Two Spider-Verse Icons Are Now Officially One Unexpected Hero

The Spider-Verse's next hero just took up the mantle of a classic supervillain.

"Spider-Prowler" by Mat Groom, Federico Vicentini, and Matt MIlla brings readers to the reality of Earth-2501, in which the world has been taken over by an ever-expanding Kree Empire. In the aftermath of the Kree invasion, almost the entire human populace was wiped out, leaving but a handful of survivors left to continue fighting for the future of their world. Among these survivors is Miles Morales, who received his incredible powers not long after the fall of humanity. Unfortunately, even all the power he wields as Spider-Man isn't enough to keep his uncle Aaron Davis, better known as the Prowler, from being cut down during what should have been a stealth mission. This tragedy is all it takes to open Miles' eyes to the idea that war cannot be fought by non-lethal means alone, and with that revelation, the young Spider-Man becomes the battle-hardened Spider-Prowler.

Web of Spider-Verse: New Blood #1

• Written by MAT GROOM, GREG PAK, JORDAN MORRIS, and CHRIS ELIOPOULOS
• Art by LUCIANO VECCHIO, ALAN ROBINSON, SUMIT KUMAR, FEDERICO VICENTINI, and CHRIS ELIOPOULOS
• Colors by RACHELLE ROSENBERG, YEN NITRO, DEE CUNNIFFE, MATT MILLA, and CHRIS ELIOPOULOS
• Letters by VC's JOE CARAMAGNA and CHRIS ELIOPOULOS
• Main cover art by LUCIANO VECCHIO
• Variant covers by LUCAS WERNECK and ARIO ANINDITO

The mantle of the Prowler is one of the most storied in Marvel Comics history, with origins stretching back to 1969's Amazing Spider-Man #78 by Stan Lee and John Buscema. The original Prowler, Hobart "Hobie" Brown, was a genius engineer and inventor who turned to a life of crime after being caught in the middle of, and inspired by, a battle between Stilt-Man and Daredevil. Soon enough, however, Hobie's inherently kind-hearted nature got the better of him, driving him to reform his image and mission all around.

In 2011's Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli, the mantle of the Prowler was reimagined for a new era. This time around, it was Aaron Davis, Miles Morales' own beloved uncle, who carried out various high-profile crimes under the name of the Prowler. Like Hobie before him, Aaron was never an overtly malicious figure in and of himself, yet he never made the same kind of clean break from his criminal career as his predecessor. In fact, Aaron has frequently shifted back and forth over the line that separates a hero from a villain, just as often finding himself staring down his nephew in the process.

This version of Miles Morales is just one of several new additions to the Marvel Multiverse made in the pages of Web of Spider-Verse: New Blood #1. Each and every chapter of the title has a new version of Spider-Man making their debut, even if not all of them are seen quite as clearly as the rest. Among these are a new Spider-Hulk, the vampiric Count Parker, and the diminutive Spider-Toy, the latter of whom is a literal Spider-Man action figure that has taken on a life of its own. All of these heroes, save for the last, have caught the eye of the Web-Heart, the Web of Life and Destiny's literal beating heart that seemingly serves as the source of not just the life that courses through its strands, but its consciousness as well.

Web of Spider-Verse: New Blood #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.

Source: Marvel Comics