Be sure to check out the other parts of this series: Part One (Intro/Reading Order) | Part Two (Weaving The Web) | Part Three (Edge of Spider-Verse)
In this installment, we will start looking at Spider-Verse proper.
Spider-Verse
Spider-Verse Team-Up 1
(I know, I know, Amazing #9 should probably go first, but chronologically, this makes the most sense here.)
In the tradition of classic Spidey title Marvel Team-Up, this Spider-Verse version teams Spider-Men from across the multiverse as the battle against the Inheritors continues.
Story 1 – Old Man Spider and Spider-Ham help fan favorite Ben Reilly take down a collection of multiversal Vultures and then head to the Earth-13 safe zone. No deaths.
Story 2 – Waaaay back in Amazing Spider-Man #100, Spider-Man took a formula to try to rid himself of his spider powers forever. Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect and made him even more Spidery and he grew two new sets of arms. Fortunately, that only lasted a few issues, but on Earth-92100, Six-Arm Spider-Man continued on. (Six-Arm Spider-Man’s alternate future appeared in What If? Vol 2 #42.) On a recruiting drive with Spider-Man Noir, the duo attempt to cure a Peter Parker who has had an allergeric reaction to his spider-bite and is mutating into a Man-Spider-like appearance. The pair of Spider’s find a way to cure this world’s Peter and keep him safe from the Inheritors before jumping to the next dimension. No deaths.
Amazing Spider-Man 9 – Spider-Verse Part 1
Story 1 – As Silk and Spider-Man attempt to stop a robbery by former Superior Spider-Man henchmen, a whole clan of multiverse Spider-Totems arrive to recruit 616 Peter because he has faced and defeated Morlun before. Silk calmly reminds Spidey that she told him this would happen after freeing her from her bunker.
Elsewhere, Daemos has singlehandedly taken down the New Warriors. He is about to feast on Kaine when a seperate group of spiders arrive to rescue him. One of them doesn’t make it back.
The two groups converge at the “safe zone” on Earth-13, under the protection of Cosmic Spider-Man. (Remember when Spider-Man gained the cosmic powers of Captain Universe back in 1990? Well, on Earth-13 he kept them.) Flanked by versions of Gwen Stacey and Ben Rielly, Spider-Man is stunned as the resistance breaks things down for him.
Part 1 concludes with a trip to the Ultimate Universe as Miles Morales and Jessica Drew are attacked by an Inheritor.
Story 2 – It’s feeding time in Loomworld. In most cases throughout the entire arc, the Inheritors tend to drain the Spider-Totems of energy right on the spot after defeating them. In this case though they all bring their conquests home and serve them up like pigs on a platter. It’s mostly just an exercise to introduce the rest of the Inheritors and give some backstory before they feast. There is also an excellent pin-up of the The Great Web of Life and Destiny which shows numerous Spidey’s, including some that are never seen again. (Including an interesting Rorshach inspired Spider.)
Deaths: Spider-Moon-Man Earth-449 (First and only appearance), Bruce Banner the Spider-Man of Earth-70105 (not a Hulk, from the limited series Bullet Points), Spider-Vampire Earth-TRN397 (First and only appearance), Man-Spider Earth-666 (First appearance in Secret Avengers #33), Forever Yesterday Spider-Man Earth-9105 (First appearance New Warriors #11)
Spider-Verse 1
An anthology style book with stories from across the multiverse.
Story 1 – Enter the Spider-Verse. A short 3 pager that is more of an introduction to Spider-Verse than anything. It foreshadows the origin of Uncle Ben Spider-Man, as well as showing the deaths of Spider-Man 1602 (which we knew), Spider-Man Reign and a Mary Jane Watson Spider-Woman.
Story 2 – The recruitment of Manga Spider-Man.
Story 3 – The steampunk inspired Lady Spider makes her first appearance in battle against the Six Men of Sinistry.
Story 4 – Are you old enough to remember the ads in just about every Marvel book back in the mid 70s that featured Spider-Man thwarting crime while somehow incorporating a shill for Hostess Fruit Pies or Twinkies? They haven’t run in a long time, and are much less likely now that Morlun has devoured his “sweet and succulent soul”. (If you Google “spider-man hostess” there is an extensive collection of these original ads in the Images section.)
Story 5 – First appearance and origin of the very kid-centric Penelope Parker.
Story 6 – Like the Hostess Spider-Man in story 4, this is one of the true gems of Spider-Verse when Morlun makes his way to the world of the daily newspaper strip Spider-Man. For those not familiar with the strip, each day usually consists of two panels…but the first panel is usually just a recap of the last panel from the day before. So each day you end up with one recap panel and one panel that slowly moves the story forward. Needless to say, Morlun finds this all very…perplexing.
