peter’s not about that life.

She tags along as he stops a robbery-in-progress, but soon they are joined by other Spiders. Now, I would love to show you each frame with each unique Spider, but you need to go drop some coins. I will list **a few because holy fuckballs, they’re… amazing.

• Anya Corazon, Spider-Girl (Jessica Drew’s protege)
• Miguel O’Hara, Spider-Man from the year 2099, trapped here
• Mayday Parker, Spider-Girl of Earth-982, Peter’s daughter in that universe
• and Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham of Earth-25

I’m not even kidding.

So, why have they all bum-rushed our Earth? Daemos is headed to Earth-616 to spite his brother. Our Peter has faced off against Morlun, and has no intentions of finding out what his big brother is like so he instructs everyone to hustle through a portal out of there.

Meanwhile, Daemos is already here, but in Eastern Europe taking care of Kaine Parker, The Scarlet Spider, an emo clone of Peter’s. Because he’s “The Other,” that makes him special for some reason and Daemos realizes that’s why Morlun had such a hard-on for this time. He’s about to munch on Kaine when other Spiders show up, including: Gwen Stacy, Spider-Woman of Earth-65 a.k.a. your new favorite.

GURL!

They stop him from killing Kaine and exit through a portal, but not without losing Bruce Banner, the Spider-Man of Earth-70105 (not a Hulk). They head to Earth-13, the only safe place they can hide from The Inheritors. Our Peter learns that due to Cosmic Spider-Man of Earth-13 being there, they’re protected. If he leaves, the enigma force remains with the world and he’s just as vulnerable as any other Spider. And it’s important they remain as strong as possible because they’re at war, and our Peter may be the greatest of them all.

Earth-610

Verna has found her young Spiders on Earth-610: Miles Morales and Jessica Drew!

LoomWorld

The Inheritors are waiting to start their feast since Verna and Daemos are still out. Their captured Spiders sit on the dining room table, still alive and trussed up. When Daemos finally arrives, it’s not long before he and Morlun are going at it over Daemos’ trip to 616. Their father, Lord Solus, is all, “Don’t make me get up.”

Lord Solus claims to know the locations of some pretty important Spider Totems: The Other, The Bride, and The Scion. According to the Master Weaver, they are very important to The Great Web of Life and Destiny - what they use to travel to other dimensions. And as long as they control that, Solus says, they control everything.

Then they eat and it’s gross.

Thoughts & Questions:

• *I first met The Master Weaver in Spider-Woman #3 and I felt sorry for him. He’s a slave. An unwilling participant in The Inheritors’ evil plans.
• **I am most excited by the different Spiders we’ll encounter in these series. The possibilities are endless.
• I’m kicking myself for not going back sooner. The Inheritors are downright terrifying. They simply regard the Spiders as food, nothing more. You can’t reason with that kind of bad guy.
• The art here made me truly understand the term “eye candy.” It’s just delicious, bright, and colorful. The Spiders are all sleek, agile, and dangerous. Everything honestly pops off the page.
• The Inheritors reference an outcast sibling, Karn. Wonder what he’s up to.
• If you want to follow along with me, here’s the checklist.

Next Up: Spider-Verse Team-Up #1