Every Spider-man ever. This was the tagline used when Spider-verse was announced nearly a year ago. Dan Slott, the writer of Amazing Spider-man, promised the biggest Spider-centric event to date when he publicly unveiled this behemoth of a crossover comic book storyline where every version of Spider-man ranging from the original Amazing Spider-man to the Spectacular Spider-ham, would team up to fight one of Spider-man's most powerful foes, Morlun, a vampire that feeds on Spider totems. A story which would feature fan favorites Miles Morales, Spider-man 2099, Spider-girl, and Superior Spider-man in the same place generated massive amounts of hype. Now that the event is finally over, did it live up to the excitement, or did it collapse from underneath all the pressure?
Note: Since this is a 6 issue arc with several prelude issues, various tie ins, and an epilogue, the review will be long.
The arc officially began in Amazing Spider-man Vol 3 #9, but a series of one shots paving the road to the event, all underneath the Edge of Spider-verse banner ran in the months between the first announcement and the actual beginning of the event. These one shots allowed us to revisit some classic iterations of the wall crawler, such as Spider-man Noir, or meet new ones, such as the rapidly popular Spider-Gwen. The build up gave us small glimpses into the characters' dilemma and allowed the reader to enjoy fun, unique versions of Spider-man, while preparing for the big event.
The storyline officially kicked off and went full swing into action in Amazing Spider-man Volume 3 #9. It was an explosive first installment in what was possibly the most grand scale Spider-event ever. It seemed like a dream come true when every version of Spider-man possible was on the same page and that was an experience that was truly mind blowing.
But when a team of this magnitude assembles, there has to be a formidable antagonist(s) to oppose the heroes. It terms of power, Dan Slott is good on that front as Morlun's family, the Inheritors, are insanely strong. The dad of the family, Solus, radiates doom from when first enters the battle and fills the book with a hopelessness for the Spiders. But the villains lack clear motivation are two dimensional at best.
As the arc progresses, the situation is worse and worse for the Spiders as the Inheritors slaughter Spider-men in heaps. The high stakes makes the progression of the plot energetic and fast paced. The story climbs through issue 9 to 11, but at issue 12, the plot hits a sort of slump and issue 12 and 13 feel burnt out and fillers. The writing feels sloppy and poor decisions are made in terms of storytelling that detract from the fun. The Inheritors continue to feel one note and aside from their apparently god like power, they lack any distinctive personality or charisma that makes you fear them. By the penultimate issue, the story feels tired and you look back at the days when Spider-man comics were the fun antics of a street level superhero, not building up to some big event that shakes up Peter Parker's world. Peter Parker is at his core the everyman, a relatable street level hero. Does he really belong in an inter-dimensional epic? Despite the scale of the event, your hoping that story is over soon.
But in the concluding issue, Dan Slott shows us there's still something to be had from this event with a earth shattering climax when the Spiders take the battle to the Inheritors. The spark that was in the first 3 issues is reignited in issue 14 and Dan Slott shows us that each Spider-man is not just mere reflections of Peter Parker, but unique heroes in their own right. But he makes sure that Peter gets a heroic moment that shows why Spider-man is the greatest of the heroes. It was a satisfying installment that concluded the arc with a bang.
The epilogue issue wrapped up all loose ends and explored a conflict that was building throughout the event. It was a proper close to a grand scale event and brought Peter Parker's journey full circle. Dan Slott showed us that even if Spider-man goes on epic inter-dimensional adventures, he will always be the friendly neighborhood hero who will stop a mugging or save a kid from bullies.
The various tie ins didn't add much to the story and just made it feel the story feel like it was too long. The Spiderverse Team-Up miniseries was a fun way to explore pairings between Spider-men that have never been seen together before. All in all, they were fun bonuses that weren't required reading for the main event.
In overview, Spider-verse had a strong start, faltered briefly in the middle, but went out with a bang. It had Slott's trademark writing and creativity present throughout. The dialogue is sharp and the writing is admirable. The villains weren't very intriguing, but they served their purpose. The real treat and purpose of the event was to see all the Spider-men in one place together and no amount of boring Inheritors could take away the epic that was Spider-verse. If you are a die hard fan of Spider-man, this is a definite must read. If you're a casual comic book reader, check it out, but you won't appreciate the magnitude of this event as much. Dan Slott continues to cement his place as one of the innovative Spider-man writers, who puts Peter in situations where no writer would ever take him, but still stay true to the character. Using this event to kick off a new chapter in Spider-man's life, Dan Slott shows that the wall crawler is still in capable hands and his stories can still be fresh and the best offerings of the Marvel Universe.
Spiderverse is a 9 out of 10 star story.
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