As before, it follows the adventures of various alternate versions of Spider-Man, this time in the aftermath of the End of the Spider-Verse event.
The first issue was released on May 1st, 2023.
Tropes:
- Accidental Misnaming: Petra just can't get Kraven's name and job right.
- Affectionate Parody: As before, Spinstress's story is a send-up of Disney's animated movies.
- Alliterative Name: Spider-Boy's real name is Bailey Briggs.
- The Aloner: Due to being a case of Remember the New Guy?, Spider-Boy has been Ret-Gone from reality and none of the people he knew, including Peter, Aunt May, and the workers at F.E.A.S.T. recognize him. Part of the reason why he reveals his Secret Identity to the girl he saved is because he wants someone to know who he is. Luckily, the girl, Christina, is thankful for him saving her life and vouches for him so he can stay at F.E.A.S.T. with her family.Spider-Boy: My name is Bailey Briggs. And I'm all alone.
- Angry Fist-Shake: In issue #3, Webster can be seen doing this despite being a tiny spider, and therefore having no fists to shake.
- Building Swing: Subverted. Spider-Boy calls himself "the webless wonder" and is entirely reliant on acrobatics and In a Single Bound to get around. (In the main Spider-Man book, he explains that Peter tried letting him use web-shooters once, which resulted in an embarrassing "incident" which he does NOT want to relive.)
- Chairman of the Brawl: Petra tries grabbing a nearby chair to defend herself against Kraven, but it doesn't work.
- Comically Missing the Point: On return home, Petra finds everyone in the marketplace hiding from her, but despite this and James outright saying she's wanted, she doesn't get the why.
- The Corruption: The Goblin Orb Queen Mysteria used back in the last Spider-Verse turns out to amplify the bad in her. Which was what Norma was counting on.
- Damsel in Distress: Merry James the bard gets abducted by Kraven the Huntsman, who figures it'll bring out Spinstress one way or another.
- Demonization: Petra is quite aghast to find a wanted poster for her and Webster, which doesn't look anything like either of them. Petra's depicted as a four-armed monstrosity, and Webster's an equally monstrous giant spider-thing. However, it does prove advantageous with Kraven, who doesn't realize quite a lot of artistic license has been taken.
- Dream Walker: In issue #4, the Dream-Spider enters a young boy's nightmare to face a Venom-like creature.
- Evil All Along: Norma the Fairy Gob-Mother, though given the character is a mix of Spidey's arch-nemesis and one of Disney's biggest villains, it's hardly a surprise.
- Evil Power Vacuum: In Spider-Smasher's reality, with Selim gone there's still the damage his reign over Brooklyn has left, which Wilson Fisk naturally seeks to exploit.
- Exactly What I Aimed At: Norma taunts Spinstress that she is incapable of using her spider-powers to harm her. Petra reveals she wasn't trying to hit them, just to grab the Goblin Orb. Which she has.
- Experienced Protagonist: The majority of the spider people who appear in these issues have been at it for some time. Notably, Spider-Boy claims to have been a superhero for three years, almost a third of his life.
- Foreshadowing:
- Quite literal foreshadowing, at that. On returning home, Princess Petra fails to notice the large, ominous shadow overheard, which James does. It turns out to be her reality's version of Vulture.
- As Norma holds the Goblin Orb, it suddenly sports a familiar looking pair of white-on-black patches that look like eyes...
- Formerly Fat: The Wilson Fisk of Spider-Smasher's reality spent years locked up, and as a result is much, much thinner than he usually is.
- Gender Flip: Spinstress's Vulture equivalent (who is an actual vulture) is Adrianna.
- Giant Flyer: Adrianna is many times larger than an actual vulture, allowing Kraven to ride on her back, and for her to carry off Merry James with no problem.
- Hero with Bad Publicity: In the time she was gone helping save the multiverse, everyone in her reality's become afraid of Petra (what with the whole "kicked the Queen in the face" thing), and she's now wanted.
