Marvel Debuts Villain Variants for Spider-Gwen

December 9, 2022, 9:27am

The next multiverse adventure for Spider-Gwen will see the introduction of evil villain variants sporting her iconic look. The recently-concluded Spider-Gwen: Gwenverse from Tim Seeley and Jodi Nishijima featured the Gwen Stacy from Earth-65, aka Ghost-Spider, and her various heroic variants taking the appearance of Iron Man, Wolverine, Captain America, and Thor. The follow-up series Spider-Gwen: Shadow Clones by writer Emily Kim (Silk, Tiger Division) and artist Kei Zama (Edge of Spider-Verse, Marvel’s Voices: Identity) is taking that premise and flipping it on its head by turning Spider-Gwen variants into some of Spider-Man’s classic enemies. Spider-Gwen: Shadow Clones transforms Gwen into new versions of Doctor Octopus, Sandman, Vulture, Rhino, and Kraven the Hunter, and some of those villains are now featured on new homage variant covers.

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Greg Land is the artist on four Spider-Gwen: Shadow Clones variant covers that turn Gwen Stacy into Doctor Octopus, Sandman, Kraven the Hunter, and Rhino. These pinup style covers pay homage to Land’s iconic variant cover of Edge of Spider-Verse #2, Ghost-Spider’s first appearance, and will adorn all five issues of the series.

Spider-Gwen: Shadow Clones Creators Discuss New Series

“I was a little nervous taking on Spider-Gwen because she’s such an iconic hero,” Kim said. “But the rich story premise and fantastic team has made the process a blast. I’ve quickly fallen in love with Gwen and her unique voice and am excited for people to see how she handles a crazy slew of Gwen clones.”

“There’s a lot of fun things about drawing Gwen Stacy and Ghost-Spider,” Zama added. “I’m especially exciting to draw bold battle scenes of Ghost-Spider and come up with ways to create exciting compositions. It’s also really fun to draw the expressions of Gwen Stacy. I’m really glad to draw these new villains designed by Peach Momoko. I didn’t expect to collaborate with her in this way.”

“Hailing from an alternate reality where Gwen was bitten by a radioactive spider and gained spider-like powers, Ghost-Spider has been embraced by comic fans since she debuted in 2014. Over the years, readers have watched Ghost-Spider rise as one of Marvel’s brightest heroes but now they and Gwen alike will witness her at her most twisted!” a description of Spider-Gwen: Shadow Clones reads.

“Ghost-Spider comes face-to-face with some of the deadliest Spider-Man villains, including Doc Ock, Sandman, Vulture and more! But wait… Why do they all look like…Gwen?! Follow Gwen down a dark path as she must find and stop whoever is cloning her into infamous Marvel villains!”

You can find the four Spider-Gwen: Shadow Clones homage variant covers by Greg Land below. The series kicks off on March 1, 2023.