Edge of Spider-Verse Part One*

Several Months Ago…

Horizon Labs is on the verge of destruction due to Grady Scrap’s time door. While everyone evacuates, Spider-Man stays behind and is the only one that’s not clear when the building implodes. Although Max Modell worries about what happened to Spider-Man, J. Jonah Jameson could care less.[1]

However, instead of being destroyed, Spider-Man finds himself being pulled across the multiverse where he sees various alternate realities.[2] He soon finds himself dropped into the future of 2099.[3] This makes sense to Octavius since the Spider-Man of this reality ended up in his own time.[4] As Otto swings around this futuristic city, he muses how he can use this era’s technology to his own advantage. His arrival doesn’t go unnoticed as friends of Gabriel O’Hara report their sightings of Spider-Man. Not long after that, Spider-Man is attacked by officers that represent Alchemax’s Public Eye. However, Otto makes short work of their fliers with the mechanical arms built into his suit. That’s when he is found by Gabriel O’Hara, who explains that he has met Spider-Man before and convinces him to get into his car before Public Eye sends their big guns.[5]

After quickly explaining that his brother — Miguel O’Hara — is the Spider-Man of this era, Gabriel takes Spider-Man to his brother’s apartment. There, Otto is impressed by the holographic assistant that is there, and sends Gabriel on his way, convincing the young man that he can “fix” things.[6] With Gabriel gone, Spider-Man asks the holographic assistant to give him all the information it has on temporal and dimensional transport. It tells him about Alchemax and Stark/Fujikawa’s work on a Virtual Unreality device to access of times and dimensions.[7] With this information, Spider-Man gets down to work, telling the assistant to refer to him as doctor.

Soon, Spider-Man steals what he needs from Stark/Fujikawa, briefly clashing with the Specialist. He next robs Alchemax, clashing with Venture. He then retreats to the ruins of Empire State University in the ruins of Nueva York’s Downtown district. There he begins begins building a time portal. By this point he has also re-programmed the virtual assistant to resemble his love, Anna Maria Marconi. After downloading the assistant into his wrist device he prepares to make a time jump back to his own era.

At first, it appears that Otto has returned to his own time, just as something had attacked the city. Searching the rubble he is surprised to discover that he is actually in another reality where Spider-Man joins the Fantastic Four and that something killed them all.[8] Having installed a snap-back function on the portal, Otto tries to make it back to his reality a second time. His second trip lands him in a reality where mutants dominate the Earth, and finds yet another dead Spider-Man.[9] In yet another reality, one where the super-hero Civil War is still going on, Otto finds another dead Spider-Man.[10] In another reality he finds another futuristic world and another dead Spider-Man, prompting Otto to return to 2099 to figure out what’s going on.[11]

Back in 2099, Otto determines that all of these dead Spider-Men were alternate reality versions of Peter Parker and they had all died by the same weapon that uses a unique energy signature. Deciding to jump to another reality, Otto intends to take a more detailed scan if he comes across another dead Spider-Man.

The next reality is one where the resident Spider-Man exists in India, named Paviitr Parbharkar.[12] He is being attacked by a man in a fancy outfit wearing a diver’s helmet. Otto’s scans determine that his two-pronged harpoon is the weapon that killed the other Spider-Men. As this Spider-Man is busy saving the lives of the people around him, this killer prepares to eliminate him as well when Otto saves his life. After assuring this Spider-Man that this killer is only after Spider-Men, he quickly transports himself and the Indian Spider-Man back to 2099. Traveling through time and space, Otto decides that he must raise an army of Spider-Men to stop this new foe. Back in India, the man hunting the Spider-Men detects that his prey has left and vows to track him down and destroy him, lest he proves the others right.[13]

When Otto and Paviitr arrive in 2099 he discovers that he wasn’t the first recruit and finds himself among four other spider-beings, a woman, a six-armed Spider-Man, one in body armor, a Spider-Man who looks like he comes out of the 1930s, and a monkey.[14]

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man (Octavius), Karn, Gabriel O’Hara, Spider-Man (Prabhakar), Spider-Woman (Barton), Six-Armed Spider-Man, Spider-Man (Earth-8351), Spider-Man Noir, Spider-Monkey, Tyler Stone, Specialist, Venture, J. Jonah Jameson, Max Modell, Tiberius Stone, Spider-Man 2099, Fantastic Five (Earth-772 versions of Mister Fantastic, Human Torch, Thing, Spider-Man), Spider-Man (House of M)

Continuity Notes

1. These events occurred in Superior Spider-Man #19, Otto ends up being pulled back to this period of time, hours after his disappearance, following the events of Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 3) #15.

