“Enough! No more surrogates!”
To paraphrase Emerson, Lake & Palmer, “Welcome back my friends to the event that never ends.” Because just when you think “Spider-Verse” is over, there’s enough going on in this issue of The Amazing Spider-Man (and Marvel’s promotional material for their new Secret Wars), there’s enough to tell you that even though it says it’s over, it’s still not over.
“Spider-Verse Epilogue”
WRITER: Dan Slott
PENCILER: Giuseppe Camuncoli
INKERS: Cam Smith and Roberto Poggi
COLOR ARTIST: Justin Ponsor
LETTERER: Chris Eliopoulos
ASSISTANT EDITOR: Devin Lewis
EDITOR: Nick Lowe
THE STORY: As various Spiders return to their own dimensions, Mayday apologies to Peter for accusing him of not being her father or the real Spider-Man (as seen in Amazing Spider-Man (2014) #12). Peter, however, forgives her, saying that despite what she’s been through, she didn’t let her father’s death break her. As she returns home, she finds not only Uncle Ben Spidey and her brother, Benjy, waiting for her, but that her mom, Mary Jane Parker, and boyfriend, Wes Westin, are still alive. Wes explains MJ pulled him out of the house before it collapsed. MJ also managed to save one of the few things that survived the fire and what the MC2 Peter wanted Mayday to have—his Spider-Man costume. Thus, with the Uncle Ben Spidey deciding to stay and be a grandfather, Mayday no longer will call herself Spider-Girl but Spider-Woman.
Back in Loomworld, the spider-senses of the remaining Spiders become overloaded, and Karn explains it can only mean the Web of Life and Destiny is being tampered with. When the Spiders return to it, they find SpOck is using Morlun’s knife to slice and hack away at various threads. Why? SpOck, having deduced Peter is from his future, knows he’ll die once he returns to his own time, and refuses to have his fate predetermined. His tampering of the Great Web causes Julia Carpenter, the current Madame Web, to wake up from her coma back on Earth-616, regain her sight, but lose all of her precognitive abilities. Karn warns they could all be erased from existence if SpOck isn’t stopped, and Spider-UK teleporter shows him portals between dimensions are also disappearing. So Peter orders Miguel O’Hara and Spider-Gwen to return to their own worlds as they’re not from the 616, while he, Jessica Drew, Silk, and Anya go after SpOck. During their fight, Anya notices Morlun’s knife has the same language from the Scrolls written on the blade. SpOck is about stab Anya, but Peter punches him before he can do this.
Anya reads the inscription on the blade, which says, “There shall always be a Master Weaver, spinning at the center of The Web.” Silk, recalling how Morlun called her “The Center of the Web,” believes she’s meant to take the Master Weaver’s place. However, the other side of the knife states, “Only death can release the Weaver from their sacred task,” meaning Silk would have to make a lifetime commitment, and thus once again be trapped like she had been before. However, when Silk removes the Master Weaver’s mask to reveal he’s Karn, only several years older. A place on the Master Weaver’s mechanical spider-leg harness allows for Karn’s spear to fit like a key, thus allowing him to unlock and remove his older self from the harness. When Anya points out only a Spider should spin the Great Web, Karn states he’s consumed so many Spider-Totems that “their essence flow inside [him]” and that this will be his “penance” and “salvation.” SpOck, meanwhile, is fighting Peter one-on-one, declaring their outcome will decide who “is the greater hero.” Peter, however, says SpOck’s actions prove he’s no hero, as a hero puts others needs before their own—a lesson, Peter adds, SpOck will finally learn when he gives Peter his own body back (as seen in Superior Spider-Man #30). Once Peter has him pinned, SpOck yields, but secretly whispers to his Anna Maria Marconi hologram to enter into “sleep mode” for the next 100 days just as they “talked about” beforehand.
Karn, now the Master Weaver, tells the Spiders that, due to the damage done by SpOck, their connection to the Great Web will be diminished, meaning their spider-senses will also not be as powerful. SpOck vows revenge against Karn, but Karn points out that, by killing his older self, SpOck already has, and the trip through time will also make SpOck forget everything that has happened besides. Peter then shoves SpOck into Karn’s portal, returning him several hours after the destruction of Horizon Labs (as seen in Superior Spider-Man #19). Karn says he can also send the rest back, except for Spider-UK, as his home dimension is mysteriously gone. Spider-UK realizes this is the result of an Incursion (as seen in Avengers and New Avengers) and feels guilt for choosing to help his fellow Spiders over his duties to the Captain Britain Corp. The other Spiders, however, console him, saying they couldn’t have stopped the Inheritors without him. Silk asks if the Inheritors will survive given their weakness to radioactivity and their need to eat Spider-Totems to survive. Karn, however, says the Inheritors can consume any animal-totem, and shows them feasting on the mutated spiders (as seen in Spider-Verse Team-Up #3). Peter mourns the loss of Kaine, while Spider-UK states that, since there are worlds which no longer have a Spider-Man to protect them, he, with Karn’s help, will do so. Anya decides to join him, as her knowledge about Totems can help. Karn then sends Peter, Spider-Woman, and Silk back to the 616, then he, Spider-UK, and Anya decide to rest. After they leave the palace, however, we see Kaine’s hand bursting out of the Other’s carcass. On Earth-616, Peter, having gained new confidence from his leading the other Spiders, believes he’s now truly reader to be CEO of Parker Industries. After leaving Jessica and Silk, Peter wonders how he can ever deal with “the small stuff” again after his adventures across the multiverse when he sees someone steal a lady’s purse. Peter, reminded that there is no “small stuff,” stops the purse-snatcher, much to the woman’s appreciation. “The End.”
