*** (three of five stars)
Summary
On Earth-98210, Miguel tells his teammates in the Avengers -- Captain America, Captain Marvel (Genis-Vell), and Wolverine -- that he feels like he's being stalked. Cap reminds him that the Avengers will stand by him if someone comes after him; on cue, Avengers Tower's internal alarms sound. The Avengers prepare for battle as Morlun blasts into the room. Logan stabs him through the chest with his claws, but Morlun shrugs off the attack and hurls him like a rag doll into Cap. Genis-Vell attacks next, but Morlun drains his cosmic energy from him. Announcing that the others were appetizers and that Miguel is the feast, Morlun attacks Spidey, draining him completely.
On Earth-616, "our" Miguel suffers a sudden headache, falling off a helicopter that a bunch of thieves are using to escape a bank heist. Miguel manages to recover in time to fire off a Web-Line onto the helicopter, stopping his fall. He climbs onto the copter, makes short work of the thieves, and lands the copter on a rooftop (noting to himself how primitive the technology is). He webs up the thieves for the cops and departs, wondering about the sudden pain that he experienced; he describes it as feeling like he had died.
Back on Earth-98120, Morlun sees "the future Spider-Man" observing him from a circular window into that dimension, but said Spider-Man bolts when he sees that Morlun sees him. Morlun announces that he has to make a stop before visiting this Spider-Man and disappears before a revived Logan can land a claw on him. Cap and Logan take Genis-Vell to the sick bay and discuss how they're going to chase down Spidey's murderer. Cap says that they'll have to do some research, but Logan notes that he feels like they'll never see him again; Cap admits that he's glad.
Summary
On Earth-98210, Miguel tells his teammates in the Avengers -- Captain America, Captain Marvel (Genis-Vell), and Wolverine -- that he feels like he's being stalked. Cap reminds him that the Avengers will stand by him if someone comes after him; on cue, Avengers Tower's internal alarms sound. The Avengers prepare for battle as Morlun blasts into the room. Logan stabs him through the chest with his claws, but Morlun shrugs off the attack and hurls him like a rag doll into Cap. Genis-Vell attacks next, but Morlun drains his cosmic energy from him. Announcing that the others were appetizers and that Miguel is the feast, Morlun attacks Spidey, draining him completely.
On Earth-616, "our" Miguel suffers a sudden headache, falling off a helicopter that a bunch of thieves are using to escape a bank heist. Miguel manages to recover in time to fire off a Web-Line onto the helicopter, stopping his fall. He climbs onto the copter, makes short work of the thieves, and lands the copter on a rooftop (noting to himself how primitive the technology is). He webs up the thieves for the cops and departs, wondering about the sudden pain that he experienced; he describes it as feeling like he had died.
Back on Earth-98120, Morlun sees "the future Spider-Man" observing him from a circular window into that dimension, but said Spider-Man bolts when he sees that Morlun sees him. Morlun announces that he has to make a stop before visiting this Spider-Man and disappears before a revived Logan can land a claw on him. Cap and Logan take Genis-Vell to the sick bay and discuss how they're going to chase down Spidey's murderer. Cap says that they'll have to do some research, but Logan notes that he feels like they'll never see him again; Cap admits that he's glad.
On Earth-6375, the "future Spider-Man" is revealed to be the Exiles' Miguel O'Hara. Expositing to his girlfriend, Mary Jane, Miguel reveals that he first learned of Morlun (and the "others") during his days in the Exiles, but never actually met him. He tells Mary Jane that they have to leave, but she continues to ask questions, this time about the headband that he's wearing. He tells her that the headband is part of Exiles' tech, allowing them to get in touch with him; he's been using it to see other Miguels, to build strength in numbers. However, he realizes that he may have led Morlun right to him with the headband. Mary Jane asks why Morlun kills Spider-Men and Miguel admits that he doesn't know; he just notes that there are barely any Miguels left. Mary Jane asks where he's going and he tells her that Morlun died on Earth-616 so he might be afraid to go there. Mary Jane (pretty damn logically) asks why Morlun was still alive if he died and Miguel again admits that he doesn't know. Mary Jane insists on coming with him and Miguel agrees.
Back on Earth-616, Miguel tries to convince Tiberius that it's a bad idea for Alchemax to be vouching for super-criminals like the Scorpion on work-release programs. Tiberius notes that New York has nowhere to put said super-criminals and the prisons where they are being held are thrilled to have them off their hands. An exasperated Miguel suggests building a jail just in time for Liz to overhear. Surprised by Liz's interest, Miguel notes the positive PR that they would get. Liz announces that she likes the idea, particularly since Parker Industries just failed in trying to do the same thing. (She also notes that "super-powered monsters have made [her] life miserable enough.") Tiberius agrees that the idea has potential and proposes next steps. Just as Liz compliments Miguel on the idea, he has another attack. On Earth-96099, Morlun has just killed a teenage Miguel and, as his father opens fire on Morlun, he kills the father as well. Exiles Miguel also suffers an attack, feeling the murder over the headband. Mary Jane tries to get him to take off the headband, but Miguel notes that it allows him to know where Morlun is. Miguel opens the portal and prepares to enter, hoping that it takes them straight to the Earth-616 Miguel O'Hara.
