Edge of Spider-Verse (2014) is an Anthology Comic limited series from Marvel Comics.
The series follows the adventures of various alternate versions of Spider-Man, leading into Spider-Verse.
The first issue was released on September 10, 2014.
Edge of Spider-Verse (2014) contains the following tropes:
- Artistic License – Biology: While researching the spider that bit him, Patton Parnell learns that it lays its eggs in those it bites. The idea that any spider species can do this is just an urban legend. Even more jarring is that the spider is a real life species, the Loxosceles Reclusa (also known as the Brown recluse).
- Ascended Extra: The Gwen Stacy Spider-Woman was so well received that she's gotten her own solo series.
- Asshole Victim: Very few people will miss Patton Parnel, an evil red-headed version of Peter Parker who mutated into a spider-monster before being killed by Morlun.
- Backdoor Pilot: David Hine has stated
that Edge of Spider Verse #1 was partly written as a pitch to revive Spider-Man Noir. - Bad Powers, Bad People: When Patton Parnell gets bitten by a radioactive spider he gets an insatiable hunger, monstrous appearance and his bite infests people with hundreds of spider eggs. Every other Spider-Man featured in the story has at least heroic intentions and all have a variation of the standard Spider-Man powers.
- Big Brother Mentor: Daredevil serves as this to Peni Parker.
- Big Damn Villain: Morlun, when he kills Patton Parnel, who had turned into a monster.
- Breakout Character: Spider-Gwen got her own book after one issue in Edge of Spider-Verse. Lampshaded in Amazing 9, where she is introduced as "your new favorite."
- The Cameo:
- Shinji Ikari, Rei Ayanami, Asuka Langley Soryu, Kaworu Nagisa, and Simon can be seen as Peni's classmates. Later, in the same story, Motoko Kusanagi and Batou appear.
- Alternate (presumably civilian) versions of Idie Okonkwo from the X-Men and Kamala Khan briefly appear in Peni's issue as well.
- In keeping with the animesque theme of Peni's issue, the gangs she and Daredevil take down bear striking resemblances to Section 9 and The Capsules.
- C-List Fodder: After being hyped up as an evil version of Peter Parker, Parnell is eaten by Morlun. Then again, the ending might hint at his transformation into a Thousand-like being.
- Cryptic Background Reference: Edge of Spider-Verse #3, which features Aaron Aikman, has references to comics where mentioned villains debuted... comics which don't exist in real life.
- Demonic Possession: Naamurah is an extra-dimensional entity allied with Morlun, and she is possessing the body of Hannah Ikegami.
- Escape Artist: Mysterio Noir's main shtick.
- Evil Doppelgänger:
- One of the new Spider-Men is Patton Parnell, a twisted, bloodthirsty version of Spider-Man.
- The Peter of Spider-Gwen's Universe died when he attempted to get revenge on his bullies by (possibly unintentionally) turning himself into the Lizard. He also had Scary Shiny Glasses. He serves as a bizarre mixture of her Starter Villain, Gwen Stacy, and Uncle Ben. Finally, her version of Matt Murdoch works for The Kingpin.
- Evil Redhead: Patton Parnell is a teenager who "experiments" on his neighbours' pets, spies on his next-door neighbour Sarah Jane while she's changing, and after he gets spider powers eats his uncle (who, granted, was an abusive SOB) and bites Sarah Jane to impregnate her. Ironically, it's Morlun who becomes the hero of that story by eating him.
- For Want Of A Nail: As with many Alternate Universes in Marvel, this is how things tend to turn out.
- Patton Parnell, according to
Word of God, is basically Peter Parker if he'd made the exact opposite choice at almost every major event in his life. This turns out to have been a lie, as Parnell only spends three days as Spider-Man before Morlun kills him. - In the Spider-Gwen universe, Gwen becoming Spider-Woman leads to Peter becoming The Lizard and Matt Murdock working for the Kingpin.
