Comic Book / Web Warriors

Saving the Worlds Wide Web.

"A team of spiders moving from one world to the next, protecting the Web."

— Spider-Man Noir, Issue #6

During the events of Spider-Verse and Secret Wars (2015), several dimensions lost their web-slingers to the ravenous feeding of the Inheritors. Spider-UK, with his own dimension now gone entirely due to an unrelated incident, decides that the best thing to do for these worlds would be the monitor them from afar and form a team that can jump in at any moment to help save these Spider-less Earths when necessary. So begins the interdimensional adventures of the Web Warriors.

Web Warriors was a Marvel Comics title that ran from January to November 2016. The main team consisted of Spider UK, Spider Man India, Spider-Man Noir, Spider-Gwen, Spider-Ham, Anya Corazón, and May "Mayday" Parker. The group operated out of Earth-001, the former homeworld of the aforementioned Inheritors. The series was cancelled after the 11th issue, but the team was still seen operating in the background of other Spider books until the events of Spider-Geddon forced them to disband.

Not to be confused with the third season of Ultimate Spider-Man (2012), which went under the title "Web Warriors" and served as a rough tie-in to the Spider-Verse event.

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Web Warriors includes examples of the following tropes:

• Alternate Universe Reed Richards Is Awesome:
  • The 1602 version of Carnage, who seems to be more intelligent than his 616 counterpart. He was even the leader of the 1602 Sinister Six.
  • The Electro of Earth-1082 was a successful businessman and genius, who became a monster made of pure electricity by assimilating every tenth Electro he recruited.
• Alternate Universe: Several. A given, since the very premise has the characters traversing the Multiverse.
  • Gwen finds it weird, but convenient, that Tacos Locos tastes exactly the same in every dimension. Although she's pleased to find that you can get it with a qamar al din on Earth 9105.
• Ambiguous Situation: The final fates of both Spider-UK and Mayday in #5. The last panel featuring them shows a close up of an Electro's teleporter being focused on Mayday's mask lenses, but the editor on the letter's page keeps declaring that they're both dead and we should mourn them. The next issue reveals they made it out OK.
• Anachronism Stew: After the team deals with Earth-50101's version of Venom, Noir goes back to his world and sees a woman with a smartphone. His narration points out that it's supposed to be 1939. This shows that something is seriously screwing up the Web.
• Artifact of Doom: Much like the Mangaverse, Earth-50101's Venom stems from an ancient amulet which in Spider-Man: India (2004) was last seen in the possession of Nalin Oberoi.
• Ascended Meme: In the first issue, Spider-Gwen ends up spotting a version of the Spider-Man (1967) hiding behind a desk, telling him "There is a big super-villain heist going on out there and you're just sitting there... what are you doing?"
• Beware the Nice Ones: When Spider-Ham breaks out the hardcore Toon Physics - creating a massive tornado by rotating his arm - to Curb-Stomp Battle Ducktor Doom 2099 and his army, the team decides to start being nicer to him.
• Bizarro Universe: Comes with the territory, but Octavia Otto's universe is the best example. The only heroic Doc Ock variant in the multiverse ^note outside the main universe's attempts at it, anyway, she was a member of the Young Avengers. And in her universe, Parker Peters was the most dangerous killer the world had ever faced.
• Broken Ace: Spider-UK. He wants the Warriors of the Web to be both a functional team and a family because his world was never restored after it was destroyed in the Incursions.
• Butt-Monkey: The Electro of Earth-449 frames himself as such, and Gwen proves him right by tricking him into freeing her and then knocking him out.
• Cartoon Physics:
  • During a "training exercise" in the world of the '67 Spider-Man animated series, the Spiders find that their simplest hits are haymakers and the best the villains can do is cause them minor discomfort, as Gwen takes a full on hit from the Rhino and mentions that it only stung, not really hurt. Alas, this universe's affects aren't shared across the multiverse.