THOUGHTS: And so, at long last, “Spider-Verse” has officially and mercifully finished. That is until Spider-UK and Anya recruit Mayday, Spider-Ham, Spider-Man: Noir, Spider-Man: India, and Spider-Gwen for the upcoming Secret Wars: Spider-Verse, which this comic just so happens to remind us to check out once it hits the stands. Yes, even at the story’s supposed “epilogue,” Marvel via Dan Slott cannot help but sneak in advertisements for new series and tie-in comics. Even so, as an “epilogue,” Amazing Spider-Man (2014) #15 does an adequate job in wrapping up a few loose story threads while also addressing some lingering questions from Slott’s own Superior Spider-Man series. Yet given how poor the previous chapters of “Spider-Verse” were, being adequate isn’t good enough to salvage the comic or the event.
Of all the various subplots “Spider-Verse” introduced, it’s strangely enough the ending involving Mayday that’s the most effective. Yes, Mayday’s entire quest for revenge against the murder of her father by Daemos was plagued with cliched, over-used story beats from the start, and was nothing but a source of cheap drama to give her some unnecessary angst and tragedy to make her involvement in “Spider-Verse” more personal. Even her apology to Peter is a predictable, foregone conclusion, as was, in hindsight, her discovering that her mom and boyfriend had survived (after all, as comic book reading veterans can tell you, if there isn’t a body, that means they didn’t really die). Nevertheless, Mayday inheriting her father’s costume to wear in place of Ben Reilly’s and renaming herself “Spider-Woman” is a fitting resolution (and something her creators, Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz had originally planned for her when ending Spider-Girl), and the Uncle Ben Spidey deciding to stay and “be something no Ben Parker has ever been” underscored the appropriately bittersweet tone of those scenes.
Also effective, albeit less so, was the way Slott used this epilogue to tie it back to Superior Spider-Man, specifically those missing hours Otto Octavious underwent after the temporal implosion of Horizon Labs. After being made, at times, to look more competent and resourceful than Peter throughout this whole event, Slott reminds us that Otto, at this point in his career as “Spider-Man,” hasn’t fully abandoned or reformed from his villainous ways, and his attempt to destroy the Great Web and thus all of reality in a desperate attempt to save himself reminds me of how he nearly destroyed the entire world during Slott’s own “Ends of the Earth” in the earlier volume of Amazing Spider-Man just make himself be remembered. Then again, given how Otto secretly gave the Anna Maria hologram some instructions he programmed into her ahead of time, it’s more than possible his attempt at destroying the Great Web was a calculated ruse, and that just he did for “Ends of the Earth,” he has a contingency plan in place for his own survival and return. Either way, it’s spot-on characterization, and provides for another, but more satisfying, rematch between Peter and his long-time archenemy.
The problem, especially for anyone who read Superior Spider-Man, is we already know the outcome: Otto will lose, get sent back to his own time, then allow himself to die to give Peter back his body. Then, as if we needed any reminding of this, Slott decides to have Miguel O’Hara tell Spider-Gwen exactly what’s going to happen right as the 616 Spiders are about to fight SpOck, a completely unnecessary exchange of dialogue which ruins what little tension and suspense there was left. That and the non-too subtle hints towards Secret Wars, which will lead to the eventual collapse of the Multiverse into “Battleworld,” this also means the Spiders saving all of reality from SpOck’s temper-tantrum is all but meaningless anyway. Furthermore, Slott has made the baffling decision to juxtapose the fight between the 616 Spiders and SpOck while they’re also deciding who will replace the Master Weaver. This attempt at “channel surfing” between two sequences happening simultaneously results in some jarring tonal shifts, a lack of cohesion, and—yet again!—sloppy pacing. And all Slott had to do to fix this was to simply have the Spiders defeat Otto first, then figure out what to do about replacing the Master Weaver, not have both going on at the same time. Grant Morrison may be able to get away with narrative stunts such as this, but Slott is no Grant Morrison.
Speaking of the Master Weaver and his relationship to Karn, the revelation they’re the same person but from different points in time does make sense within the logic off “Spider-Verse’s” framework, and it addresses the nagging question about why the Master Weaver, being as seemingly powerful as he was, would agree to work with the Inheritors, much less be enslaved by them. After all, those who did read the “Edge of Spider-Verse” tie-ins, Superior Spider-Man #32 and #33, knew there was something more to Karn which set him apart from the other Inheritors, and that the Master Weaver did seem to know an awful lot about him. And there lies the problem—Karn was built-up as a major and important player heading into “Spider-Verse,” but with the exception of one story in the Spider-Verse Team-Up #3 tie-in and a single cameo appearance in Amazing Spider-Man (2012) #12, he never played a role in the story until the end. Had he actually been a major character as “Spider-Verse” initially lead us to believe, then his fulfilling his destiny as the Master Weaver would have had far more significance and meaning as opposed to coming across as being tacked on in the finale. Ironically, Slott brings up a plot point in this very issue which would’ve carried far more dramatic weight—that because Morlun also refereed to Silk as “the Spinner at the Center of the Web,” she may have been destined to take the Master Weaver’s place. But because “you demanded her own series thanks to all those hundreds and hundreds of letters you sent into Marvel” (as opposed to the Spider-Office planning in advance her own solo series because they believed she would become a breakout female superhero) she’s spared from having to make what could have been a fitting self-sacrifice as the task is given to someone who wound up having little to no role in the story.
