Jessica Drew is gone. Peter Parker is gone. Without the prime Spiders, will there even be a Spider-Verse left to save? Your Major Spoilers review of Spider-Man #6 from Marvel Comics awaits!

SPIDER-MAN #6

Writer: Dan Slott
Penciler: Mark Bagley
Inker: John Dell
Colorist: Edgar Delgado
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna and Travis Lanham
Editor: Nick Lowe
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: March 1, 2023

Previously in  Spider-Man: We met possibly the most important character in all of the Spider-Verse last issue. Shathra’s big plan gets even bigger, and the last bit of hope is about to be crushed!

ALL WILL BE SHATHRA

What was once the Great Web at the center of reality is now the nest of Shathra, the queen of Wasps, with many of the most powerful Spiders now officially in her thrall. Worse still, the mystical dagger that can sever a person from reality itself was used to kill first Jessica Drew, Spider-Woman, and then Spider-Man himself! Madame Web’s team has managed one minor win, though, as they have succeeded in saving the life of Peter Palmer, the Amazing Spiderman of Earth 616 Beta. With their ersatz Chosen One, Web-Weaver’s ability to make fake costumes, and Night-Spider’s sleight-of-hand, the Spider-Army is able to sneak into the Hive, with the evil Morlun himself taking the magical blade and plunging it into Shathra’s heart!

It’s a shame that it doesn’t do anything at all, though.

THAT WAS UNEXPECTED

After last issue’s revelation that Peter Parker is quite alive, just in a reality where he was never bitten, we get to focus a bit on Silk, who now remembers a full life as the top Spider-Person of Earth-616. It’s good to see her taking command a bit, and the use of Felicia (Night-Spider) Hardy and Peter Palmer is kind of ingenious, both in-universe and out. There’s also an interesting revelation about Morlun and his Inheritors, leading to a second, much more satisfying stabbing that leads us into the big cliffhanger ending. Mark Bagley’s pencils are well-done throughout the issue, and the addition of Dell as inker helps to smooth out some of the peccadillos of Bags’ work, like the occasional case of Crazy-Eyes or asymmetrically bizarre faces. I’m also very impressed by the effects used to make Palmer look like a sixties drawing, from the Ben-Day dots to his own lettering style, all of which combine to visually display that he’s a temporal echo from a strange out-of-sync world that doesn’t technically exist.

BOTTOM LINE: NOW THAT’S A CLIFFHANGER

Add in horrifying transformations for many of our familiar Spider-friends, a nice bit of camaraderie between Miles Morales and Peter Parkedcar, and a VERY effective final page, and Spider-Man #6 makes for an unexpectedly strong chapter of End of Spider-Verse, earning 4.5 out of 5 stars overall. Whether the intent is to wrap up the multiversal shenanigans or to open up new vistas of crazy crossover, it’s well worth your time and attention.

Heck, Peter Palmer alone is worth the price of admission for me.

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SPIDER-MAN #6

90%

90%

All Is Lost

Things get complicated now that Spider-Man is gone, and the remaining members of the Spider-Army have to rely on thievery, lies and some careful stabbing to have a chance at saving their worlds.

• Writing

  9
• Art

  9
• Coloring

  9
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