  • Spider-Ham runs on this in any 'verse, given his Made of Iron status on the team. This is best showcased when he and Spider-Ham 2099 discuss increasingly zany ways to defeat Ducktor Doom 2099, before Spider-Ham opts to just blow him away with a massive tornado. Other entities and objects from Earth-8311 also run on toon physics, much to the irritation of Mega Morph Doctor Octopus.
• Casual Danger Dialogue: Par for the course for the various Spiders.
  Spider-Gwen: [Having just woken up from being knocked out, and taken hostage] Hey guys? I'm awake now. Who wants to get punched out first?
  Electro: I don't think so... We prefer you alive, but try anything funny and Max here will send enough amperage through your brain to blow it out the top of your skull like the gunk from one of your zits.
  Spider-Gwen: Ew.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Harry Osborn, possessing both the powers of the Green Goblin and a Spider Totem, easily defeats Karn off-panel.
• Crazy-Prepared: Discussed during Spider-Man Noir's Private Eye Monologue, where he critiques the team's flaws and notes that they need to be this in order to have any semblance of effectiveness.
• Didn't Think This Through:
  • Seriously, trying to hold a Spider hostage when another is asking for his help is not a good idea. Even if that hostage is a Retired Badass like Uncle Ben.
  • Harry Osborn beats up Karn and tries to destroy the Web of Life, which would wipe out the Multiverse. While this would normally make him a significant threat, he is electrocuted by the Electroverse, punched out by Spider-Ham, and presumably eaten by Karn.
• Enemy Mine: The Spiders and the Electros work together to repair the Web of Life and Destiny, with the Battery returning his minions to their home worlds before promising to return once he's purged Uncle Ben from his Hive Mind.
• Exact Words: Earth-9105's Electro gets hit with webs, and protests that there isn't supposed to be a Spider-Man left in this world. Mayday and Gwen, both going by Spider-Woman, note that there aren't.
• The Friend Nobody Likes:
  • Spider-Ham, with the rest of the team rarely giving him much respect or taking him seriously, since he's a talking pig from a world ruled by cartoon physics. How much he actually minds this though is up in the air, as he appears to take enjoy in the perks that come with it.
  • The Maxwell Dillon of Earth-449 is this for the Electros, since while the multiverse villain team-up was his idea, he's so much of an idiot that all the other Electros ignore him.
• From Bad to Worse: Not only are points in time crossing, but now universes are crossing as the Larval Earth 2099 ended up crossing over with Spider-Punk's universe.
• Gadgeteer Genius: Spider-Man India is the smartest of the group, building a lot of their tech, namely the inter-dimensional watches. Most of the others are also geniuses that built their own web-shooters at the very least, sans Anya who has organic webs. Averted with Spider-Gwen who isn't much of a science person. She got her web-shooters from her world's version of The Wasp.
• Gallows Humor: Just as they're about to be taken over by Earth-50101's version of Venom, Gwen quips to Anya that at least black is her color.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Uncle Ben sacrifices himself using the mind transfer helmet in order to act as the Battery's conscience, much like Earth-616 Peter did for the Superior Spider Man.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: Is there a Spider-Man, Woman, or Girl that doesn't have this going for them? Specifically, Gwen is wanted for murder in her world, and Lady Spider is labeled a "menace" by her world's Daily Bugle.
• Humongous Mecha: The super-heroes from the Mega Morphs universe all have skyscraper-sized giant robots they fight in. This becomes a problem when the Battery takes over Mega Morph Spider-Man.
• Jokers Love Junk Food: Gwen's preference for taco stands and corn dogs gets a lecture from Maddie for saying she can't keep eating like that and still keep up her career as a crime fighter. Gwen, however, pays her no mind and only raves about the fact that the dimension they've found themselves in serves qamar al deen at their taco stands. Gwen tends to be the more comical member of the team, being a relative newbie to the crimefighting gig as well as having frequent hallucinations of Spider-Ham in her own home dimension.
• Legion of Doom: The multiversal army of Electros proving to be our heroes' first foes.
• Made of Iron: Spider-Ham, who has been shown to be able to withstand the blow from a Thor without serious injury.
• Multi-Armed and Dangerous:
