Edge of Spider-Verse #5
SP//dr
Edge of Spider-Verse continues from Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 3) #7…
On a test run of a suit of spider-armor, the pilot dies. Luckily, the SP//dr is still intact.[1]
Later, Peni Parker is brought into a meeting with her Aunt May and Uncle Ben. They tell Peni that she will be living with them from now on. A bright child, Peni already knows that her father’s SP//dr experiment ended in his death. May and Ben are surprised by her candor over the situation and tell her that she is the only one with the proper genetics to continue the program. She already knows that this is going to be painful and her aunt and uncle don’t mince words, interfacing with SP//dr is unpleasant.
That’s when they inform her that SP//dr is already in the room. Becoming frightened, Peni asks if the spider will bite her. It does moments after they tell her that it only will if she lets it.
Five Years Later
Mysterio is in his massive globe ship spraying the city with fear gas. He has deemed all of their lives boring and in need with his chosen artform: panic. SP//dr has been deployed and before Peni engages her enemy, her Uncle Ben warns her that this foe isn’t like the others. Although the SP//dr armor should filter out the effects of Mysterio’s gas, he tells her to keep track of the toxicity levels. After being allowed to play music and picking out what she wants for dinner, Penni Parker leaps into action.
She comes crashing into Mysterio’s ship and is instantly doused by his gas. Aunt May tells Peni to close her eyes and focus on her voice while the suit filters out the toxins. Although the gas is not affecting the spider, Peni has beginning to hallucinate. May tells her to focus and on her words, she knocks out Mysterio with a single punch. As it turns out, her foe was an obsessed fan who was hoping that SP//dr got his mix-disc.
The following day, Peni is back in classes like a normal student. However, she suddenly sees the spider on her hand. When Daredevil enters the room the teacher knows what’s going on and excuses Peni for the day. As Peni gets into the SP//dr armor, Daredevil tells her that Mysterio revealed who provided him his technology, simply because he is a huge SP//dr fan. He tells her to expect to be facing more technologically enhanced foes. Stopping for a lunch break, Peni admits to Daredevil that she feels tired and then asks about her dad. Daredevil says that her father was calm all the time and despite radiating a feeling of sadness, Daredevil thought he was cool.
They spend the next few weeks taking down illegal tech smuggling operations and Peni learns more about her father from Daredevil.[2] After their most recent raid, she decides against riding back with the SP//dr armor to walk home instead. While riding the subway, the other passengers are frightened away by something and flee into the next car. Looking to see what this disturbance is, Peni is shocked to see Spider-Ham. He and his partner, Old Man Spider, tell Peni that spiders from across the multiverse are being hunted and they have come to recruit her.[3] Because her spider trusts them, Peni takes them at their word but tells them that they need to get her armor.
They soon arrive at the facility where the SP//dr armor is kept. The two Spider-Men are thoroughly impressed with the armor and after Peni climbs into it, they open a portal that will take them across dimensions.
… Edge of Spider-Verse continues in Spider-Man 2099 (vol. 2) #5.
Recurring Characters
SP//dr, Aunt May, Uncle Ben, Daredevil, Idie Okonkow, Spider-Ham, Old Man Spider
Continuity Notes
This story takes place in Reality-14512 as indexed in Secret Wars: Official Guidebook to the Marvel Multiverse #1.
Eagle-eyed readers will notice these crooks resemble Mokoto Kusanagi and Batou from Ghost in the Shell as well as another who Shōtarō Kaneda from Akira.
Spider-Ham and Old Man Spider are from a team of spiders that are being gathered by Spider-UK. See Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 3) #7-8.