But the least satisfactory resolution for a character’s story is the one who has been short-changed all throughout “Spider-Verse,” even though his name appears the front cover and who all of this was supposed to revolve around. I know I remarked earlier how the rematch between Peter and Otto was more satisfying, and it was great to see Peter call out Otto on his delusions of grandeur and hypocrisy over being the 616’s “best Spider-Man” and “greatest hero.” But how much more satisfying would this have been had we seen Peter being heroic, not just the occasional lip-service or something hastily shoved-in at the last-minute? Aside from coming off as one of those “I learned a valuable lesson today” scenes that are parodied at the end of every South Park episode, Peter’s declaration that his experience as a leader has prepared him to properly run his own company rings hollow, not only because he barely acted like a leader during this entire story, but upcoming solicitations strongly hint that he’s going to lose his job as CEO anyway–right in time for Secret Wars conveniently enough. In short, nothing which has happened to Peter feels earned in the slightest. Plus, would someone as seemingly humble as Peter Parker ever acknowledge that he, and not Otto, was “the Superior Spider-Man,” even if he was quoting something Otto would eventually say to him?
As for Giuseppe Camuncoli, his art, along with Cam Smith and Roberto Poggi’s inking, and Justin Ponsor’s colors, is once again the comic’s strongest asset…so long as you don’t realize that all the action for this issue is taking place in the same room, with the background being a black void with the occasional spattering of Greek columns to give it some illusion of depth. Also, given that Slott script shifts between both the fight between SpOck and the revelations about the Master Weaver as I mentioned earlier, the panel construction is as clumsy as the expository dialogue. Not that Camuncoli doesn’t give it his best considering what Slott’s script forces him to work with, as his visuals still manages to do a half-way impressive effort.
While Amazing Spider-Man (2014) #15 is a little, but not a lot, better than last issue, it’s still the sum off all the earlier mistakes committed over the course of what has come before. It is attributed to St. Thomas Aquinas for having said, “an error in the beginning is an error indeed,” and if ever there was a comic book example of that maxim, “Spider-Verse” would be it. For because Slott, Nick Lowe and Marvel promised to give readers “every single Spider-Man ever,” and because (as revealed in an interview with Slott by The Verge) the apparent theme from the onset was that “all those Spider-Men are the true Spider-Man” and that “Whichever Spider-Man you care about is the real Spider-Man,” it resulted in reducing every single Spider-Man in statue as characters, and Peter Parker in particular. It also is what created the need for different tie-ins, which resulted in the main story becoming so dependent upon them to the point where plot developments which should have belonged in Amazing Spider-Man happened in those ancillary titles instead. And it’s why what should have been a fun, nostalgic, adventurous romp celebrating all things Spider-Man turned into a disjointed, bloated mess and cash-grab. Perhaps next time, Dan Slott can have a Spider-Man story which is an actual story instead of being so much desperate fan service.
D+
NERDY NITPICKS:
- With regards to Mayday apologizing for what she said to Peter, you may remember that she said during Amazing Spider-Man (2014) #12 that “As far as I’m concerned, you’re all fakes.” You may also remember I said that, technically, she wasn’t far wrong based on how Peter had been depicted up to that point. So dare I say why is she even apologizing to Peter at all?
- And Mayday, you should know your dad is dead because, unlike your mom and boyfriend, you saw his body being dragged out by Daemos back in Amazing Spider-Man (2014) #8. I know you being reunited with the people you thought had been killed gave you back your optimism and hope, but it also doesn’t mean you have to be so naïve, too.
- “Don’t worry, Miles. I’m sure we’ll see each other again.” Oh, Pete. You have no idea how you’re going to regret those words come Secret Wars. And I agree, Miles. I bummed out that you didn’t get to hang out more with Pete during “Spider-Verse,” too. Heck, I’m bummed out you were barely in “Spider-Verse” as a lot of the exciting, wacky stuff that apparently happened to you mostly happened off-panel.
- Unless we’re supposed to believe that Dan Slott’s Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions video game is now canon, Miguel O’Hara should not have a spider-sense and not sense any danger from SpOck cutting up the Great Web. And unless I missed something, Miguel is also not, contrary to what Spider-UK says, from “Earth-616 circa 2099,” since the 2099 universe is officially designated as “Earth-928.” Which means Peter, when he told Miguel and Spider-Gwen to get home before it was too late and that only Spiders from 616 would be left behind, was right the first time.
- No wait, scratch that! Spider-UK isn’t from Earth-616 either. So why didn’t Peter order him to return back to his homeworld, too? After all, none of them, including Peter, knew it had been destroyed yet.
- And if Peter, just like his counterparts, are having their heads all but exploding from their spider-sense warning them about the Great Web being in danger, then shouldn’t Otto, since he’s in Peter’s body, also be having a near debilitating attack from his own Spider-Sense the moment he started cutting strands from the Great Web?
- “You figured it out? How?” Gee, Pete? Maybe it had to do with you blurting out loud that you recognized SpOck’s interactive hologram as Anna Maria when Otto realized you shouldn’t have back in Amazing Spider-Man (2014) #13? Or maybe it had to do with the fact you called Otto by his real name in the last issue? Either way, it really didn’t tax Otto’s “superior intellect” all that much, shows just how careless you are at keeping secrets, and gives credence to Otto’s notion you may indeed be a “dolt.”
- Let me get this straight–Peter, because he’s still weak from Morlun slurping some of his totem energy, is so weak he gets tangled in the thread of the Great Web. And yet, despite this, he still can lay in some well-landed punches into SpOck. I guess it’s one of those “it comes and goes” depending upon the demands of the plot kind of weaknesses, then.
- So the knife Morlun was going to use to sacrifice The Other, the Bride, and the Scion, also foretold the role of the Master Weaver? So is that supposed to mean it’s actually the Master Weaver’s own knife Morlun was using?
- Hey, nice to see you again Julia Carpenter! Sure, it’s been almost two years since we last saw you in a Spider-Man comic, and, despite your dire prediction that “All the Spiders will die,” you wound up not only being wrong but also had jack-all to do with “Spider-Verse.” But, at least you finally got out of that coma and are no longer the worst psychic ever.
