Anywhere But Here

Spider-Verse continues from Spider-Verse #2….

On Earth-13, the Inheritors has just killed Captain Universe and captured Benjy Parker. Benjy is apparently the Scion, one of three important spider-totems that are part of an ancient prophecy. The other spiders are unsure what to do until Otto Octavius orders them all to attack, hoping that Solus was weakened after his battle with Captain Universe. It turns into a slaughter and while everyone is busy, Morlun orders the Great Weaver to send a portal that will take him back to Loomworld. Spider-Girl tries to stop Morlun from absconding with her brother but is easily swatted away. Seeing the portal close causes May to scream in sorrow.

Meanwhile, Spider-UK is calling the Earth-616 Spider-Man to get him to come back from his mission. Parker-616 returns after making a quick stop in three different realities where the Spider-Man exists in Japan. Among them is Takuya Yamashiro, the Spider-Man from Earth-51778, a powerful spider-totem who has a massive robot named Leopardon at his command.[1] When Leopardon emerges from the portal, Yamashiro announces that he is the emissary of Hell and that he fights for the fate of all spiders. Although this is an awesome sight, Solus is hardly impressed and proceeds to rip the giant robot’s arm off. However, this is serving as a distraction for Spider-Man-616 to help the other spiders retreat. Spider-Girl-928 is worried about her brother and Peter vows he will help her rescue him, no matter what. As they retreat, Solus warns the spiders that there is nowhere they can hide.

At that moment, Silk has fled to Earth-3145, a world that is a nuclear wasteland. She immediately begins to get sick from the radiation. Suddenly, Brix and Bola — the twin Inheritors — arrive through a portal, hot on her heels. However, as Brix crosses the threshold he crumples in agony. Bola pulls her brother back through the portal, reminding him that this world was destroyed by thermonuclear war. Silk realizes that as dangerous as this place for her, it is incredibly deadly to the Inheritors. Quickly, she weaves a thick suit of webbing around herself to shield herself from the radioactive wasteland. As she tries to figure out what to do, she realizes she knows the exact place where she can go.

Meanwhile, the rest of the spiders have fled to the prehistoric world of Earth-8847, where Peter Parker tells the others that this was a random location to give them breathing room until they can find a new safe zone. Otto Octavius complains about Parker’s leadership, pointing out that he has lost them two safe zones and cost them their greatest asset and another great Spider-Man. However, that’s when Takuya Yamashiro arrives, having abandoned Leopardon back on Earth-13. He is welcomed back by the other Japanese Spider-Men from Earth-7122 and Earth-7041. Peter then tries to reassure May that they will get her brother back, but she refuses to trust any of the others anymore, saying that the only real Spider-Man was her late father.[2]

That’s when Peter gets a call from Spider-Woman, who is on Loomworld. She updates him on what’s going on, telling them that she is stranded on Earth-001, but managed to get Silk to safety. She is also safe, as she managed to disguise herself as one of hired help as the Jessica Drew on this world is one of Morlun’s servants.[3] They are surprised with how convenient that is, but that’s when the Great Weaver addresses Jessica and suggests that it is part of a grand design. Seeing the cosmic entity in shackles, Jessica tells Peter that she’ll have to call him back. Peter then checks in with Miles Morales to see how his mission is going. Miles was sent with a younger version of Peter Parker from Earth-12041 to continue recruiting Spider-Men from across the multiverse. Miles feels like his life has officially jumped the shark as he has recruited a team of “Web-Warriors” that are an eclectic bunch, including various cartoony Spider-Men, a cowboy Spider-Man with a Spider-Horse.[4] Their current recruit is an anthropomorphic Spider-Mobile who is in the middle of a high-speed chase with the authorities. They get away from the police by fleeing through a dimensional portal. Spider-Man then checks on the team on Earth-928, which includes Spider-Man 2099 and Lady Spider. They are examining a body of Daemos to learn if the Inheritors have any weaknesses. They also have Daemos in as a prisoner in a containment cell.[5] However, before Miguel can explain his discoveries, the transmission is interrupted by Jennix, who reveals that the Inheritors have been able to listen into their conversations the whole time. Since the spiders have been actively trying to oppose them, Jennix has decided to reveal this hand and send his sister Verna to their location. Verna arrives with a new trio of hounds which include the Rhino, Hammerhead, and the Ox. While the other spiders are busy fighting the hounds, Verna swoops in and consumes the life force of the Betty Brant Spider-Girl from Earth-78227.

