Enthusiasts of the Spider-Verse are likely tuned into Edge of Spider-Verse, but with issue #3 featuring Spider-Boy, many Spider-fans will be enticed to pick this up. Can Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos make us want more? And in the second story, can David Betancourt and Julian Shaw expand on Billie Morales’ story on Earth-9375?
For the most part, the Spider-Boy story is a good one, as we get far more details about him than we knew before. I will say we’re still very much in the dark, though, and we’ll likely get a meatier backstory later. What we do get is his general vibe which is extremely positive, and some details about how he’s connected to Spider-Man’s world. It’s much easier to imagine how he fits into Spider-Man’s life if he really did exist, yet the world has forgotten him.
Ramos kills it on the art, but what else is new? The polyptych of Spider-Boy hopping around in the opening full-page splash looks cool and reminds us he doesn’t use webs. Instead, he’s super fast and is always hopping about. Ramos is very good at drawing long and lanky characters, including Spider-Boy, who may be short but certainly looks stringy, like elastic.
Great page!
Credit: Marvel
Ultimately, there’s enough here to keep you guessing and start to understand how he fits into things. At the very least, Slott makes you believe he’s a strong enough character to keep telling stories about.
The second story is by Betancourt and Shaw featuring Billie Morales. If you’re unfamiliar, they remind us who she is through a dream sequence. The story features a bunch of familiar characters but with new takes since we’re in another universe. Shaw gets to show off some interesting new costumes in that regard, which should please fans of alternate takes on heroes and villains.
The dialogue can be a little long in many scenes in this tale, but for the most part, the main character is written well, and the legacy of the Morales family lives on by the end. The pace is so slow, however, you’ll be wishing it could pick up and get to the action already.
Many will be drawn to Edge of Spider-Verse #3 since it promises some much-needed details about Spider-Boy. In general, this series continues to have fun exploring alternate takes on Spider-Man, making the Spider-Verse richer for it.
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