- SpOck: “This the only way you can best me? By outnumbering me?” Peter: “Says the founder of the Sinister Six.” SpOck: “…Touche.” Okay, you got to admit. That exchange of dialogue was genuinely funny. In fact, it’s probably one the best exchanges of dialogue from this event.
- So at least Karn reassures us that, rather that Peter and the other Spiders condemning Morlun and his siblings to starve to death on a radioactive Earth, they’ll have plenty of those mutated radioactive spiders to eat. Wait a minute! If those spiders have been mutated by radiation, wouldn’t that be akin to eating poisoned food? Also, how does Silk recognize those mutated spiders? She never saw them the whole time she was there as far we know.
- This story now makes it…what? The fourth time Kaine has been killed and come back to life? Are we sure the Jackal didn’t splice Kaine’s DNA with that of a cat?
- “Hope they haven’t let me go at the Fact Channel.” Silk, you managed to land that job in spite of having no college degree, no credit or work history, and no references to speak of. Given how that news station literally hires people off the street, the chances of you being fired after missing a few days of work is pretty much zero. Besides, as the editor’s note reminds about your new series, we see that you did, in fact, not lose your job.
- By the way, since Peter and Cindy Moon’s spider-sense is now less powerful, does this also mean they won’t be compelled to get it on Every. Single. Time! they’re within two feet of each other? Oh dear Lord, please, please, please let this be true.
Apple Podcasts
Google Podcasts
Spotify
Pandora
Amazon Music
iHeartRadio
Podbean
Amazon Alexa
Player.fm
Listen Notes
Stitcher
@48 – “I enjoyed Ends of the Earth and Spider-Island at least…is that bad?”
If you enjoyed something it’s never bad. Unless you were enjoying crack or killing a man or something. 😎
wow. The ending sucked. And this is a surprise how?
And as for those making excuses for Slott’s lackluster writing to us longtime readers, isn’t it kinda sad that better writers don’t need defending? Kinda telling, isn’t it?
I enjoyed Ends of the Earth and Spider-Island at least…is that bad? I’m kinda iffy on what Slott stories in the past are generally considered good and what aren’t now. At least on here.
@43 – “Seems I’ve kicked a hornets nest with my Mackie / Byrne comment. You guys all have a valid point, Slott has missed the mark with Peter, he has held the job too long, but he has given us some good stories too. He did give us Superior after all and I loved spider island. I enjoyed spider-verse as well, it had to be better than one more day!”
Superior was the best work he’s done with Spider-Man. Which also goes to underscore that he cannot effectively write Peter Parker. Slott’s Peter Parker was so mishandled they had to get rid of him for a year and a half, and after his return he took a backseat to Silk and 18,000 Spider-variant heroes in an unfocused, bloated mess of an event. And frankly Spider-Island wasn’t much better.
“Maybe he needs to go and let someone else have a shot at writing, but who’s to say the next person will do better?”
If a new writer can actually make a coherent Peter Parker the central character in his own damn book again then her or she has already got a step up on Slott.
“I don’t want to see Peter back at the bugle again. I’ve collected Amazing consecutively since issue 144, I’ve read in readable issues and poor ones in that time. We’re all collectors and unlikely to miss an issue just because of poor writing but unless sales drop Slott’s likely to want to hang in there to beat The record of most issues written. If you hate Slott’s writing so much stop buying them until marvel gives him the boot. In the mean time I’ll be enjoying spider-gwen and hoping for a return of Mayday to her own title.”
I’ve dropped Spider-Man titles before for bad writing. If I wasn’t covering it for this site I wouldn’t be buying it now.
@#43- Gareth- I’ve stopped believing in the notion that bad sales will see a change. Because the book DID see poor sales during Slott’s tenure on the title. After OMD and during BND, the book did have far lower sales than before. And it didn’t cause the book to turn around. And good sales didn’t prevent Marvel from undoing a popular relationship in the comics. Nor did it keep Otto Octavius as Spider-Man indefinitely.
Sales are a factor, but they aren’t the only factor. And I don’t really agree with the argument of “If you don’t like it, don’t buy,” because to me it sounds less like an attempt at sound advice and more “I don’t want to hear you say bad things about a book I like.” Which is understandable. But just because someone dislikes something about a comic doesn’t mean they dislike all things, or that they should throw the baby out with the bathwater.
@#43-Superior wasn’t a good story, it was Slott writing a character he couldn’t be accussed of writing OOC because he was defining him and he defined him as a villain Mary Sue who only stopped being honeslty superior to Peter Parker (whom he was continually undermining) when it came time to turn off the cheat codes and pay lip service to how Peter was ‘truly’ the superior Spider-Man. Spider Island was also imo overrated and Spider-Verse was only good because of the tie-ins and the fanservice of seeing all these spider heroes. the actual story was bloated and udnermined the lead character, whilst killing or maiming other fan favourites mean spirtedly. And again, being better than OMD is nothing to write home about. OMD was the worst Spider-Man story of all time, it’s a benchmark only of how badly your story failed, not how well it succeeded.
That was meant to say incredible issues 🙂
Seems I’ve kicked a hornets nest with my Mackie / Byrne comment. You guys all have a valid point, Slott has missed the mark with Peter, he has held the job too long, but he has given us some good stories too. He did give us Superior after all and I loved spider island. I enjoyed spider-verse as well, it had to be better than one more day! Maybe he needs to go and let someone else have a shot at writing, but who’s to say the next person will do better? I don’t want to see Peter back at the bugle again. I’ve collected Amazing consecutively since issue 144, I’ve read in readable issues and poor ones in that time. We’re all collectors and unlikely to miss an issue just because of poor writing, but unless sales drop Slott’s likely to want to hang in there to beat The record of most issues written. If you hate Slott’s writing so much stop buying them until marvel gives him the boot. In the mean time I’ll be enjoying spider-gwen and hoping for a return of Mayday to her own title.
