Is It Good? Edge of Spider-Verse #2 Review

Gwen Stacy as Spider-Woman, in a band as the drummer of the Mary Janes…yeah, this sounds fun, but is it good?

Edge of Spider-Verse #2 (Marvel Comics)

This issue is all about Gwen Stacy in an alternate dimension where she received the Spider powers and Peter remained a lowly nerd. The issue opens with Gwen practicing with her band and she ruminates on the fate of her life. We quickly learn she has a semi-strong relationship to her detective father, Daredevil works for Kingpin and Gwen just loves music. Anyone expecting plot progression as far as the bigger picture should look elsewhere. This is all about the origin of and character that is Gwen Stacy, Spider-Woman.

An origin in one page! You’re doing it right Marvel!

This issue spends most of its time fleshing out Gwen and it’s done surprisingly well. Writer Jason Latour does a great job showing her guilt, delivering a key action scene and bringing to the forefront her relationship with her father. It all goes a long way in making this character instantly beloved and I won’t be surprised if she sticks around for a while once this whole series is over.

It doesn’t, however, tie into the Spider-Verse at all. And aside from a brief final reveal of another Spider-Man looking to talk to her, there isn’t anything tying this into the bigger series. The benefit of this is that it stands alone, and if you don’t care at all about this event you can easily read this and enjoy it. Considering how enjoyable it is on its own, that’s a good thing.

Art is done by Robbi Rodriguez and it’s quite good. It has a fluid feel like Tradd Moore’s work, but a graphite edge that’s rather modern looking. The design of Gwen’s costume is pretty cool too, going mostly white with purple thrown in. Where she got such a cool and modern looking costume is beyond me. Maybe we’ll learn more next issue. The layouts in the action sequences are quite good too. Rodriguez can do it all!

Squishy face.

Is It Good?

This is a stellar origin story issue that is just fresh enough to be worth a look. It’s definitely a take on the original origin, but it’s fun and fresh because the character’s voice is so strong.