In the years since he became Spider-Man, Peter Parker has faced all manner of supervillains – driven by the phrase “with great power, there must also come great responsibility.” Spidey’s about to take on a whole new responsibility in the Gang War storyline, which sees him forming a team of heroes to stop a battle between various criminal figures within 48 hours. Complicating matters is the fact that former mayor Wilson Fisk – the former Kingpin of Crime – signed a law that prevents superhero activities in New York. Hey, it wouldn’t be a Spider-Man story if there wasn’t a major complication.
Untangling the web of Gang War was head Amazing Spider-Man writer Zeb Wells, who was joined by Dan Slott (Superior Spider-Man, Spider-Boy), Cody Ziglar (Miles Morales: Spider-Man), Melissa Flores (Spider-Gwen: SMASH!, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers) and Ryan Stegman (Venom, Vanish). Marvel’s head of talent, Ricky Purdin, served as moderator. Wells discussed how Gang War spun out of his opening arc of Amazing Spider-Man, saying that the series will be getting back to Spidey fighting street-level crime “in a big way.” He also mentioned that Spidey will be in over his head during Gang War, as he hasn’t been this proactive.
Ziglar talked about his work on Miles Morales and his love of anime and manga-influenced storytelling. “I’m basically writing a Spider-Man shonen book.” The biggest example of this was Miles’ new “venom saber” ability, which Ziglar recently confirmed was inspired visually by Yu Yu Hakusho and Dragon Ball Z. More huge things are on the horizon for Miles; not only will Giant-Size Spider-Man #1 pit him against Dylan Brock/Venom but the upcoming Miles Morales: Spider-Man #300 in March sees the return of the villain Rabble – who Ziglar teased had some “sinister” plans in store for Miles.
In addition to series artist Federico Vicentini, Miles’ co-creators Sara Pichelli and David Marquez will contribute art to the milestone issue. Vicentini will also illustrate the Gang War tie-ins for Miles Morales as Miles battles Hobgoblin.
Next up was Flores, who talked about her work on Spider-Gwen: SMASH! The four-issue miniseries, featuring artwork from Enid Balam, sends Gwen on a tour with her band, the Mary Janes – where she encounters the Earth-65 version of Dazzler and has to battle a Hulk. Flores talked about how the book sprung from her love of music; she also mentioned that it would feature Gwen trying to rekindle her own love for music while also rebuilding her bond with the Mary Janes. “Gwen was my Spider-Person,” she said when talking about what drew her to the book.
Slott discussed the legacy of Superior Spider-Man, recounting how outraged fans were when he had Doctor Octopus (temporarily) take over Peter Parker’s body. When it came to the new series, he had a promise: “No magic, no clones, no time travel.”
He also discussed Spider-Boy and how it also sprung out of fans’ reaction to the “End of the SpiderVerse” storyline – namely that Kaine Parker, the Scarlet Spider, wasn’t a huge part of it. When writing Kaine back as a result of the Web of Life and Destiny being reknit, Slott thought, “What if somebody came back who we didn’t know about?” Enter Bailey Briggs, Spider-Man’s literally long-lost sidekick. Bailey will be fighting a number of new villains throughout the opening arc, which will also introduce one of his parents.
The future of Spider-Man is also looking bright, as Wells will soon be teaming up with Ed McGuinness for Amazing Spider-Man #50 as well as a Free Comic Book Day Special with Stegman. Ziglar teased smaller arcs for Miles following Miles Morales #300, while Flores discussed her work on the Echo storyline she wrote for Marvel Unlimited. Stegman also talked about how he wanted to draw Green Goblin, which led to the other creatives picking the Spider-Man villains they wanted to write. Flores went for Doc Ock, while Ziglar picked the obscure villain Headmaster.
“I never want to write Doc Ock again,” Slott said half-jokingly as the panel ended.
Amazing Spider-Man: Gang War – First Strike #1, Spider-Woman #1, and Luke Cage #1 are on sale wherever comics are sold.
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