In one of his “only acts of rebellion” the Master Weaver saves this universe and keeps the newspaper strip from having to worry about Spider-Verse.
Deaths: Spider-Man Reign Earth-70237 (from the mini-series of the same name), Mary Jane Watson Spider-Woman Earth-8545 (First appearance Exiles #20), Hostess-Shill Spider-Man Earth-TRN479 (First appearance an ad in Giant Size Fantastic Four #5)
Amazing Spider-Man 10 – Spider-Verse Part 2
Picking up where Amazing Spider-Man #9 left off, a group of Spiders led by the Superior Spider-Man rescue the Ultimate Universe’s Miles Morales and Jessica Drew.
Returning to their “safe zone” in 2099, the Spock lead group and Peter’s group finally come together. Outside of the battles in Peter’s mind, this is the first meeting of the Superior Spider-Man and the Amazing Spider-Man. But before any “reunion” can occur the group is attacked by Daemos. Spider-Cyborg is destroyed before Spock can kill Daemos. Or so it seems, as he reappears with more Inheritors shortly after, killing Old Man Spider and Assassin Spider-Man.
The ensuing battle sets the stage for several of the spin-off titles: Scarlet Spiders, Spider-Woman and Spider-Man 2099. The Spider-Crew head back to the Earth-13 safe zone where Spock (not surprisingly) declares that he’s in charge. Uh Oh.
Deaths: Spider-Cyborg Earth-2818 (First appearance Superior Spider-Man #33), Old Man Spider Earth-4 (First appearance Edge of Spider-Verse #5) and Assassin Spider-Man.
Spider-Woman 1
Continuing out of Amazing Spider-Man 10, we find Spider-Woman, Silk and Spider-Man Noir…riding lizard donkeys? The multiverse is a strange place.
Shortly after, as usual, the Inheritors show up and Spider-Man Noir is badly injured. Silk and Spider-Woman manage to rescue him and they escape to the 1930’s like Earth-90214 to find him medical aid. They manage to get him help from this world’s Black Cat when they are visited by 616 Spider-Man, 616 Spider-Girl and Spider-Gwen. It seems Spider-Man has a new mission for Spider-Woman and has brought Spider’s Girl and Gwen to protect Silk. Spider-Woman is not happy, but leaves with Spider-Man.
Two minutes later, Spider-Girl and Gwen have already failed in their mission as Silk has snuck off and jumped to Earth-981, where the Inheritors easily track her. No deaths.
Scarlet Spiders 1
As I’m sure you know, the Scarlet Spider moniker was made famous by Peter Parker clone Ben Reilly back in the Clone Saga days. Currently Peter Parker clone Kaine goes by that name to honor Ben Reilly. (And there was a team of Scarlet Spiders in there somewhere who were also clones, but not of Peter Parker, but we try to forget about them.) Needless to say, the name is very associated with clones. And since the Ultimate Universe Jessica Drew is also a clone of Ultimate Peter Parker, it is an apt title for their adventure together to deal with the Inheritors, wait for it, cloning technology!
We are introduced to Jennix and lots of clones that look like they have colanders on their heads.
The Spiders show why the name of their group isn’t the Stealthy Spiders as they are detected almost immediately. When the security cavalry shows up, it contains some alternate Marvel familiar faces. The Spiders escape and regroup and try to make their way to the Baxter Building to confront Jennix. They make it inside for all of 30 seconds before being detected, because, not Stealthy Spiders. No deaths.
Spider-Man 2099 6
Spider-Man 2099, Lady Spider and Six-Arm Spider-Man make their way to the year 2099 with the body of Daemos that Spock killed back in Amazing Spider-Man #10. They hope to dissect the body and find any information that they can use against the Inheritors.
After the group arrives at Spider-Man 2099’s brother’s home, we find out they are not Stealthy Spiders either. Daemos arrives and says it took him “ten whole minutes to find you!” Chaos ensues, and Six-Arm Spider-Man doesn’t last long.
The rest of the issue is a game of cat and mouse eventually leading to the capture and confinement of Daemos at Alchemax.
Deaths: Six-Arm Spider-Man of Earth-92100
Up next in Part Five: more Spider-Verse!
Gabbing Geek 
Say, Jimmy, didn’t Morlun appear in a Black Panther arc at some point?
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Tom, you’re right. I haven’t read it but a “secret group” resurrected him after Peter killed him in The Other so that he could devour the Black Panther.
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I think I did read it. T’Challa was no longer the Black Panther, so it fell to his heretofore never mentioned sister Suri to do the job. I don’t recall how she won, but Morlun did take out the Man-Ape first.
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