Thanks to the animated movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and its sequel Across the Spider-Verse, it is no secret that the Marvel Universe contains an infinite number of versions of Spider-Men, Spider-Women, and Spider-villains.
Before Miles Morales and company web-slung onto the big screen, a Spider-Army was created on the pages of Marvel Comics. During the Spider-Verse event, their mission was to protect the Spiders from the Inheritors, a vampiric family who hunt Spider-Totems to access what is called the Web of Life and Destiny, which can be described as a celestial map of the multiverse – and with Spiders created to repair, maintain, and expand it.
Written by Dan Slott, with art by Olivier Coipel, Giuseppe Camuncoli, and others, the Spider-Verse event became one of the most popular storylines related to Spider-Man. While the story is a clear continuation of the “Spider Totem” arc from J. Michael Straczynski, the idea of creating the Spider-Verse didn’t originate solely from the comics. The concept was first explored in the two-part series finale of Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1998), titled “Spider-Wars,” where several Spider-Men teamed up to save the multiverse from Spider-Carnage. The idea was revisited in the video game Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, which Dan Slott worked on, helping shape his vision for Spider-Verse. As he explained in an interview with CBR:
It was lightning in a bottle. It took the idea from the video game I worked on with Activision, ‘Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions,’ where three different Peter Parkers and Miguel O’Hara teamed up and blew it up to a ludicrous extent.
From the conclusion of the Spider-Verse story and the remains of the so-called Spider-Army was formed one of the most fun teams in the Marvel Universe: The Warriors of the Great Web – or Web Warriors.
After a detour to the Battleworld (a massive, patchwork planet composed of fragments of worlds that no longer exist) during the Secret Wars event, the multi-versal Spider-team was reunited under their own title, “Web Warriors,” by Mike Costa and David Baldeon. During an interview with Marvel.com, Mike Costa explained the appeal of such a team:
What appeals to me about the Spider-Verse concept is that it’s the kind of concept that can exist only in superhero comics. It distills the wild, spinning galaxies of continuities and complications into a single idea, as easy to understand as it is bugnuts insane: there are an infinite amount of Spider-people protecting an infinite amount of worlds, and we’re going to try to have adventures with as many of them as possible. As far as I’m concerned, I am writing the platonic ideal of superhero books here. If I can make each issue even half as fun as that concept sounds—and a fraction of the fun David makes it look—then I’ll be doing something really special.
While the Web Warriors have a simple mission, their adventures take them across multiple worlds, embracing a world of possibilities a world filled with danger, colorful Earth, and crazy stories! They face a team of Electro, killer robots and other threats while travelling to other realities, encountering new arachnids people and working to repair the Web of Life itself!
The Main Members of the Web-Warriors
Spider-UK (Billy Braddock) – Created by Jason Latour and Robbi Rodriguez, he is an amalgamation of Spider-Man and Captain Britain from Earth-833. First appearance: Edge of Spider-Verse #2 (2014).
Spider-Girl (Anya Corazón) – Created by Fiona Avery and Mark Brooks, she wasn’t bitten by a Spider but had her life saved with a ritual performed by the mage Miguel Legar from the Spider Society. She was endows with Spider-like powers and became a member of the Spider Society. First appearance: Amazing Fantasy vol. 2 #1 (2004)
Spider-Man (Pavitr Prabhakar) – Created by Jeevan J. Kang, Suresh Seetharaman, Sharad Devarajan, he became the Spider-Man from Earth-50101 when a yogi grants him the powers of a spider to fight the evil. First appearance: Spider-Man: India #1 (2004)
The Spider-Man (Peter Parker) – Also known as Spider-Man Noir. He is from Earth-90214, an alternate Earth set during the Great Depression era and inspired by hardboiled elements. First appearance: Spider-Man Noir #1 (2008).
Spider-Ham (Peter Porker) – Created by Larry Hama, Tom DeFalco, and Mark Armstrong, Peter Porker was a common house spider from Earth-8311 who was bitten by the anthropomorphic pig Aunt May after one of her experiments went awry. In the aftermath, Peter transformed into an anthropomorphic swine. First appearance: Marvel Tails Starring Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham (1983).
Lady Spider (Maybelle Reilly) – Created by Robbie Thompson and Denis Medri, Maybelle Reilly lives in a reality set in 1895 (Earth-803).Despite being bitten by a spider, Maybelle Reilly doesn’t have any powers. Inspired by the spider, she built her own suit with automated arms and web-shooters. First appearance: Spider-Verse#1 (2014)
Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy) – Also known as Spider-Gwen. Created by Jason Latour and Robbi Rodriguez., she became the Spider-Woman of Earth-65 after the classic Spider bite gave her powers. First appearance: Edge of Spider-Verse #2 (2014).
Doctor Octopus (Octavia Otto) – Created by Mike Costa and David Baldeon, Octavia was a member of the Young Avengers on her Earth (1104). First appearance: Web Warriors #4 (2016).
Spider-Woman (Mayday Parker) – Created by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz, Mayday is the daughter of Peter and Mary Jane PArker from a future alternate universe. First appearance What if? #105 (1997).
Web Warriors team in Comics, a Reading Order Guide
- Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 3: Spider-Verse
Collects Amazing Spider-Man (2014) #9-15. - Spider-Verse: Warzones
This story is not part of the main continuity, but part of Secret Wars where the Marvel Universe is destroyed before being relaunched. - Web Warriors of the Spider-Verse Vol. 1: Electroverse
Collects Web Warriors #1-5, Amazing Spider-Man #1 (Web Warriors story). - Web Warriors of the Spider-Verse Vol. 2: Spiders Vs.
Collects Web Warriors #6-11.
Following the conclusion of Web Warriors, the team is reassembling the Spider-Army to fight once again those Spider-Eaters in Spider-Geddon, the follow-up to Spider-Verse with Miles Morales as the leading figure of the story.
- Spider-Geddon: Edge of Spider-Geddon
Collects Edge of Spider-Geddon #1-4, Superior Octopus #1. - Amazing Spider-Man: Spider-Geddon
Collects Spider-Geddon #0-5, Spider-Geddon: Vault of Spiders #1-2. - Spider-Geddon: Covert Ops
Collects Spider-Force #1-3, Spider-Girls #1-3.
Don’t forget! You can find the two events (and the tie-ins!) in the Spider-Verse/Spider-Geddon Omnibus,
Learn more about the different Spider-People with our presentation guide of the members of the Spider-Man Family, then read more Spider-Man adventures from the Dan Slott era!