Spider-Geddon #3 // Review
Spider-Man has had an incredibly varied history for a single superhero. From licensed properties in other countries to reinterpretations in video games, it’s hard to pin down exactly how many there are out there. Not to say that Marvel hasn’t tried, though. The previous Spider-Verse storyline brought back dozens of character concepts and introduced others who became instant fan favorites, and Spider-Geddon seems to be doing the same. Now into its third issue of the event, the Spiders begin to gather a resistance to the Reborn Inheritors. Christos Gage, of course, is still the writer on this tale. Carlo Barberi provides his excellent pencils, while Jose Marian inks the pages. Todd Nauck also fills in on both pencils and inks. David Curiel colors in the worlds of Spider-Geddon, and the lettering duties belong to Travis Lanham.
With the battle already going badly on the main Earth of the Marvel multiverse, known as Earth-616, several of the Spiders are running recruitment missions to bulk up their forces. Many fan-favorites return, including the Emissary of Hell, Spider-Man from Earth-51778. You know, the one from Japanese TV who can summon the giant robot Leopardon. However, the teams are split by ideology: Otto Octavius’ lethal Spiders, who wish to kill the Inheritors, and Miles Morales’ team, who wish to merely stop them. Meanwhile, the Inheritors are fast at work reviving their numbers at cloning facilities left behind during Dan Slott’s Dead No More storyline. All of these threads are going to come to a fight, but who will come out on top?
Christos Gage is seriously at the top of his game with this issue. Each Spider-Person (and -ham) feels like a unique character, rather than cannon fodder for the Inheritors. There are also some delightful moments between Otto and both the PS4 Spider-Man and the Emissary from Hell Spider-Man about the stereotypes of the genre the latter comes from. Of special note is a character who also seems to have taken root in the fandom, at least in terms of absurdity: Spiders-Man. Not a typo, it is a hivemind of Spiders who believe they are Peter Parker. The absurdity of a Spider-Man shooting spiders as weapons and using some of the darkest humor this side of Deadpool makes for one heck of an amusing character, and only enriched what could have been a dull event comic.
The art is also simply fantastic. Barberi, Marian, and Nauck all blend together almost seamlessly, but it does have the disadvantage of meaning it’s hard to provide credit to the right person. Of special note is the massive robot Leopardon, of which great care has been taken to ensure it looks both like its live action counterpart and also like it can move like Spider-Man himself in combat. David Curiel deserves some serious praise for using some varied shades of red, blue, and black to ensure that each Spider looks even more unique than just some different body types in Spider-Man costumes. Travis Lanham also seems to be enjoying his job as letterer, making sure that the sound effects are nice, vibrant, and goofily specific without being distracting.
While the main conflict has only just begun, the different factions that show up in the Spider teams actually help keep things fresh and feeling new. Further, introducing new characters as even more bizarre twists on the classic Spidey formula has begun to make this event feel worthy of being a separate book, as well as a worthy successor to the previous Spider-Verse storyline. Time will tell if Spider-Geddon is superior, but if the quality of the book keeps up, it will.