  • The Electros assembled an army of Doctor Octopuses from across the Multiverse.
  • The main body of Earth-50101's version of Venom resembles an asura, a class of evil gods in Hinduism that are often depicted with six arms.
• Mythology Gag: The preview in ASM # 1 (2015) shows them fighting a 1602 version of the Sinister Six.
• Not Quite Dead:
  • Pavitr thought he had vanquished the demon that Nalin Oberoi had tried to possess him with, but it comes back more powerful than ever until May Reilly destroys the amulet its powers come from. Even then, Spider-Man Noir swipes some of the black ooze comprising its body, which is still alive.
  • In Issue 5, Spider-UK and MC2 Spider-Woman were trapped in the faraday cage with the Electros and presumed dead. Issue 6 reveals that they escaped but are still stuck on Earth-803.
• Private Eye Monologue: Spider-Man Noir narrates Issue 6 in good old-fashioned gumshoe style.
• Reality Bleed: The strands of the Web of Life are becoming increasingly knotted and tangled together, causing the realities they embody to shift position and bleed into each other. Harry Osborn theorizes that the Web-Warriors themselves are causing this to happen with their teleporters.
• Retcon:
  • The world of the 1967 Spider-Man cartoon is given the designation Earth-3015, having previously been given the designations Earth-6799 (in the databooks) and Earth-67 (in Spider-Verse). Spider-Man '67 is also shown as being something of a coward, hiding from the Sinister Six and showing up after the battle is won to take the credit. Given it was also the world where we got the Ascended Meme example Earth-3015 might as well not be the world of the cartoon but the memes based on the cartoon, though.
  • Despite an editorial note saying symbiotes don't qualify as Spider-Totems, a female incarnation of Venom is seen as a member of the Spider-Army recruited by Octavia Otto.
• Running Gag:
  • There is a gag, begun in Gwen's solo title but carried through, of Spider-Ham eating pork products and Gwen being Squicked out by it.
  • Another Spider-Ham centric gag carried over from the Secret Wars Spider-Verse is him biting people and remarking how pigs have weirdly human-like teeth.
• San Dimas Time: The time of day is not consistent across the Multiverse, though there is apparently a way to keep track of time in individual dimensions. Spider-Man India has a chronometer that can tell time in individual dimensions for his teammates, but hasn't given one to Gwen, because it relies on advanced calculus. Mayday has no problem with it.
• Shut Up, Hannibal!: Gwen attempts this with the Battery during their first encounter. Subverted, since punching electricity doesn't really work that well.
• Sixth Ranger: Mayday, big time. She even plays it out as the "call me when you need me" type, though this is because she's still scared witless of leaving her mother and her baby brother alone.
• Too Dumb to Live: Electro of Earth-499 nearly dies because he ripped his spacesuit by using an electric attack.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Sandwiches for Spider-Ham. Particularly (and to Gwen's disgust and dismay) pork products.
• We ARE Struggling Together: Spider-Man Noir's assessment of the team sums them up as this. Karn is powerful but barely knows what he's doing and constantly gets hit by The Worf Effect, Anya's great at strategy but she's trying too hard to live up to Billy's example as leader, Gwen has great instincts but her independent streak further frays the team dynamics, Pavitr is a genius but still just a socially-awkward kid, and Ham... well, he has absolutely no idea what to make of Ham.
• Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Earth 803's Felicia Hardy pulls this to get away scot-free, telling the local police that Lady Spider tied her up and stole a work of art.
• The Worf Effect: Karn may be a nigh-immortal life-draining vampire, but even he can be electrocuted. It doesn't help that he's trapped inside a metal spider-tank, limiting his mobility and making him a bigger target.
• You Keep Using That Word: Lady Spider claims being an empiricist and a scientist are different things and that because he's the latter Spider-Man India struggles to accept or work with situations (e.g. magic based villains) that don't have a known explanation. In reality you can't have science without empiricism as making observations and following evidence is how science comes to understand and explain phenomena in the first place.