It may not have been the original intention of Spider-Verse, but it sure is a lot of fun to get brand-new versions of Spider-Man regularly. Edge of Spider-Verse has done just that, and it came out swinging with Edge of Spider-Verse #1 featuring a T-Rex Spider-Man. Edge of Spider-Verse #4 aims to top that this week with four excellent new additions to the Spider-Verse.
This issue opens with a Spider-Ham story by Jordan Blum and Michael Shelfer, moves on to a Spinstress story–think Disney princess–by David Hein and Luciano Vecchio, gives us a delightfully weird Spider-Mobile story by Dan Slott and Ty Templeton, and closes things off with Tee Franklin and Jethro Morales’ Sun-Spider story. Each story gives us new versions of characters, be it a living car version of Mysterio or the hilariously clever Pete Spiderman.
Kicking things off, Blum and Shelfer’s story may be titled “Spider-Ham”, but Spider-Ham quickly runs into a new version of Spider-Man in the 616 universe. The story opens wonderfully, featuring Spider-Ham in a dark and edgy visual style, yet his captions are comedic and fun. It’s like a Dark Knight interpretation for the character, which juxtaposes nicely with the incredibly ordinary Pete Spiderman. Coming complete with a character bio straight out of a Marvel card, Blum and Shelfer introduce wacky suburbia supervillains like the Green Lawn Goblin in efficiently told panels. The message of the story is loud and clear too, and the tale even ends with a cliffhanger that suggests Spider-Ham may be in big trouble.
Often with anthologies like this, I assume the follow-up story will pale in comparison, but Hein and Vecchio blow you away with a Disney princess-style Spider-character known as Spinstress. Vecchio draws scenes that feel straight out of Beauty and the Beast, with a character living in a medieval setting belting out songs as she walks passed street vendors. At 16 pages long, it’s the longest story in the anthology issue.
Love the Dark Knight vibe.
Credit: Marvel
Not only do her songs make sense, but they add to the overall experience. Vecchio gets to design multiple characters in a Disney style that’s downright incredible. Hell, Spinstress even has a talking spider companion! The story plays into the tropes of Disney movies, and the villain even looks like a cool homage to Maleficent. It’s also quite clear the creators are leaning into those tropes because they love them, making for a parody in some instances, and an homage in others, that the reader can feel like they’re in on.
Next up, Slott and Templeton make you want a Peter Parkedcar series. Set in Vanhattan, Parkedcar has the worst day, which gets even more terrible when everyone thinks their creator has returned. There are many puns, the cars look cute as hell, and it’s the kind of story that walks a line of for-kids-content, but adults will have to smile and enjoy it too. It’s only four pages, but it’s well worth a read.
Closing out this anthology issue is Franklin and Morales’ Sun-Spider story. It introduces a hero named Charlotte Webber, who has EDS. She has three friends who may or may not be superheroes too, and they’re all off to attend prom. The problem is, that Otto Octavius is in their class and is totally not cool about Charlotte saying no to his advances. This leads to a fun fight sequence, and she kicks ass. Morales does a fantastic job with the action keeping things moving along. Sun-Spider zips around is super agile, and her web-shooting walking batons look cool too.
What’s even more incredible, Franklin uses this story not only to introduce a hero who is disabled that readers who are disabled can relate to, but there’s some real conversation many can learn from. In one scene, Charlotte’s friends go out of their way to help her up some stairs, but she tells them she needs to do it herself unless she asks for help. It’s a nice moment that shows her disability needs to be treated with respect.
Edge of Spider-Verse #4 features not one, not two, but four excellent stories introducing brand new Spider-Man-centric superheroes. Each story offers something a little different, like humor, clever homages, kookiness, and a strong message. Edge of Spider-Verse is as clever as it is inventive, proving we can never have enough Spider-Man characters.
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