I’m sorry but if people settle and say “oh well it’ll do” with slotts writing then nothing will change. It hurts to read other books of other characters I don’t have near the interest in being better and telling better stories. Spider-man is and always will be to me marvels flagship character. And that being the case I expect great stories and great characterization out of him and other people in his book. It feels like to me honestly if slott had his way he’d tear down the Peter Parker character and anybody associated with him and never use them again I.e. Mary Jane Felicia hardy the Osbornes and make his own whole complete other universe with the title Dan slott’s spider-man. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel in order to make something as old and revered as spider-man great there are countless side characters over the years with a lot of depth and layers to them. Also he has maybe outside batman the best rogues gallery and still can be mined for amazing tales. It’s just sad when I read someone write that we expect to much from slott when he’s given us so little.
Kaine’s still alive. That’s all that matters to me.
@#29 Gareth- I never understood this rationale that just because bad stories happened in the past, it somehow redeems the stories Slott tells now.
Transformers: Age of Extinction does not get a pass as a bad movie because Plan 9 was worse.
Two and a Half Men doesn’t stop being a crappy show just because The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfieffer was worse.
Friday by Rebecca Black doesn’t stop being stupid because of Eddie Murphy’s failed solo career.
Yes, there were bad stories in the past featuring Spider-Man. And there are bad stories now. One does not absolve the other of sin, nor does it excuse it. If anything, the fact that there WERE bad stories in the past makes these stories even worse, because Slott at least has the benefit of hindsight which a lot of other writers did not. He has the luxury of seeing what came before and what went wrong, and yet continues to make the same if not worse mistakes.
Mackie and Byrne told bad stories. And Slott has told bad stories. They’re both bad, but in different ways.
@29 – There are several reasons why I can’t agree with that.
One, the Mackie Byrne reboot didn’t go on for 7 years like Slott’s tenure has. A big part of my problem with Slott is that I’m totally fatigued on his writing style, his stories have gotten progressively worse, and he’s obviously out of ideas at this point (Spider-Verse was basically Shattered Dimensions 2.0:Bigger, Longer, and Uncut.)
Secondly, while Peter was written horribly out of character, and infamously made homeless in the Mackie – Bryne reboot. At least Peter was still the focus of the plot in ASM vol.2, which is more than I can say for ASM vol.3
The ending to this kind of reinforces my theory that this story arc was pretty much written to be a possibly jumping off point for Slott if need be. Practically everything has been wrapped up, and while there are lingering subplots, there’s nothing that is dependent upon Slott sticking around. Spider-Verse could have worked as an ending for Slott’s run if the situation warranted it, which is probably why it feels lackluster and disconnected with everything else he was doing or going on.
Is anyone else STILL unsatisfied with Peter’s handling of Otto after this issue? I am.
The Peter Parker I know would have tried to beat the ever-loving snot out of Otto the FIRST time he encountered him in this story arc. Hell, Slott had him PUNCH CAPTAIN AMERICA just for not telling him that Flash was Venom. But both before and in this issue, Peter’s reaction to Otto seems kinda muted. I think it’s more of Slott trying to provide cushions for his pet character and make people feel bad for him…despite the fact that Otto was just trying to MURDER A TEENAGE GIRL WITH A KNIFE.
@29 – “As an old spider-man fan I think readers are expecting a lot from Slatt’s writing.”
And as an old time Spider-Man fan who has enjoyed the work of great writers I refuse to settle for less. Settling for something just because that’s what’s out now is ridiculous.
“His writing is far above what we spidey readers had to endure with the stories from the time of the first relaunch. Now they were crap!”
I agree that the Mackie/Byrne stories were subpar. Yet they did manage something that Dan Slott is incapable of; they remembered that Peter Parker is the main character.
@#32-Agree
@#29
a) We shouldn’t settle for something just because it’s better than Mackie and Byrne
b) You know what…even Mackie and Byrne didn’t character assassinate Spider-Man and Spider-Man characters quite as much as Slott. At least THEY never consistently undermined Spidey’s effectiveness by having other people routinely show up to do the stuff the hero should do
c) They actually didn’t violate continuity quite as much as Slott has
d) They didn’t kill off fan favourite characters en masse
e) They didn’t troll the fanbase AS much
f) Mackie actually had an excuse for his crappy work, he has health problems and editorial mandates. What’s Slott’s excuse?
g) Asking for PETER PARKER to be proactive and the centre of attention in a SPIDER-MAN comic book isn’t asking for a lot, it’s asking for the bare minimum. Even Mackie and Byrne managed that much
h) I’ve read every Spider-Girl issue since the start too, and this doesn’t let her grow. It changes her superficial name and pays lip service to the fact that she’s grown by tearing down everything that made her appealing and giving her a generic Spider-Man costume. This isn’t growth this is throwing her under the bus so Arana can be the one true Spider-Girl
i) Mayday didn’t need her father to be dead to grow, she was doing fine with him around
j) MC2 Peter’s death blows up a massive part of Spider-Girl’s appeal
@#30-Well April Parker is supposed to be dead. In fact the characters not included were lucky to be spared imo.
IN-universe, her growing up into a woman and becoming Spider Woman makes sense. But there a millions of work arounds for that. I’m sorry, I just don’t think she needed to complete a journey to become her Dad’s successor. Mayday was ALWAYS her Dad’s successor. She wasn’t working towards that, she was just earning and respecting her legacy daily. She was her Dad’s successor from day 1 when she used her powers selflessly, thus was actually better than Peter was when he began.
This comic Su-ucked. This review however was very good.