At Alchemax, Liz puts Miguel in the elevator and tells him to head to the doctor's office on the 21st Floor. After the doors close, Miguel has Lyla scan him and she notes that he's showing extreme signs of stress and that his liver isn't in good shape. She asks if he's been drinking and he snaps that it's not his liver. When Lyla acknowledges that he's not feeling this way for any medical reason, he surmises that it's Spider-related, since, "whenever [his] life goes to Hell, it's always Spider-related." Heading for the roof (since the doctor would unlikely be able to help), he changes to his costume in time for Exiles Miguel's portal to appear. However, at that moment, Morlun arrives and kills Exiles Miguel as he steps through the portal. "Our" Miguel recognizes Morlun from history books, but notes that he's supposed to be dead. Miguel is stunned by the pain coming from such a close attack, but taunts Morlun. Morlun doesn't step through the portal, and Miguel notes that he looks afraid. The portal closes and Miguel realizes that he has to find Peter Parker.
The Review
This issue is solid, but, at this stage, we really need to start getting some basic information about "Spidey-Verse." We still don't know why Morlun is alive or why Silk leaving her bunker has suddenly but him and his siblings into overdrive. I get that the "Edge of Spider-Verse" stories are supposed to tease us into getting more interested in the event, but I'm starting to find myself more annoyed than intrigued. It's not David's fault, since he's just forced to write a tie-in issue, but it definitely annoyed me throughout the issue.
The Good
1) It's interesting that Miguel has his own series of doppelgängers. So far, Aaron Aikman, Ashley Barton (Spider-Girl of Earth 807128), Spider-Man UK (Billy Braddock), and Gwen Stacy (Spider-Gwen) are the only Spider-Men that don't seem to be a version of Peter Parker or a relative of a version of Peter Parker. To be fair, it's not like we've had an exhaustive presentation of the backgrounds of all the Spider-People that we've seen so far. But, for the most part, the majority of them have had a specific connection to Peter Parker (as even Spider-Gwen does). However, in this issue, we learn that Miguel has his own versions of Spider-People (at least three that we see). Moreover, the Miguel O'Haras aren't all just future versions of Peter Parker's Spider-Man, since the Miguel O'Hara of Earth-98120 appears to be a contemporary of Logan and Steve Rogers. It raises the question if he's equally a "prime" as Peter is. I'm not sure if it's going to be the focus of "Spider-Verse," but it's an interesting question that I'd love to see Slott and David tease out a bit.
2) Using the Exiles' tech to connect the Miguels is a really brilliant twist. I'm actually not really sure what tech Otto is using to get in touch with all the various Spider-Men, but my guess is that the Exiles' tech that Miguel is using here makes a lot more sense.
3) Why is Morlun afraid? Is it because it's Earth-616 or does it have something to do with "our" Miguel specifically? Color me intrigued.
At this stage, I've got two sets of "Unknowns:" one related to Miguel and one related to "Spider-Verse:"
1) On Miguel, I realized that I'm not sure if Miguel knows that Peter is in control of his body again. That question will resolve itself fairly shortly, given that Miguel is heading to meet Peter. But, it could definitely lead to an interesting conversation when they first meet.
2) In terms of "Spider-Verse," I'm still not really sure where we are with Morlun. I took a look at the issues so far under the "Spider-Verse" banner. I'm pretty sure that Morlun was responsible for the killings in "Amazing Spider-Man" #7 and "Edge of Spider-Verse" #3-#4 and Karn was responsible for the ones in "Edge of Spider-Verse" #1 and "Superior Spider-Man" #32-#33. (The other siblings appear in "Amazing Spider-Man" #7 and "Superior Spider-Man" #33. No one dies in "Edge of Spider-Verse" #2 or #5.) But, as I mention in "The Review" section, we still don't know why Morlun is alive or why he and his siblings are all racing to kill Spider-Men. I've enjoyed these preludes to "Spider-Verse," but, man, it's time for it to start.
The Unclear
Miguel seems to have been aware that Morlun was hunting Spider-Men, which was why he was using the headband to rally other Miguels. But, we don't learn how he discovered Morlun's activities. My guess is that this question should really be part of "The Bad" as an oversight, but I'll leave open hope that David might address it at some point.
The Bad
The Exiles Miguel's scenes are pretty clunky, with the really torturous amounts of exposition. I get that he's got to cover a lot of space here, but, at some point, I really just wanted Mary Jane to stop talking.
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