Annoucements From the NY Comic Con 2014 Spider-Verse Panel

With “Spider-Verse” on the horizon, and with this being the week of the New York Comic Con, there was bound to be some news of forthcoming Spider-Man related events emerging from the convention. The “Spider-Verse” panel was the last one Marvel was showcasing, and, along with Spider-Man group editor Nick Lowe and Amazing Spider-Man writer, Dan Slott, also included Amazing Spider-Man artists Humberto Ramos and  Giuseppe Camuncoli; Spider-Man 2099 writer, Peter David; writers Mike Costa, Robbie Thompson, and Christos Gage; and editor Ellie Pyle. 

Highlights from the panel include:

• Free advance copies of both Amazing Spider-Man #8 and Amazing Spider-Man #9 were handed out to a select number of fans, which included a baby dressed as Doc Ock, and a Spider-Ham cosplayer.  Lowe also joked that Dan Slott is “normally a nice man–except when he writes Spider-Man,” citing the death of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends in Amazing Spider-Man #7.  When one fan groaned, Slott replied, “If you keep talking about it, I’m going to kill [Ms. Lion]!”
• Slott stated he included the new Ms. Marvel, Kamala Khan, in Amazing Spider-Man #7 and #8 because Ms. Marvel was “[his] favorite book coming out at Marvel right now,” citing that Kamala was “the closest thing to down-to-the-core Spider-Man…a teenage superhero, juggling her life, making mistakes, trying to do everything right.
• The MC2 Spider-Girl will appear in Amazing Spider-Man #8 and will be “a very big part of Spider-Verse” according to Lowe. Slott stated that Mayday said “had such a wonderful story that gave her a happily ever after, and everything was so great–but not anymore!” before trailing off into maniacal laughter.  Ramos added “I think I’m getting really good at killing people,” while Lowe also said Amazing Spider-Man #8 was “one of the most heart-wrenching, gut-wrenching stories.”
• Edge of Spider-Verse #5, created by Gerard Way, will hit stands next Wednesday, which will have on Peni Parker, her mecha-Spider robot codenamed “SP//dr,” and an alternate version of Daredevil.
• Spider-Man 2099 co-creator Rick Leonardi returns with Spider-Man 2099 #5, where Peter David stated the plot of the issue would be “the plan is to guest-star every other Spider-Man 2099 that is running around the Spider-Man universe, and kill them all. [Miquel] is going to be encountering other versions of himself, and discovering that Morlun is after them. And that’s going to lead to the various events at the end of Spider-Man. At the end of issue #5, he resolves to himself that he has to find Peter Parker.”
• Covers for Amazing Spider-Man #9 and Amazing Spider-Man #10, along with some new interiors.
• Along with another announcement of Dennis Hopeless and Greg Land’s new Spider-Woman series, Lowe stated that the book’s co-star, Silk, is “a big part of Spider-Verse” and that “one new book just wasn’t enough.” This was then followed by revealing Cindy Moon would also be getting her own ongoing series written by Robbie Thompson and illustrated by Stacey Lee, with issue #1 scheduled for February 2015.  “That book has been locked down in secret for months,” Lowe added.
• Silk artist, Stacey Lee, then joined the panel, as Thompson stated, “I’m super-thrilled to be a part of the Marvel Universe, specifically this character. Dan and Humberto have created a character that is fully-formed, and I’m excited to tell her story.” Lee also chimed in, saying, “I am so thrilled… I have always wanted to draw something Spider-Man, and for it to be a woman is even cooler. I love strong women.”   The series will also flashback Cindy Moon’s life “from bite to bunker,” which Lee said will “greatly shape her character.”
• Arriving next to the panel were Jason Latour and Robbi Rodriguez as Lowe officially announced the new ongoing series Spider-Gwen, featuring the alternate Gwen Stacy with spider-powers from Edge of Spider-Verse #2. “We obviously ended that first story with a pretty crazy cliffhanger,” Latour said. “Gwen comes back from whatever remains of Spider-Verse, and she decides to become a superhero. Now that she’s chosen to define who Spider-Gwen is, what does that do to Gwen Stacy? Those two things are very intertwined. For her father, he didn’t quite give her the great power equals great responsibility speech, but he essentially gave that speech, and now he has to be put to the test.” Latour also reassured that Gwen’s fellow rock band members, The Mary Janes, would still be around.  Rodgriguez talked about Spider-Gwen’s costume design, saying he wanted something simple, “something very modern, and get in the head space of what Gwen would do if she was in this superhero world.”
• Lowe announced that, due to the success of Edge of Spider-Verse #2, it would be getting a second printing, along with the other Edge of Spider-Verse one-shots.
• Discussion then turned to Spider-Man 2099 #6 and #7, which would feature Lady Spider, created by Robbie Thompson and Denis Medri, and the Six-Armed Spider-Man, who, along with Miquel would return to 2099…along with Miquel’s reunion with Tyler Stone since Superior Spider-Man #17 to #19. “The really hysterical thing is,” said Peter David, “Tyler Stone was responsible for sending him back to the modern day – he’s patting himself on the back because he thinks Spider-Man is gone… but he sent him back 15 minutes ago. [Miquel] came back, and he brings people back with him. So Stone is not too happy.”
• Mike Costa then talked about his upcoming three-part mini-series, Scarlet Spiders, featuring Kaine, the Ultimate Jessica Drew, and Ben Reilly “who in his mind is actually Spider-Man.” Costa added that “These three, all Parker clones to some degree, are going on a mission that’s somewhat clone-related.”
• Spider-Verse Team-Up was also announced, who, along with Christos Gage, would feature back-up stories by Roger Stern and Bob McLeod. One of the stories in Spider-Verse Team-Up will feature Miles Morales joining forces with Spidey from the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon to save Spider-Man from the classic 1960s cartoon.
• Spider-Verse #1 will feature the return of the Mangaverse Spider-Man written by Skottie Young, and also a story by Katie Cook, featuring an 11-year old Penelope Parker who gets “grossed-out” by her own spider-powers.
• With the panel running out of time, covers for AXIS: Hobgoblin #1 by Kevin Shinick and Javier Rodriguez, and AXIS: Carnage #1 by Rick Spears and German Peralta, were also posted. Lowe stated that AXIS: Carnage will be “unlike any Carnage book you’ve ever read before,” as the symbiote serial-killer would “wave the flag and save civilians.” Covers for Spider-Man and The X-Men #1 and Daredevil #10 and #11 were also posted.
• Finally, Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 would feature a story by Cale Atkinson featuring “The Amazing Aunt May.”
• For Q&A, Slott revealed “Spider-Verse,” along with the upcoming Secret Wars, are connected in that the breaking down of dimensions is what drove Morlun’s plan to hunt down Spiders.  When asked about if Doc Ock would return, Lowe stated that “dead is dead,” and the panel were also tight-lipped about how long the ship between Spidey and Silk “is going to sail.”

Sources: Newsarama, Comic Book Resources, and Marvel.com