I’m sort of annoyed that there still hasn’t been a battle where Otto has out and out lost to Peter. Even this one had him with a contingency which will probably rear its head with whatever is going to happen with Parker Industries. Maybe something to do with Anna Maria, though I’d honestly like at this point for her to really deal with the fact that the guy she was dating was a body-stealing, egomaniacal supervillain who once tried to kill pretty much the entire world population and then tried to mess with something that deals with reality itself just because he couldn’t stand the idea that he would lose. I just want him to be completely defeated with no comeback at the end, but I’m not sure if Slott would ever do that.
Going back to Julia…I wonder where her daughter’s been in all this since her coma? Did child services take care of her? I don’t remember her showing up in Superior. At least now that she’s awake, she can get back together with The Shroud who’s been pretty messed up trying to find her in Daredevil. I wonder if Waid will touch on that now?
@#2 tickbite — Glad to be of service, my good sir.
@#3 Gareth —
Not to mention we didn’t see April Parker, Gerry Drew, Felicity Hardy (although she didn’t actually have spider-powers, but then neither did the steampunk May Reilly/Lady Spider), or Darkdevil. The last one being especially odd since he’s been shown in Secret Wars promos. Also, lets not forget some of the more evil versions of Spider-Man such as Spiders-Man from Earth X, The Spider from Exiles, Pestilence, Poison, the Marvel Zombies Spider-Man, etc. So much for “every Spider-Man ever.” 😛 Then again, there was already way too many characters in “Spider-Verse” to begin with.
@#5 Andrew C — Actually, you have it backwards; it was Kaine who briefly stopped then restarted Kraven’s heart, thus (somehow) breaking Kraven’s immortality curse. So yes, the conservative estimate is that “Spider-Verse” makes this at least the fourth time Kaine has been killed and brought back to life. Which I agree, is pretty darn ridiculous.
@#12 Hobo-Goblin
That could explain why Kaine was brought back to life (again) because as you said, there still has been no follow-up regarding Aracely and her role in coming Aztec Apocalypse. And given how Secret Wars is coming, we’re not going to have that storyline resolved any time soon. Ugh!
Yeah, that struck me as odd, too, and shows that all Slott seemed to care about in that scene was making Mayday the new Spider-Woman of the MC2 as fast as possible. Excellent point.
@#13 Al — You raise a very valid point of criticism, Al, and one I didn’t even consider. Because while I do legitimately think it’s fitting for Mayday to become Spider-Woman and inherit the classic costume, thus finally completing her journey at becoming a successor to her dad’s legacy, costumes play and extremely important function in superhero comics. Even though it was originally Ben Reilly’s version of the Spider-Man costume, there is no question that Mayday made that suit her own, that when you see that outfit, you now associate it with her. Her wearing her dad’s costume, dare I say it, risks making her look like the “Rule 63” version of Spider-Man. Or at least that one Spider-Girl from the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon version of “Spider-Verse.”
@#19 ryan3178 –Yeah, you could definitely see the Doctor Who influences in “Spider-Verse,” just as you can in his run on Silver Surfer which are even more apparent. One other thing I realized about Karn and the Master Weaver being the same person–this means that Karn, technically, did actually kill his own mom! Remember in the back-up story for Superior Spider-Man #33, it was the Master Weaver who cut her “thread of life” and thus made her literally turn to ash. Which means the Inheritors, even though they didn’t know the Master Weaver was an older Karn, were actually justified in banishing him.
@#20 F —
You mean Aaron Aikman from Edge of Spider-Verse #3 and Peni Parker & Sp//Dr from Edge of Spider-Verse #5? Morlun apparently killed Aikman off-panel in Edge of Spider-Verse #3, meaning that version of Spider-Man had zero role in this entire story. Peni Parker and Sp//Dr, on the other hand, survived all through “Spider-Verse,” although they didn’t do a whole lot except have an occasional bit of dialogue or be one of many background versions of Spidey. Which is a shame because based on Edge of Spider-Verse #5, she seemed like an interesting character.
@#22 Frontier — Thank you good sir, as well for pointing out how messed up Miguel’s name again. You’d think that, considering how I’m also a Michael that I would at least get the spelling of the Spanish variant of my own name right. 😮
You make a good point about Silk, because based on her first issue, her solo series is off to a surprisingly decent start. Also, another good observation about Slott doing yet another attempt at downgrading spider-sense just as he did for that one Spider-Slayer/Scorpion story during “Big Time.” As you say, it’s already an inconsistent power to begin with depending upon the writer, so if one of the ideas was to make things harder for Peter during fights, making it less powerful is a superfluous. Not to mention, Spidey was taught Kung Fu by Shang-Chi when he first lost his spider-sense, something which Dan Slott himself established. Whatever happened to that idea?
Also, I agree with your observation about reading the main series vs reading the main series along with the tie-ins. As you say, not only do you lose vital and crucial developments in order for the story to make sense, but you really don’t get that sense of fun. All-and-all Great observations.
@#27 Roy Lichenstein — As far as I can tell, it was “Let’s do Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, only bigger, with even more Spider-Man fighting a bunch of steampunk vampire clones!”
As an old spider-man fan I think readers are expecting a lot from Slatt’s writing. His writing is far above what we spidey readers had to endure with the stories from the time of the first relaunch. Now they were crap! I’ve also read every spider-girl since its inseption and feel this let’s the character grow, something readers have complained about wanting from Peter’s character for decades. Now give Mayday her own tital again, it would have to out last silk which I give 12 issues before cansilation.
Kind of meh, though I guess it could have been worse. The whole thing with Mayday was weird and I’ll echo how odd it was to see MJ being rather upbeat. Still glad she and Wes at least survived, but this Peter is still dead and it feels like an insult to DeFalco and Frenz. Also kind of bummed she’ll apparently be switching to her dad’s uniform since I liked hers, though part of it stems from just being fond of the Ben Reilly Spider-Man suit.