- Patton Parnell, according to
- From Nobody to Nightmare: Patton Parnell, like Peter, was a bullied teenager who gained incredible abilities after being bitten by a radioactive spider. Rather than using them to help people, however, he uses them to take vengeance on his tormentors.
- Game Face: Patton Parnell can turn his teeth into shark-like fangs, protrude chelicerae from his mouth, and grow eight glowing red compound eyes.
- Gender Flip: Peni Parker, aka SP//dr.
- Homage: Peni Parker is a Japanese 14-year old who pilots a Mini Mecha designed by her deceased parent, which she controls via a Psychic Link with the mind of a radioactive spider housed inside the robot.
- Humanoid Abomination: Patton Parnell is a Evil Counterpart of Peter Parker who has let his spider side take over.
- Humongous Mecha: Peni Parker pilots the Evangelion-esque SP//dr.
- I Let Gwen Stacy Die: In a twist, Gwen Stacy as Spider-Woman feels this way about her Peter Parker, since he took the Lizard formula and died after their climactic battle, an unfortunate accident for which she is wanted by her own father.
- Taken up to eleven and beyond when Spider-Gwen travels to a universe where Peter became the Hobgoblin as a result of the guilt from Gwen's death, Gwen ends up watching him die to the Inheritors as the two attempt to connect.
- In Medias Res: Most of the Edge of Spider-Verse issues are deliberately written as though they are in the middle of running storylines, in order to give the feel that these characters are the stars of their own narratives in their respective universes.
- Laser-Guided Karma: After Patton commits a string of killings (including the murder of a child), he's promptly mutilated and killed by Morlun.
- Mister Seahorse: Patton Parnell learns that the spider that bit him transfers its young through bites, and infects Gene Thompson and Sara Jane with his offspring before being eaten by Morlun.
- Monstrous Humanoid: Patton Parnell.
- Never Trust a Trailer: Well... maybe not a trailer, but solicits and interviews described Patton Parnell as an evil version of Spider-Man who had made the opposite choices that Peter had. Instead, he only has spider powers for three days before Morlun eats him, and turns into a Man-Spider type monster. Also, the choices presented to him are far and wide not the same ones Peter even had, with the situation around him being as different as he himself is.
- One-Winged Angel: Patton Parnell transforms into a Man-Spider-like creature with four legs, four arms, fangs, mandibles, and eight glowing red compound eyes. Unlike Peter Parker's spider-monster form, it doesn't help him against Morlun.
- Original Generation: The creative team made brand new Spideys for Spider-Verse, including a Cyberpunk-looking Spider-Man clad in Powered Armor named Dr. Aaron Aikman, a hooded Gwen Stacy Spider-Woman, a supervillain Spider-Man named Patton Parnel, and a 14-year-old Japanese girl named Peni Parker who pilots a giant robot called SP//dr.
- Panty Thief: Patton Parnell comments that he will need to collect "samples" from the subjects room, while he watches Sara Jane change through binoculars. It's one of the first indications of how creepy he is.
- Sequel Hook: Edge of Spider-Verse #1 ends with Felicia obtaining the sample of Spider-Man Noir's blood that Mysterio was after.
- Shout-Out:
- One of the Spider-Men, Patton Parnell, is named after comedians Patton Oswalt and Chris Parnell.
- Speaking of Patton Parnell, the story's ending with Sara Jane waking up and seeing baby spiders hatching from her bite mark under her face is fairly reminiscent of The Red Spot story from Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.
- Paying tribute to its anime roots, the Peni Parker issue features cameos of characters from Neon Genesis Evangelion, AKIRA, Ghost in the Shell, and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.
- Slasher Smile: After Patton Parnell eats a rat, he flashes a menacing bloodstained grin, revealing his new shark-like teeth.
- Transhuman Treachery: Immediately after Patton Parnell awakens his powers, he starts thinking of other people as food or incubators for his spider offspring.
- Villainous Rescue: Morlun unintentionally saves Sara Jane from Patton Parnel by making a meal of the fledgeling Spider-Totem.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Patton Parnell was only "Spider-Man" for three days in-universe, and less than one issue in real life.
