If you missed out on Marvel’s multiverse mayhem in Edge of Spider-Verse, you’re in luck as Spider-Verse: Across the Multiverse collects every single one up until Edge of Spider-Verse #4 from June 2023. Collected in a nicely made softcover, the 416-page juggernaut is full of clever and well-made brand-new Spider-Man characters.
These stories go all the way back to 2014. I should know, since I reviewed the very first issue in this collection! Going back and reading these stories is quite a trip. Collected here are the 2014 five-issue series, the 2022 five-issue series, and the 2023 three-issue series. It’s interesting to see how the original series focused on one character in each issue, with the later series branching out into an anthology format. One can see how the approach changed due to the creation of Spider-Gwen as well as the success of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
Kicking things off is a great Spider-Man Noir tale by David Hine and Fabrice Sapolsky. The vivid art style has a cinematic quality. This story ties into Superior Spider-Man #32, but it’s really about giving Spider-Man Noir a bit more time on the page. David Hine and Fabrice Sapolsky write a pretty solid issue here, dipping into the Noir storyline and showing us the interesting twists and turns this gritty universe has to offer. Felicia Hardy, for instance, has had her face all messed up by those looking for Spider-Man, and Spidey actually got his powers from a totem that the Goblin was shipping to America. It’s all very pulpy, and it’s great fun to dip into the universe.
Next up is the introduction of Spider-Gwen. It’s wild to think this was her origin story, yet at the time, it felt like a drop in the bucket as we had no idea she’d become so popular. It’s a good origin story, and it does its own thing.
These starting two stories are a good indication of what this series has always been about. Celebrating Spider-Man in all his forms and showing people clever riffs on the original concept.
Dustin Weaver’s tale is a stand-out in the collection.
Credit: Marvel
Writer and artist Dustin Weaver delivers a stand-out intro to another cool Spider-Man concept. It’s quite clever in how it details two villains in this issue using the front and back of Marvel cards. We get their power levels, bio, and even a “Did You Know” as well. It’s a good example of the ingenuity present throughout this collection. His take on Spider-Man is also pretty cool with a greater focus on the technology in his suit.
Closing out this first run was Gerard Way and Jake Wyatt’s fabulous SP//dr introduction. Once again, they blow our minds with cool art and a clever sci-fi take. One might imagine we owe Weaver, Way, Latour, and other characters who contributed to this first run a great deal of thanks as they inspired a lot of folks to keep pushing to create new iterations of Spider-Man.
There’s more ingenuity to be had in this collection, from Web-Weaver to a T-Rex Spider-Man, and plenty more ideas about where those came from. Edge of Spider-Verse is as strong as the sum of its parts. Each tale feels like it’s building towards something while giving readers a different flavor of Spider-Man. Ingenuity is something we usually reserve for inventors of great machines, but it’s safe to say the infinity in this collection is off the charts, only it’s not machined they’re creating, but Spider-Men.
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