Spider-Geddon #3 Is Another Round of Spider-Introductions From The Multiverse

Otto Octavius, once again taking on the moniker of the Superior Spider-Man is recruiting a group of ruthless Spider folks from across the multiverse to put the Inheritors down. Meanwhile, Miles Morales is gathering his own team to stop this imminent threat without resorting to murder. Time is running out as the Inheritors will soon be unstoppable if they’re able to resurrect their father and recreate the recently destroyed cloning technology.

As much as I love seeing all the different kinds of Spider characters, Spider-Geddon is losing steam with all these detours. We had the Edge of Spider-Geddon mini-series, plus a number of tie-in one-shots and mini-series which introduced and re-introduced a number of these characters and it seems like that’s just continuing into the main event. They all follow a similar pattern too so we’re seeing the same thing play out over and over again.
The time spent bringing in all these characters feels like the creative team is just setting up a bunch of them to be cannon fodder. They’ve already killed off a couple of them, and I’m sure the death toll will continue to rise because there are just so many Spider folks. We don’t care enough about all of them so who cares if we miss a few?

All of this creates a text-heavy read as the various characters have to explain to everyone what’s going on, referencing all the other tie-in books as well. Letterer Travis Lanham juggles these blocks of text well, guiding us through the story so we can still focus on the artwork instead of getting too bogged down by all the exposition.
To make matters worse, Peter Parker, the OG Spider-Man still hasn’t even appeared in this book. Sure, he’s referenced a bit and he’s playing a part in Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man, but that’s not the main series so it’s a bit of a letdown.

We do eventually get to some action as the two teams converge onto the Inheritors’ new base of operations. It’s an all-out brawl as artists Carlo Barberi & Todd Nauck pack these pages with tons of agility-filled energy. Heroes are flying all over the place as only those with spider powers can. The Inheritors represent such an incredibly powerful force that it takes so many of them to even make a dent. This is why they have to expand the search through the multiverse to find more Spider heroes.
There’s a fantastic panel in the midst of all this action that really stands out. One of the Inheritors grabs little Petey, the pint-sized kid who shares his powers with Spider-Ben from Earth-91918 as seen in Edge of Spider-Geddon #3. Mary Jane aka Spinneret from Earth-18119 (Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows) reaches out in terror as she watches this child get the life sucked out of him. Fortunately, help arrives in time to save the boy. Since MJ is a parent, you can imagine the thoughts going through her head. There’s a follow-up panel later on where she’s checking on Petey.

Another standout comes from Otto’s team, specifically Spiders-Man (thousands of spiders that believe they’re Peter Parker) and Norman Osborn Spider-Man from Earth-44145 as seen in Edge of Spider-Geddon #4. These two are definitely darker than the others. Colorist David Curiel makes them stick out like a sore thumb. They’re definitely more villainous than the others with the emphasis on blacks and greys. If anyone is about to kill some Inheritors, it’s these two.
Spider-Geddon started with some promise but has quickly meandered. There is a real life-and-death scenario playing out and all of these Spider heroes can’t get on the same page as they once did in Spider-Verse. Instead, they argue and fight over nonsense while the Inheritors prepare to destroy everything and everyone.

If anything, it’s bogged down from all the tie-ins where the more interesting elements are playing out. This is doubly unfortunate as this is the main event. We should be getting all the good stuff here and that hasn’t been the case so far. We’re past the halfway mark and I have no idea how any of this can come together at this point. I’m still holding out hope as I have faith in writer Christos Gage.
Spider-Geddon #3 from Marvel Comics is currently available at your local comic shop and digitally through ComiXology and Amazon Kindle.