Cid Kagenō was an average teenage boy, borne as the son of a minor noble household. However, there were secrets that were only privy to him and nobody else. In truth, he was originally from another world and was reincarnated here.
Back in his old life, Cid trained and worked hard to the bone to become an all-powerful hero that do his deeds from within the shadows. During one of his trainings, Cid received a bite, akin to that of a spider's, which somehow triggered the event that lead him to die and reincarnated.
4 Years passed, following his reincarnation, Cid would started to fall into a mysterious coma where he would meet the goddess known as Arachne. It was revealed that she was the one that orchestrated his death, as Cid was chosen to be Arachne's avatar and saved her world from the threat of Diabolos. Although he was warned by the Goddess of great dangers that will befell him, Cid was not bothered and accepted the task.
From that moment on, Cid became the new Spider-Man and the world will know his power.
The Eminence in Shadow: The Shadow's Web is a crossover between The Eminence in Shadow and Spider-Man and is part of the second phase of Anime X Marvel - The Spiderverse Saga. It is a What If? story where Cid Kagenō became the Spider-Man, Chasm. It can be read here
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This page contains the following tropes:
- Adaptational Explanation: In canon, Cid’s death was nothing more than random chance. Here, the event was actually orchestrated by Arachne who chose Cid as her avatar.
- Adaptation Name Change: Since there is no Britain in this world, Captain Britain was changed to Captain Midgar.
- Adaptation Personality Change: Cid, in canon, never believed in the existence of the Cult of Diabolos, thinking it was a fake organization that he made up. In this fic, due to Arachne explaining to him, Cid is fully aware the Cult is real, and thus takes the situation far more seriously.
- Adaptation Relationship Overhaul:
- In canon, Cid is unaware that Shadow Garden is fighting the Cult of Diabolos and believes that they are merely humoring him. In this fic, Cid does believe in the Cult's existence and takes an active role in leading his organization.
- So far in the Light Novel, Rose treats both Cid and Shadow as two different individuals. In Shadow's Web, Rose learns Cid and Shadow are one and the same, immediately following her induction into Shadow Garden.
- Adaptational Wimp: Unlike in canon, the Knights of the Round are not the evil masterminds that run the world behind the scenes; instead, they are an obsolete group of Midgar's knights that are being overshadowed by the likes of Spider-Man, Captain Midgar, and the Six Saints.
- Arranged Marriage: One was set up between Iris and Captain Midgar, in the hopes the two's future children would inherit their father's power.
- Athens and Sparta: Midgar Kingdom has a hostile relationship with the country of Messfault. The only reason they haven't waged war yet is due to the largely-impassable Dark Mountains that divide the two countries.
- Berserk Button:
- Captain Midgar does not take kindly with anyone that disrespects his beloved Iris.
- Although, the Captain learns the hard way that Spider-Man has one when he threatens to harm his Shadow Garden subordinates.
- Bequeathed Power: The Gods passed some of their power to worthy humans following their deaths from the battle against Diabolos. Captain Midgar obtained one such power, namely the Power of the Lion.
- Composite Character: Cid’s friends in Midgar Academy are a cross between Skel Etal and Po Tato and Spider-Man characters, one with Ned Leeds and the other with Hobie Brown and Aaron Davis.
- Decon-Recon Switch: To the Stock Light-Novel Hero.
- Deconstructed through the previous Spiders before Cid. Cid researched on them and deduced the reason they all died was due to them acting like the Ideal Heroes, being reactive rather than proactive towards the Cult and living completely boring and mundane lives which led them to not have enough funds to keep up their crusades. In other words, they were killed because they were being the Friendly Neighborhood Spiders.
- Reconstructed with Cid. Cid is far more willing to kill and will commit acts than can be seen or are criminal. He also secretly builds an army that will not only act as backup, but also have them gather information and collect money and resources. In a short time, Cid did far more damage to the Cult than his predecessors had ever done.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation: In canon, Zenon would be killed by Shadow's "I Am Atomic". Here, he killed himself via explosive spell to prevent getting interrogated.
- Fate Worse than Death: After glassing Flint Marko, Cid drops his petrified form into a deep river until he can find another way to kill him or he forgets about him.
- For Want Of A Nail:
- Cid did take part in a fight in the Goddess Trial, although by accident, and his opponent is not the spirit of Aurora but the spirit of Peter Parker.
- In this version, Cid did not participate into the Bushin Festival and his sister, Claire won the tournament.
- Rose Oriana will learn Spider-Man's true identity as Cid following the Bushin Festival incident.
- I'm Not a Hero, I'm...: Spider-Man makes it adamantly clear to people that he is not a hero but merely a shadow.
- Last of His Kind: Arachne is what remains of the other world’s pantheon following their battle against Diabolos.
- Legacy of the Chosen: Cid was one of many individuals selected by Arachne to protect the worlds from the Cult’s machinations.
- Mythology Gag: Cid researched on his predecessors and among them, included Peter, Takuya, Gwen, Miguel, Jessica and Ben.
- Not Me This Time: Spider-Man and Shadow Garden believe that the Red Queen and Messfault are responsible for creating the Cult of Diabolos. To their surprise, they aren't.
- Power Trio: Like in canon, Alexia, Rose, and Natsume form an alliance to uncover the secrets behind Shadow Garden and the Cult of Diabolos. However, Natsume would helped in naming their team as the Union.
- Praetorian Guard: The Six Saints of Midgar are Midgar's strongest warriors that serve under the Midgar Royal Family and the upper class nobility. They are given special authority to do what must be done to protect the kingdom. While most of the populace admire them, those like Captain Midgar are skeptical, having first hand experience with their more "unsaintly" actions. Members include:
- Golden Goblin
- Mysterio
- Thundra
- Morgana le Fay
- Crimson/Red Hulk
- Fury
- Red Pill, Blue Pill: Arachne offers Cid two options. First option is that Arachne can have Cid return to his old world at the cost of losing all his memories and experiences following his reincarnation. The second option is that Cid chooses to stay and fight as Arachne’s avatar. Cid lampshades this, with Arachne deciding to humor the boy.
- Underestimating Badassery: The Cult of Diabolos believed that Spider-Man would easily fall due to them having killed many of Arachne's avatars prior to his arrival. Too bad for them, this Spider-Man is way different and way stronger than his predecessors.
- The Wall Around the World: Mix with Death Mountain. The Dark Mountains are a series of mountains that divides the East and the West. The Dark Mountains are dangerous to traverse through due to their hazardous terrains and the monsters present there. Shadow Garden eventually sets up a base there, allowing them access to both sides.
- Weirdness Censor: Arachne was surprised that Cid was able to accept nonchalantly on the fact that he had died and reincarnated into another world. She figured that it was because Cid knew that he would obtained great power if he went through reincarnation.
- Wham Shot: As Beatrix leaves Midgar, she enters a toilet and changes her appearance, revealing the War Goddess to be the Red Queen of Messfault.
- Wrong Context Magic: Lutheran used the Eye of Avarice to steal Spider-Man's magic but he discovered too late that the latter possessed a Goddess's Blessing which cannot be taken by mere artifacts.