- Homeless Hero: Given that he owns a locker at F.E.A.S.T., it's implied that Spider-Boy was homeless and orphaned even before he was Ret-Gone from reality. He's familiar with Aunt May because of her time volunteering at the shelter and doesn't know where he'll stay when the other workers don't recognize him. But after he saves a girl staying at the shelter, she vouches for him after he reveals his Secret Identity to her, staying with her family in the shelter.Spider-Boy: Great, I can't even stay at a F.E.A.S.T. center. Where am I gonna go? What can I do?
- Interquel: Spider-Boy's snippet in issue #3 serves as Interquel to his previous appearance at the end of the End of the Spider-Verse story arc, and his next appearance in Spider-Man (2022).
- Intrepid Reporter: In issue #4, the Spider-Reporter invades a meeting of Roxxon execs in pursuit of the truth behind an accident. The Spider-Reporter is J. Jonah Jameson.
- Kid Hero: Spider-Boy has been around for three years by his measure, "almost a third of [his] life". This makes him approximately 10 years old and an active crimefighter since he was 7.
- Knight in Sour Armor: Spider-Boy is frustrated and irritable after being Ret-Gone from reality. He acts like a bratty know-it-all and complains about a "sidequest" his Psychometry powers leave him with while trying to find anyone who still remembers him. Despite this, he continues to help fight crime even while admitting that he never wanted the powers or responsibility of being Spider-Boy.
- Lampshade Hanging: Kraven the Huntsman tells Petra to tell Spinstress to come recover Merry James from the Goblin Woods at the stroke of midnight, leaving her to wonder why it's always midnight, and never midday.
- Loophole Abuse:
- There's apparently a spell on Petra's castle which prevents Norma from entering normally. However, if someone says "I wish", that can summon her through the warding. And while she can't set foot in the castle to get the Goblin Orb back, she can empower someone to get it for her.
- Norma demands Spinstress hand over the Goblin Orb as a deal. However, James is the one holding it, and he made no such agreement about anything, so he smashes it.
- Luke, You Are My Father: Sky-Spider comes face to face with his father, who doesn't know he's his son. Since Sky-Spider's mother has just been killed, and the man isn't in a welcoming mood, he decides not to tell him.
- Medium Awareness: During the Spider-Rex segment, he can actually hear the lyrics to his theme song, and asks out loud who is singing them.
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Spider-Boy is so short that he has to tell Aunt May to look down to make eye contact with him. He's also described as being nearly as strong as Spider-Man.
- Prequel: Spider-Boy's snippet also functions as a prequel to his upcoming solo title, where we're introduced to Cristina Xu.
- Psychometry: Spider-Boy's version of his Spider-Sense is capable of reading events from the past if he focuses hard enough. He hopes to use this to find someone who still remembers him, but instead discovers that a girl named Christina is being chased down by the Inner Demons under Mr. Negative. He complains about this "sidequest" since his psychic link won't be severed until he addresses the issue.
- Read the Fine Print: Evidently Princess Petra did not read the contract the Fairy Gob-Mother wrote up for her, as it says failure to honor her end of the bargain requires payment of Norma sending a huntsman to cut out her heart.
- Red Herring: Petra returns home to find Bishop Octopus has taken the crown with her absence and her mother indisposed, but despite the fact he looks pretty sinister, the Bish isn't the villain of the piece.
- Remember the New Guy?: In issue #3, Spider-Boy is trying to reconnect with people and places of his life, before he was written out of reality. Although he's only been gone for a few days from his perspective, all traces of his presence save for the clothes on his back have been erased. Even his locker at F.E.A.S.T. is completely empty even though the lock on it hasn't changed.
- Shout-Out:
- Spinstress suffers a problem with wanted posters not portraying her in an accurate or flattering light, much as Flynn Ryder had to deal with in Tangled.
- Petra finds her mother in a coma inside a glass box, ala Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
- The End... Or Is It?: Spinstress's story ends with her thwarting the villains and getting her mom back, the two singing about how everything is good now. Meanwhile, in a dark alley, James finds himself turning into a familiar black and white form...
- There Was a Door: Spinstress scolds Kraven for his dramatic entrance into the castle via stained glass window, pointing out there was a perfectly good door.
- T. Rexpy: Spider-Rex must deal with a new foe, in the form of Venomasaurus Rex.
- Villain: Exit, Stage Left: Norma flees when Petra and James destroy the Goblin Orb, vowing revenge.