The twist didn’t bother me about the Master Weaver. I think everyone sort of saw Karn becoming him, though perhaps not quite in that way.
I’d have probably enjoyed the fight with Otto more if it had largely just been Peter trouncing him, though that dialogue about the Sinister Six was actually funny. I think I just want to see Otto out and out lose to Peter, which I don’t think has happened yet. Even at the end of the fight here, he’s set up some contingency that I imagine may lead to him losing Parker Industries which will be a sort of a victory once again on Otto’s part. Sort of thinking it’ll involve Anna Maria and I’d really like to see her confronted with the fact that “her Peter” was in fact an egomaniacal supervillain who tried to kill most of the world and then messed with reality in an attempt to save himself.
And we are left wondering, what was the point of this mess of a series?
@23 – Changing your name has no effect.
The spam filter is mysterious and tumultuous. It catches way more than we set it up to. One day, when I reach fabled Shangri-La, I will ask the ascended masters about its inner workings. They will shrug in unknowing enlightenment.
I’m getting tired of Spider Sense being a make or break power. The movies used it fairly well, even JMS, Jenkins, Stern and to a point Mackie and DeMantis used it very effectivly. Peter losing it up until Spider Island worked very well but now this? Its kind of how in Silk #1 how she said her powers are not degraded/out of wach and its: “Go read the end of Spider-Verse for your answers!”
For my thoughts on Julia, I really want to know how she was just left “lost” as a Jane Doe. If it goes to her parents going: “We don’t know this woman because we don’t approve of her lifestyle because of our granddaughter.” Like they did during Civil War. Which had a point, then I’m sorry, that is just lazy writing, its like with Spencer in Ant-man right now making Peggy less of a one-note B because he said himself. He was tired of that and it was lazy writing.
Look I understand, and even respect, Jessica Drew being THE Spider Woman…but honestly Julia Carpenter has been so poorly marginalised unfairly, and this is another example of that.
@#21-Sorry. I thought changing the name would help get the posts through. It seemed to work a bit. How exactly does the spam filter work. Does it have like a word limit or does it look for specific phrases, or is it just random?
@#13: Agreed on Mayday’s costume. Her costume was unique and iconic to her identity as Spider-Girl, not to mention that it looks pretty great, so trading that for Peter’s actually feels like a downgrade. Though now she looks like the Spider-Girl who’s going to be showing up in the Spider-Verse adaption in Ultimate Spider-Man. Marvel’s obsessive and terrible commitment to synergy rearing its head again?
Maybe it’s better to think of the “fans demanded it” element of Silk as “fans demanded better stories” for her. Which apparently we’re actually getting for her solo, so maybe that’s the silver lining in all this.
If nothing else, seeing Peter beat up SpOck was satisfying. Doesn’t make up for the quality of the entire event, but it’s something that left me satisfied. As did the final scene.
Slott’s getting rid of/downplaying Spider-Sense again? To what end? Heck, looking at some of the other books, it doesn’t look like it’ll be consistent…
Really though, if you just read the main book, would you have thought that this was supposed to be a big, fun, adventure like Slott says it’s intended to be? Maybe in scope it’s big, but you wouldn’t really feel this is fun aside from the tie-ins especially if you mostly read the main book. I think that’s the real shame here.
Good point about the underuse of Karn lessens the impact of the revelation and his overall role in the event, which is pretty surprising considering his prominence in Superior. And I’m still trying to wrack my head around how the whole Master Weaver business works, but I doubt Slott really gave it that much attention (along with some of the other last-minute plot points) so I may as well stop there. I’m still trying to make sense of the whole Inheritors obsession with the Spiders if they can eat the other Totems. Was it just because of some prophecy that the Spiders would defeat them or something?
At least Anya survived the event, and gets to go on dimension-hopping with Spider UK which sounds like it could be fun. I feel bad that she’s partly doing it because she feels undervalued as Spider-Girl, but at least she now has her own niche.
Oh my god, is Julia finally going to become relevant again?
Another great and insightful review as always Stillanerd, though you still got Miguel’s name wrong…
@14, 15 – Yeah the spam filter is cranky today. That being said, Al – don’t post under two names. Thanks!
“Desperate fan service?” This whole dang thing was a massive fan-Disservice wrapped around countless smaller ones
Btw, what happened to those two mech-spiders that were introduced in edge of? Did they both die?
Honestly after this event I don’t think I can be bothered to try and keep up anymore, hopefully after the reboot we can have actual stories instead of constant pointless status quo changes masquerading as stories. But I doubt it.
@17 Not to get off-topic but for the aforementioned reason I have to disagree about the Distinguished Competition, regardless of the quality of their work I always greatly respected their commitment to their mythology and once they dropped it all for new 52, I dropped them.
Also “Marvel went a long way to preserve the status quo”? what status quo? The state of the entire marvel world (I refuse to say ‘universe’, It’s just earth plus some convoluted cosmic nonsense) changes every few months and individual characters are nigh-on impossible to follow without Wikipedia research and I don’t know about you, but that’s not what I read comics for.
P.S. @9 Otto Octavius: Spider-man forever.
It also is so quick to “wrap up stories”. Slott: “Oh, that’s right I never used Julia, BAM she’s cured.” “Why no one has looked for her or how she was listed as Jane Doe?” “Not my problem, I’m not writing Spider-Verse.” Oh look, Doc Ock goes crazy trying to tear up the Web, considering how bad of an idea that is. Very similar to Ends of the Earth Otto and let’s face it. He had the back up plan and how he gave up and his incomplete memories, that at least make sense. However, the entire Karn is really the Master Weaver because time travel and messed up universes but oh his entire family didn’t have to do anything. They could eat any animal as it is, so they’re fine on Uncle Has-Ben’s world. I did feel like a slap in the face with Mayday and at least Slott trying to make fans happy who he didn’t think would go insane do to his “brilliant writing” At least DeFalco and Frenz are handling the MC2 Secret Wars books and will be in charge of what happens over there.