2. The realities that are viewed here are: Earth X (aka Earth-9997, first seen in Earth X #0), Future Imperfect (aka Earth-9200, first seen in Hulk: Future Imperfect #1), the world of Deathlok Prime (aka Earth-10511, first seen Wolverine: Weapon X #11), Days of Future Past (aka Earth-811, first seen X-Men #141), and lastly the Old Man Logan universe (aka Earth-807128, first seen in Wolverine (vol. 3) #66)

3. This future reality is designated Earth-928. See Spider-Geddon Handbook #1.

4. Spider-Man 2099 was sent back in time to the modern age to prevent his grandfather from being killed in Superior Spider-Man #17.

5. Gabriel met the original Spider-Man and knows he is actually Peter Parker as the pair had an encounter in Spider-Man 2099 Meets Spider-Man #1. A notation states that Otto doesn’t know this after purging Peter Parker’s memories. Otto took over Peter Parker’s body in Amazing Spider-Man #698. This gave him access to Parker’s memories but he was forced to erase them all when he discovered a remnant of Parker’s mind still existed and was trying to take back his body. See Superior Spider-Man #9.

6. Gabriel states that the assistant had its own unique personality until it recently went back to factory default mode. Miguel programmed his assistant into a female avatar he named Layla. She had been an assistant of sorts for Miguel since Spider-Man 2099 #1. When Miguel found himself in the past he was able to download Layla into his wrist communicator in the present day, as seen in Superior Spider-Man #18.

7. For more on the Virtual Unreality device see Spider-Man 2099 #13.

8. This reality is identified as Earth-772 per the Spider-Geddon Handbook #1. This reality was first seen in What If? #1. All further confirmations of reality numbers come from the Spider-Geddon Handbook unless otherwise stated.

9. This is Earth-58163 aka the House of M reality. This Spider-Man was first seen in House of M: Spider-Man #1.

10. This is a previously unseen reality that is later designated as Reality-10919.

11. This reality is identified as Earth-14132. It also has not been previously seen.

12. This is Parviitr Prabhakar of Reality-50101, first seen in Spider-Man: India #1.

13. These “others” are the so-called Inheritors a family who hunts animal totems across the multiverse, specifically spiders as we’ll learn in Superior Spider-Man #33. The man seen here is Karn, who was exiled from the family.

14. These alternate spider-people are:

    • Ashley Barton, aka Spider-Woman, aka Spider-Bitch of Earth-80728, first seen in Wolverine (vol. 3) #67. She is part of the Old Man Logan reality.

    • The six-armed Spider-Man comes from a reality where Spider-Man didn’t cure himself of this affliction (See Amazing Spider-Man #100-103). He hails from Reality-92100 first seen in What If? (vol. 2) #42.

    • The Spider-Man in the battle armor comes from Reality-8351 a reality where Spider-Man became an assassin for hire first seen in What If?: Spider-Man Versus Wolverine #1.

    • The 1930’s Spider-Man is Spider-Man Noir, who comes from Reality-90214, first seen in Spider-Man Noir #1.

    • The last one is, appropriately named Spider-Monkey, who comes from Reality-8101, a world where apes are the dominant species. This place was first seen in Spider-Man Family #1.

The Spider Sanction

Reflecting back on his life, Spider-Man thinks about how the hardest thing he ever had to do was leave his old life behind. This meant leaving behind his family and loved ones including his Aunt May and Mary Jane Watson. He thinks this is a good thing, remembering how one of his enemies killed Gwen Stacy.[1] He now thinks that he is at war and has been spending his days eliminating his old foes. He thanks Wolverine for “bringing him into the cold” and training him to be a deadly assassin.[2]

Now that he is being attacked by a strange and powerful entity in a fancy suit wearing an old divers mask. With his energy enhanced spear, this attacker kills Wolverine burning his body down to his adamantium skeleton. That’s when Alex comes in with guns blazing, but Spider-Man knocks her out, realizing that this killer has come from him.

Luring his attacker outside, Spider-Man tricks him into impaling his spear into a generator that uses Shi’ar technology and has enough energy to power a small city. Unfortunately, this doesn’t even phase his pursuer. Spider-Man is surprised when another Spider-Man appears and pulls down a tree on his attacker. This Spider-Man — actually Otto Octavius from Earth-616 — quickly learns that this world’s Spider-Man is a ruthless assassin. He appeals to this version of Peter Parker by explaining that he is gathering Spider-Men from across the multiverse to find a way to destroy the man who has been hunting them down across time and space.

After Otto confirms that Alex will be safe, this world’s Spider-Man agrees to accompany him on their mission willing to stop their killer or die trying.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man (Earth-8351), Spider-Man (Octavius-616), Karn, Wolverine-8351, Alex

Continuity Notes

1. Although this story takes place on Reality-8351, it mirrors the events that happened on the Prime Marvel Universe (aka Earth-616) at least up until Spider-Man Versus Wolverine #1. As such, see Amazing Spider-Man #121 to learn more about the death of Gwen Stacy.

2. See What If?: Spider-Man Versus Wolverine #1 for details on all of this.

* In lieu of an actual title, I have given this story this title for page organization purposes.