What Is Marvel's Spidergeddon?

Marvel Comics announced a new event along with all of their August solicits this week. That event [...]

Marvel Comics Spidergeddon
(Photo: Marvel Entertainment)

Marvel Comics announced a new event along with all of their August solicits this week. That event was previewed with a three-word tagline against a black background: "Spidergeddon is nigh." That's not much to go on, but it provides enough details in the first word alone to get Spider-Man fans worried. There is simply no way that Marvel Comics is launching an entire event featuring the word "spider" without everyone's favorite webslinger, and the suffix of -geddon, as in Armageddon, speaks for itself. Things are about to go very wrong for Peter Parker.

While details are sparse at the moment, there are some hints as to what "Spidergeddon" might entail. Whatever happens, we're very excited to see what the new Amazing Spider-Man creative team of Nick Spencer and Ryan Ottley do with their first big crossover. Until we know, the fun lies in speculation, and that's what leads us to the guesses below.

Edge of Spider-geddon

Along with the teaser for "Spidergeddon" there were two August titles solicited that mention the event. These are Edge of Spider-Geddon #1 and #2 (of a four-issue miniseries). Not only does this resemble the Edge of Spider-Verse miniseries, but it features two characters from that event: Spider-Punk and SP//dr. Spider-Punk was the hard-rocking Spider-Man with a mohawk and SP//dr the young woman with a spider-powered mechanical suit from alternate Earths. Their involvement in whatever is happening with "Spidergeddon" suggests that it's a multiversal affair.

Spider-Verse (Part Two)

If this really is an Armageddon for spider-powered heroes in the Marvel universe, then it can't take place solely on the prime Earth that readers are familiar with. Following the events of "Spider-Verse", it was clear that all versions of Spider-Man and his allies were connected by a much greater force. There was even a brief team book that featured various incarnations of the hero hopping across realities to protect a mystical Great Web. Whatever threat is approaching likely has its aim set on more than one Earth.

That leaves a bigger question as to what the threat could possibly be. While Morlun and his family played the primary foes of "Spider-Verse", it's unlikely they'll return here as most of them were killed in that event. We expect that some new foe will appear and utilize the infrastructure of the Great Web to target spider-themed heroes from across the multiverse. It could be an entirely new villain or a surprising incarnation of the heroes and villains related to Spider-Man continuity. We would not be surprised to see a multiversal collection of Goblins appear in this event.

Venom's 30th Anniversary

"Spider-Verse" wasn't a one of a kind event though, providing one last possible clue. Venom and his fellow symbiotes recently concluded their own version of that same adventure in "Venom-verse." With Venom's 30th anniversary landing in 2018 and a brand-new series from Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman, we wouldn't be surprised to see his fate intertwined with that of Spider-Man in "Spidergeddon." In the newest volume of Venom, it has been suggested the history of symbiotes on Earth is longer than anyone knows and an ancient threat lurks beneath New York City. This could extend beyond Venom and actually hint at the central threat of "Spidergeddon."

Only time will tell, but in the meanwhile we're very excited to get our hands on the newest issues of Amazing Spider-Man and Venom to find out what is coming next.

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