Review: Spider-Verse #1
Previously in Spider-Verse Team-Up #1
Like the Spider-Verse Team-Ups, the Spider-Verse issues feature short stories from this new universe and their multiple worlds. However, unlike the Team-Ups, we’re not getting snippets of how various Spider Totems are working together, but snapshots of what it’s like for various Totems who are unaware they’re in danger.
In this first issue, we get four stories: Enter the Spider-Verse, Spider Clan: The Many, Steampunk Lady Spider, and Penelope Parker. Instead of reviewing each story, I’ll hit the highlights:
- One of the most interesting aspects of the Spider-Verse is how vastly different and similar they can be. How subtle changes can alter the story we know drastically. What if Uncle Ben tagged along on Peter’s field trip and was bitten instead?
- I love any panel that gives us a look at The Great Web of Life and Destiny.
- Earth-803: New York City, 1895. Steampunk Spider Lady. Yes, she’s as amazing as she sounds. Bitten by a spider in her father’s office, she fashioned her Spider suit out of car parts since her mother insisted that women shouldn’t drive. So, she chose to fly.
- Each story is unique not just because of their settings, but the artwork and the writing styles change to match dimension. Late for a Date reads like a Sunday comics from the newspaper when I was a kid. It also shows Morlun successfully killing a Spider-Man.
- And we get a look at one of The Master Weaver’s acts of rebellion as he hides one Spider-Verse in its own pocket of reality, keeping it safe from The Inheritors.
If you’ve noticed I’m moving through these fairly quickly - with, hopefully, a new review up every other day - it’s because I’m anxious to get back to where I left off in Spider-Woman (Spider-Verse). Also, Silk’s new series starts today!
See you next time with The Amazing Spider-Man #10.
