Amazing Spider-Man: Spider-Verse TPB [2014-2015] by Dan Slott | Olivier Coipel

Spider-Verse begins in part 1 of Amazing Spider-Man #9 as Morlun and his family hunts the Spiders throughout the multiverse from their home on Earth – 001. Peter Parker meets various Spider-Men and women including Ben Reilly, Mayday Parker, Gwen Stacy, and the Cosmic Spider-Man.  The final page sees Mile Morales being hunted on Earth – 610. The Spider-Verse event is very dense with characters and worth the price of admission. Part 2 of Spider-Verse begins as Morlun and his family of Earth – 001 who are called the Inheritors feast on the life-essence of the Spider-Men throughout the multiverse. Now the Spider-Men unite with Peter Parker who has already defeated an Inheritor. The Spider-Men gather as the Inheritors attack as the Spider-Men group up and retreat. Their stories will be revealed within their separate tie-ins to Spider-Verse. Peter Parker and Superior Spider-Man retreat to the Safe Zone where both will battle it out to decide what to do about the Inheritors. 

Amazing Spider-Man #11 begins part three of Spider-Verse as Superior Spider-Man tries to control the team of Spider-Men from Peter Parker. Superior Spider-Man believes he is the one true Spider-Man from the timeline not realizing Peter Parker is from the future. Peter tricks Superior Spider-Man and surrenders himself to be killed by him. Superior Spider-Man hesitates believing he will erase himself from the timeline giving Peter the time to knock him out. Meanwhile the leader of the Inheritors Solus arrives to feed on the Spider-Men and get the Other, the Bride (Silk), and the Scion which together have the ability to stop the Inheritors. The issue ends as the Scion who is revealed to be baby Benjamin Parker the brother of Mayday is captured.

Spider-Verse continues in Amazing Spider-Man #12 as the Inheritors kidnap Mayday Parker’s brother. Silk escapes the Inheritors and finds safety as the Master Weaver gives Jessica Drew scrolls which explains how to stop the Inheritors. She transports the scrolls to Spider-Man who takes his army to Silk’s location only to find the totem of that world to be Uncle Ben. The story seems to be pulling together within this issue as we approach the final two issues. The last three issues only set up the individual ties while this issue is an all-out Spider-Verse must have. 

Amazing Spider-Man #13 unites the Spider-Friends together as they head towards the Inheritors home on Loomworld. The Uncle Ben tells Peter how he became the Spider-Man of this universe. The Superior Spider-Man also discovers Peter is the Spider-Man of the future and he will lose everything. Kaine attacks Solus and kills him while he is taken down by Morlun. Overall Spider-Verse was too dense with characters to really enjoy the story. 

The final part of Spider-Verse begins in Amazing Spider-Man #14. We see the Spider-Men and women from the multiverse teaming up to stop the Inheritors. The Inheritors are exiled to the world where they found the Ben Parker Spider-Man. Superior Spider-Man seems to have killed the Master Weaver which may have unforeseen consequences revealed in the next issue. This is one of Dan Slott’s disappointing story arcs in the Spider-Man series. Basically a group of Spider-Men from the multiverse come together to take out a common threat with no real consequences for the villains except for them being stuck in another world. We still do not why the Inheritors need to feed on the Spider-Men or their origins. When a story misses the origin of the villains it doesn’t provide a threat to our heroes. However the story doesn’t end here we still have an epilogue next issue. A double-sized may have been appropriate for the finale as this issue falls flat. 

The epilogue of Spider-Verse sees the multiverse of Spider-Men and women return to their respective realities. Spider-Girl returns home with Uncle Ben who now is a grandfather. After the events of Spider-Verse, Mayday Parker has decided to don her father’s costume and become Spider-Woman. Meanwhile Superior Spider-Man decides to destroy the Great Web after realizing he will eventually be defeated by Peter Parker. The 616 Spider-Men and women are determined to stop Superior Spider-Man from causing further damage. Superior Spider-Man returns to his own time with no memory of the events of Spider-Verse. Spider-Uk discovers his reality was consumed by the incursions leading him and Anya to become the Web Warriors of the Multiverse. We also see Kaine who was previously killed be reborn again. Out of all the issues of Spider-Verse, the epilogue issue is pure Dan Slott returning to his excellence.