Greetings True Believers, San Diego Comic-Con is back again. With the Spider-Verse in full swing, Marvel had to dedicate a whole panel to Spider-Man and all his amazing, spidery friends. Taking the stage, we have a collection of some of Marvel’s spectacular people, including Nick Lowe, Kathleen Wisneski, Seanan McGuire, Tom Taylor, Frank Terri, and Nick Spencer. Let’s discuss what was said.
They start the panel by talking about the flagship book, The Amazing Spider-Man. Spencer talked about Spider-Man’s newest demonic rogue, Kindred. After what went down recently, Kindred will step back into the shadows to focus on his attention on other Spider-Man family characters, possibly hinting at his roll in Absolute Carnage. However, that’s not the only problem Spidey will have to deal with. The Amazing Spider-Man will be introducing a new, all-female, Sinister Syndicate, consisting of Lady Octopus, White Rabbit, Beatle, Scorpia, Trapster and Electro.
Continuing with The Amazing Spider-Man, the topic came up of a recent surprise in a recent issue, Miguel O’Hara a.k.a. Spider-Man 2099. Not only will he play a role in Spencer’s run. His universe might be making a comeback in November, according to this teaser.
Next at the panel is the announcement of a brand new title, The Amazing Mary Jane. It will be written by Leah Williams, with art by Carlos Gomez. In this book, we will see MJ trying once more to make it in Hollywood. However, things aren’t that simple, especially if you are familiar with recent events in The Amazing Spider-Man. Let’s just say, everything may not be what it seems, thanks to a certain Spidey rogue that loves illusions and mystery.
We go from a new title to a recently announced mini, The Amazing Spider-Man: Full Circle. This is an interesting one to keep an eye on if I do say so myself. The Amazing Spider-Man: Full Circle will be a globetrotting, round-robin comic. It will have 8 different writers. A different writer will write each issue. Here’s the catch. Each issue will end in a cliffhanger to challenge the next writer, and it sounds like they are holding back. “We sabotage each other so much,” said Nick Spencer at the panel. He will be one of the writers, along with Jonathan Hickman, Gerry Duggan, Al Ewing, Chip Zdarsky, Kelly Thompson, and Jason Aaron. This wild ride will be starting in October.
Now we go back to another new title, starring another strong Spidey-related lady, Gwen Stacy. Spider-Gwen has officially transitioned to her new codename Ghost-Spider. Named after her new codename, Ghost-Spider. We’ll see Gwen going to college at Empire State University. Which makes things interesting, given it is on Earth-616. The book will be written by Seanan McGuire, who was there to give her thoughts. “Figuring out how you’d do that legally is really fun for me.”
The focus then went to a more dubious Spidey-related woman, Black Cat. In Black Cat #4, Felecia will be going on a date with none other than Johnny Storm. Is it genuine or just a ruse to steal something from the Fantastic Four. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Now, things get interesting and a bit darker. Absolute Carnage gets the spotlight again. After letting a fan dressed as Agent Venom read Absolute Carnage #1, they announced 2 tie-ins. They announced Absolute Carnage: Lethal Protectors and Absolute Carnage: Deadpool. Frank Tieri will write both. Lethal Protectors will bring back Demogoblin but now as Demagoblin, a female demon. The Deadpool tie-in will see our favorite Merc with a Mouth go up against this new Carnage cult.
Tom Taylor then briefly mentions Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #9. That issue will take us all the way back to WWII. This is when we will see the origins of The Rumor. That will be followed by a MJ one-shot. At the panel, Taylor also joked about Peter dying. Makes one think.
Another mini was then announced. This one actually called Spider-Verse. This story will star Miles as he travels multiple dimensions on the behest of a new mysterious character. How is the dimensional web back? We’ll have to wait and see. One thing we do know, that is very interesting, is that there is a twist. That twist being, each time we go to a different dimension, it will be a different artist. Artists involved will include James Harren, Art Adams, Stuart Immonen, Stacey Lee and more. Also, fans can submit their own Spidersonas to be showcased in the book and some might even influence the story.
Lastly, they briefly talked about the upcoming Spider-Man book they are working on with J.J. Abrams and his son. Nick Lowe talked about how it’s 15 years in the making, the story was pitched in a coffee house and how Stuart Immonen made it happen. Not much was revealed, but Lowe promised big twists. Also, “change Spider-Man and how he looks at the world” Interestingly enough, Lowe did confirm one character, a new villain Cadaverous. What an intriguing way to end things.
As Porky Pig would say, “That’s all folks.” There was a Q&A, but nothing came out of it. Overall, I’m excited about the future of what’s to come for our favorite web-slinging family. What do you guys think? What are you most excited about? Do you have a Spidersona? Let us know in the comments below.