Review: ‘Spider-Geddon’ #0 Is a Solid Sequel to the PS4 Spider-Man Game

Spider-Geddon #0 is a solid introduction to Marvel’s next big Spider-Man as well as a direct sequel to the recent Spider-Man video game that captures the voice and tone of the popular PS4 game.

Fans love Insomniac Games’ new Spider-Man game, which is set in a separate universe from both the Marvel Comics and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Featuring a relatively young Peter Parker, Insomniac created a world that felt both familiar and new at the same time and updated the Spider-Man mythos in interesting ways. Not only did the story of Spider-Man feel like something pulled straight out of the comics, but the changes to the continuity made the game feel fresh and different from something like the Spider-Man 2 video game or the Ultimate Spider-Man game, which both explored already established Spider-Man worlds.

So, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Marvel quickly cashed in on the video game’s success by bringing the PS4 Spider-Man into their upcoming “Spider-Geddon” event. Making Spider-Geddon #0 a direct sequel to the game is a brilliant move, and it helps that both the game and the new event have a common writer: Christos Gage.

The first of Spider-Geddon #0‘s two stories is a relatively straightforward team-up between the PS4 Spider-Man and the Superior Spider-Man, Otto Octavius, as the former tries to stop the new villain Tarantula in his home world of Earth-1048. Written by Gage and illustrated by Clayton Crain, the story focuses mostly on re-establishing the world of the video game while explaining the scant basics of the upcoming event. That’s probably for the best, because while Insomniac’s Spider-Man game is relatively uncomplicated… the Inheritors (the dimension-hopping vampiric entities that feast on Spider-Folks) are anything but.

Crain’s art style is a good fit for Earth-1048. Crain is a digital artist and most of his work has a painted look to it that makes everything look shiny. Sometimes that style of art is a detriment to the story, but here it seems to remind readers that the world of the PS4 Spider-Man game is relatively unblemished and clean. It’s a brand-new universe, not yet blemished by over-complicated crossovers or terrible hard-to-reverse continuity choices. More importantly, Crain makes Earth-1048 look different, even though it’s set in a world not too far off from Earth-616.

The second half of the comic (written by Jed McKay and illustrated by Javier Garron) focuses on the Warriors of the Great Web, the remnants of the Spider-Army from the “Spider-Verse” storyline who stayed behind to watch over the Inheritors and protect various alternate universes without a Spider-Man. It’s mostly set-up, reminding readers of the various Spider-Folks from the first series, as well as what the Inheritors have been up to since they were imprisoned on a dead world almost five years ago.

There’s nothing wrong with the second story, although I’m surprised that the comic didn’t provide more of a in-story recap for readers who didn’t read the first “Spider-Verse” event. Four years is practically an eternity in the Marvel Universe, and I figured we would have gotten a little more of a reminder of what “Spider-Verse” was all about.

Spider-Geddon #0 is a perfectly fine introduction to the upcoming event. It didn’t exactly leave me excited for the event, but it also didn’t actively turn me away from the event either. Plus, Gage’s writing should at least have readers reassured that the Spider-Army is probably in good hands under his direction.

Published by Marvel Comics

On September 26, 2018

“New Players”

Written by Christos Gage

Art by Clayton Crain

Letters by VC’s Travis Lanham

“Check In”

Written by Jed MacKay

Art by Javier Garron

Colors by Israel Silva

Letters by VC’s Travis Lanham