Aaron Aikman is no Spider-Gwen, but Weaver is definitely onto something.
First, Aikman is interesting because he turned himself into Spider-Man; it wasn't an accident, as it's been for the other Spider-Men that we've seen so far. Unfortunately, characterization isn't Weaver's strongest suit. Aikman and his love interest Kaori feel hollow throughout the issue. In terms of dialogue, Aikman utters bromides to himself such as, "Alone, I stand against the rising tide, and as I live, all evil shall fall." (I totally say that to myself every morning in the mirror; it really helps motivate me for the day of evil-smiting before me.) In terms of motivations, Kaori is little more than a plot device. Weaver takes her beyond even the clichéd role of a grieving mother willing to do anything to help her child and turns her into a monster who abets her obviously possessed daughter's plans to turn dozens of kidnap victims into cyborgs. In other words, Weaver doesn't really do anything here to make either character all that likable.
Moreover, the plot is still a little unclear. Kaori's daughter Hannah met some sort of extra-dimensional terror named Naamurah during her years in a coma, and Naamurah traveled into our dimension when Kaori successfully awakened Hannah. We never learn why Naamurah wants to use the cyborgs to conquer the world, and Weaver doesn't do anything to explain her connection with Morlun (if it's him that appears at the end of the issue).
However, Weaver does create a rather interesting setting, infusing the book with a certain manga sensibility. Although Aikman is Caucasian and the city where he lives appears to be New York, this corner of the Spider-Verse definitely seems to produce high-tech marvels beyond those that we see even in "our" universe. You get a sense that more is possible there than in our universe, since this Spider-Man has technology on par with our Iron Man. (Imagine what "their" Iron Man has.) Moreover, Weaver does a great job using the secondary aspects of the design to pull you into this world. The use of the Marvel Comics trading cards to introduce the villains was genius, and their allusions to issues of comics detailing the stories of this universe were definitely successful in making you wish that you knew more about it.
Ultimately, Aikman would have staying power if someone else was writing the character, though Weaver should definitely be left in charge of design. We'll see how Aikman fares in "Spider-Verse."
** (two of five stars)
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