Edge of Spider-Verse #1 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

My only exposure to Spider-Man Noir has been from the "Spider-Man:  Shattered Dimension."  His parts of the game were probably the coolest, so I have to say that I was excited to see that he was going to play a prominent role in the "Spider-Verse" event.  This issue wasn't exactly disappointing in that regard, but, in terms of the story itself, it wasn't exactly easy to follow.

It took me two readings to realize that Mysterio wanted Peter's blood to gain Spider-Powers.  At first, I thought that Mysterio was actually Morlun, so I was confused why he'd want to steal Peter's blood rather than drain his energy (or whatever it is that he does).  When Morlun appeared at the end of the issue, it became clear that Mysterio wanted the blood for his own reasons.  But, Hine doesn't do us a lot of favors in terms of clarifying what Mysterio wants to do with it.  We know that he and his assistant spent some time in the Amazon and, given their knowledge of Ansani, it stands to reason that Mysterio wanted to gain Spider-Powers in the same way that Ezekiel gained his powers.  Mysterio makes an off-hand comment about Spidey's blood running through his veins, but that's all the confirmation that we really get.  Moreover, the nature of Ezekiel's blood connection to the spider-totem was never made all that clear.  It seemed to have more to do with the letting of his blood at the temple in Peru than the injection of the blood of someone with powers.  That leaves me right where I began, confused about Mysterio's intentions.

Regarding the larger story, we don't really make any progress here, other than Spider-Man Noir joining Otto's team.  At some point we're going to have to learn how Morlun is still alive and why he's decided to take on the Spider-Men all at the same time.  But, I'm assuming those revelations are going to appear in the issue that Slott's writes.  In terms of this issue, it's a perfectly fine story, but Hine could've done a better job of making it more accessible for folks without the requisite Spider-Man Noir or Ezekiel background.

(NOTE:  We later clarify that the vampire here is Karn, not Morlun.)

*** (three of five stars)