Back on Loomworld, Spider-Woman approaches the Great Weaver, who confirms that he clandestinly set things in motion so that Jessica would end up before him. The Weaver explains that it presides over the Web of Life and for centuries it has been enslaved by the Inheritors. Still, he had been manipulating events behind the scenes to bring her there. He then weaves a number of scrolls that will explain the prophecies that explain everything about the Other, the Bride, and the Scion. Jessica doesn’t know what any of this means, but the Weaver explains that the Inheritors plans are much larger than killing all the spiders in the multiverse. With his masters coming, the Great Weaver tells Jessica to hide before they see her. Moments later, Brix, Bora, and Morlun enter the room. Morlun has grown tired of Benjy Parker’s constant crying and tells the twins to do something about it. They complain, but Morlun figures its suitable punishment after they lost the Bride earlier. Spotting Jessica, Morlun tells her to come out as he has use for her. That’s when he notices that her hands are behind her back and asks her what she is hiding. Jessica reveals her hands are empty, as she used her dimensional jumper to send the Master Weaver’s scrolls to Peter Parker on Earth-8847.[6]

There the battle with Verna is still raging, and after tucking the scrolls away Peter Parker begins trying to figure out what to do next. That’s when he is contacted by Silk, who tells him and the others to come to Earth-3145 as quickly as possible. They are surprised when Verna is afraid to follow them. They quickly discover why when they arrive on Earth-3145 and discover that it is a radioactive wasteland. As usual, Otto Octavius mocks Peter Parker for leading them into another dead end, however Peter is confident that Cindy has a plan. That’s when they notice that she has left arrows made out of webbing leading them to her location. Sure enough, they find this world’s version of the bunker that Cindy spent over a decade locked away in.[7] When they all enter the bunker, Silk is there to greet them and tells Peter Parker to brace himself for a shock. Looking behind her, Peter sees exactly what Cindy is talking about when he discovers that there is another person in the bunker, his Uncle Ben.

… Spider-Verse continues in Spider-Man 2099 (vol. 2) #7.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man (Parker), Spider-Girl (Parker), Spider-Man (Octavius), Spider-Punk, Spider-Ham, Spider-UK, Spider-Gwen, Spider-Girl (Corazon), Magnaverse Spider-Man, Spider-Man J, Supaidāman, Leopardon, Silk, Spider-Woman, Lady Spider, Spider-Man 2099, SP//dr, Spider-Girl (Brant), Prince of Arachne, Arachnosaur, Spider-Woman (Barton), Spider-Man India, Master Weaver, Ben Parker, Inheritors (Solus, Morlun, Verna, Brix, Bora, Jennix), Rhino, Benjy Parker, Web Warriors (Spider-Man (Morales), Animated Ultimate Spider-Man, Spider-Man ‘67, Mini-Marvels Spider-Man, Cowboy Spider-Man, Spider-Horse, Spider-Mobile), (corpses) Spider-Monkey, Captain Universe, Captain Spider

Continuity Notes

1. Yes, Earth-51778 is the reality where the Japanese Spider-Man TV show took place.

2. The Peter Parker of Earth-928 sacrificed his life to Daemos in order to save his family in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 3) #8.

3. For more on Jessica Drew’s situation see Spider-Woman (vol. 5) #2.

4. Miles Morales recruitment effort is being covered in Spider-Verse Team-Up #2.

5. For more on the Daemos autopsy see Spider-Man 2099 (vol. 2) #7.

6. The rest of this scene plays out in the pages of Spider-Woman (vol. 5) #3.

7. Cindy was locked away for years by Ezekiel Sims in order to prevent the very events that are happening. For more on this see Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 3) #4-5.