As I said, this was a big Love Letter to Dr. Who from Dan Slott right up to the Master Weaver being Karn and basically using the sense of time travel to clean up any of his stories because he wrote himself in a corner or ignored his own plots. I give it a C+
@16 = Agreed. Plot points like Kaine still being alive, Solus still being “alive” in the crystal, Peter saving the Inheritors and them being able to eat any animal essense basically made this event a non-event. Marvel went a long way to preserve the status quo. This is why DC was not very good for so many decades…. Nothing ever “Happened”. (or stayed “Happened”)
And yeah…why WAS MC2 Mary Jane as upbeat as she was? Her husband just DIED. I know she’s happy her children are safe, but then her emotions should be a bit more extreme than what was depicted. In the Other she was beside herself and crying when her husband died and when he came back to life. She’s also been monumentally relieved to find out Peter is okay after she feared he was in dangerous situations. In Spider-Girl #100 she was seriously stressed out about Mayday just fighting THE HOBGOBLIN!
Also, the story actually states the Inheritors can eat ANY animal…as in they don’t actually HAVE to huntdown spider totems at all. A hamburger would suffice. Rendering this event…entirely pointless
I respectfully, but utterly disagree with everyone about the Mayday ending. It repaired SOME damage but her Dad is still dead and she’s been rendered less unique than she was before
my posts won’t post
My goddam posts about Spider-Girl won’t post. Suffice it to say, I respectfully entirely disagree with mike’s assessment that it was a fitting ending. It was actually very insulting to Mayday.
I have to disagree Mike about the Mayday thing. That was very far from a fitting end. DeFalco and Frenz never intended Mayday to get the Spider Woman name nor the Spider-Man costume. In fact they deliberately avoided the former when creating the character and were greateful when editorial changed their minds after initially ordering them to assign the name to Mayday for Spider-Girl #75. As for the costume, they tried the original suit and opted to give her Ben’s instead as they preferred it. So…this was actually a bit of an insult to them really. Not to mention an insult to the characters/fans. These changes render her less unique as she is now just visually and in her name a genderflipped Spider-Man. Her original costume was iconic and helped distinguish her from her father, whilst also honouring her Uncle Ben. And the Spider Woman name is one first and foremost associated with Jessica Drew and Julia Carpenter, but has also been owned by at least half a dozen other characters by this point. To make Mayday just another one of that number renders her again less unique compared to the name which SHE made popular and uniquely her own. This was just them trying AGAIN to throw Mayday under the bus for Arana’s sake. And the Uncle Ben thing compromises future stories as having him as a grandpa whilst removing Peter as a father is a quintessential downgrade. I get it’s bittersweet but Spider-Girl was never about being bittersweet, it was about true blue optimism.
Count me as another who is glad Kaine made it through this bloated, unsatisfying mess. Dying and coming back is his “thing” now, so it’d be pretty inconsistent if he DIDN’T regenerate. Now send him back to the Aracely because he still has to deal with her destined Mexican god apocalypse-thing.
I’m happy that Mayday sort of got a happy ending, but it delivered so mechanically and with clunky dialogue. Geez, you’d think maybe they’d want to grieve a little first before MJ throws that new costume at her.
Bye .
**So… Spider-Ock was trying to destroy the great web?
So… Spider-Ock was trying the great web? Is he out of his mind?! Ha! Once an inferior…. ALWAYS an inferior! What a nitwit! Oh well… Aside from that, there’s some stuff in this issue that I actually liked. The dialouge between Peter and Mayday, MC2 MJ, Wes and Kaine being alive, Uncle Ben deciding to stay with them, Peter punching the inferior SpOck and the final page with Peter stopping a thug.
Now that Spider-Verse is over for now, maybe we could finally get some good Spider-Man storylines besides the upcoming SPIRAL story.
I made a mistake instead of single best thing I meant the only thing in the event know superfluous-verse.
@1 I couldn’t agree with you more and honestly this is the single best thing about this over bloated drawn out mess of an event. He was the one character that whole event I actually cared about his outcome. That scarlet spider run to me was above and beyond better than amazing has been in the last 3 years and that’s includes superior. Now if he can just make it out of the new 52 oops I meant secret wars.
That is a nice ending to Spider-Girl, credit where credit’s due though (even if MJ seems a bit cavalier in confirming Peter’s death).
Kaine has died in ‘Maximum Clonage’, ‘The Gauntlet’, that Lobos werewolf story in his ‘Scarlet Spider’ series and I thought Kraven stopped his heart or something near the end of his series. And he died here. So that’s 5 times he’s been killed and been brought back, 4 if you’re being conservative in your counting. It’s beyond ridiculous.
I had ASM taken off my pull list cos I thought this would be it for superior spidey and like pete himself said “how am i gunna go back to the small stuff?”…but it looks like they’re roping me back in with Otto having that Anna “sleeper” agent. Guess we know who infiltrates parker industries!! Excited for next issue…not the stinkin .1 issues where spidey does stuff he did when he was small time in the 70s.
Ha! Called it last time with kaine’ return. Speaking of old kaine, what happened to the MC2 version? he was alive and well last time I saw, those inheritors are slipping.
I decided against picking up the epilogue. And a good decision it was. Thanks for the great write-up.
All I care about…all I really cared about…is Kaine making it out of this.
Now, keep Slott away from Kaine.