#A girl can be a guy with a podcast btw. It's 2023.

[radioconstructed]

⌖ Before it was "some guy with a podcast," it was "some guy with a broadcast!" We've always been here!

[kudosmyhero]

The Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 3) #15: Spider-Verse: Epilogue

Read Date: July 27, 2023 Cover Date: April 2015 ● Writer: Dan Slott ● Penciler: Giuseppe Camuncoli ● Inker: Cam Smith ◦ Roberto Poggi ● Colorist: Justin Ponsor ● Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos ● Editor: Nick Lowe ◦ Devin Lewis ●

**HERE BE SPOILERS: Skip ahead to the fan art/podcast to avoid spoilers

Reactions As I Read: ● I'm so glad this is the epilogue. I'm kind of burnt out on this story arc… and that's even without me reading the dozens of connected issues! ● the farewells seem kind of light-hearted considering the trauma they've all suffered ● Otto flipping out because he learned that he loses in his timeline kind of tracks, actually

● oh please don't make Silk the Master Weaver! she just got out of 10 years of solitary confinement (the trauma of which has not been addressed, btw). at least they're paying lip service to the fact that her taking over in the web would be another prison sentence ● British Spidey realizing his whole world is gone and there's… barely a ripple of impact? sigh ● 👏👏

Synopsis: After recuperating, the Spiders open a portal to Earth-982 to send Mayday home. Before leaving, she apologizes to the Peter Parker of Earth-616 for her harsh words, but he tells her that she suffered more than anyone else and that he's proud of her for not letting that break her. Returning to the ruins of her home, Mayday encounters Ben Parker from Earth-3145, who reveals that Mary Jane and Wes survived Daemos' attack. After a tearful reunion, Mayday asks if her father survived, but is told that he died protecting his loved ones. Uncle Ben chooses to remain on Earth-982 and live out the remainder of his life as Mayday's and Benjy's grandfather, and Mayday is given Peter's old costume, renaming herself Spider-Woman.

On Loomworld, the remainder of the Spider-Army bid their goodbyes. Miles Morales laments that he and Earth-616 Peter didn't get to spend more time together, and Peter states that they'll meet again, jokingly suggesting that they hang out in Earth-616 next time. Hobie Brown tells Spider-UK to keep an eye on Karn, stating that while he may seem reformed, he still killed a lot of Spiders. When only Spider-UK, Gwen Stacy, Spider-Man 2099, and the Spiders from Earth-616 remain, Peter prepares to say goodbye to Miguel when their Spider Senses collectively overwhelm them with agony. Karn realizes someone is tampering with the Web of Life and Destiny, and they rush to the Web to find Otto Octavius hacking at it with Morlun's dagger. When Karn shouts that he could destroy the Multiverse, Otto sneers that he's aware of his destiny and rejects his fate, revealing that he figured out that Peter is from the future and that no one will decide his future but he before going back to destroying the Great Web.

On Earth-616, Julia Carpenter awakens from her coma and shouts that the Great Web is being destroyed, and that she can see nothing of the future. As Otto continues to cut the threads, Karn states that at any moment he could erase them from existence and Spider-UK states they're losing portals home. Peter tells Gwen and Miguel to head to their home dimensions before it's too late while he leads the Earth-616 Spiders against Otto. Gwen complains that she never found out how the story ended, and Miguel reveals that he was there when the Superior Spider-Man traveled in time and that in the end Peter takes his body back from Otto and the good guys win.

Otto battles with Spider-Woman and Spider-Girl, stating that by destroying the Web he's giving them free will. When Anya sees that there's totemic script on the dagger and tries to take it, Otto attempts to stab her before being punched away by Peter. Otto sneers that Peter is a coward for ganging up on him, but Peter points out that he did the same when he founded the Sinister Six. Taking advantage of the distraction, Anya immobilizes Otto's arm and reads that there shall always be a Master Weaver spinning at the center of the Great Web. Silk recalls that the Inheritors referred to her as the "Spinner at the centre of the Web" and wonders if her destiny is to take the Weaver's place. Otto again tries to stab Anya, snapping that he has to change his fate at any cost as his world needs him since he's the greatest Spider-Man ever. Peter and Jessica knock him back, and Anya secures the dagger, reading that any Spider Totem can take the place of the current Weaver, but only death can free the Weaver from their sacred obligation. Silk, having spent most of her life trapped in one room, balks at the idea of spending the rest of eternity trapped again, and Karn commiserates with her.

Otto accuses Peter and Jessica of hypocritically claiming to fight for freedom while trying to lock him on a fixed path that ends in his death, and Peter snaps that it was Otto himself who set that path in motion. Silk resolves to take the Master Weaver's place, unmasking him and expressing confusion at not recognizing his identity. Karn states that he knows who the Master Weaver is and unmasks himself, revealing that he and the Master Weaver are one and the same. Otto punches Spider-Woman away, challenging Peter to a one-on-one duel to see who the better hero is once and for all. Peter retorts that a real hero wouldn't have tried to murder Anya or destroy the Mutiverse in order to save himself, revealing that Otto will understand what it means to be a true hero when he willingly sacrifices himself and gives up their body of his own free will.

Analyzing the Master Weaver's armor, Karn notices a slot that fits the prongs of the spear he made as a child, which acts as a key to open the mechanism. When Silk asks how he could possibly be in two places at once, Karn states that the flow of time differs in Earth-001, using the coexistence of Peter Parker and Otto Octavius as an example. When Anya states that only a Spider-Totem should be able to repair the web, Karn states that he's consumed enough Totems for their essence to enable him to take the Weaver's place, donning the Weaver's mask and stating that this shall be his penance and hopefully salvation. Peter defeats Otto, who feigns surrender but puts Anna on a 100 day standby. Anya asks Karn if he can repair the damage done by the Inheritors and Otto, and Karn states that in time he can fix the Web, but that in the meantime all the Spiders' connections to it will be diminished, weakening their Spider-Senses.

As Karn prepares to return him to the past, Otto swears revenge on him, which Karn dryly retorts that he already got by killing his future self. As Otto swears that he'll find a way to survive, Peter shoves him through the portal and he reappears months ago in the aftermath of the chronoton implosion that time-displaced him in the first place, his memory of the recent events erased. Karn remarks that weaving and repairing the Great Web is new to him, but that the existence of Earth-616 has been stabilized. However, he is unable to open a portal to Spider-UK's dimension, Earth-833, discovering that it was somehow destroyed. Spider-UK reveals that Incursions between dimensions have been erasing entire realities, including his own, and laments that he wasn't able to help his fellow corpsmen face the danger. The Earth-616 Spiders console him, reminding him that without his efforts they wouldn't have stood a chance against the Inheritors. Silk asks if the Inheritors will be able to survive on Earth-3145 without draining the essence of Spider-Totems, and Karn remarks that his family can subsist off the life force of any animal, and that the búnker they are in is teeming with mutant spiders for them to feed off of.

Peter says that it's more than they deserve and laments at the loss of his brother, Kaine, gazing at the Other's corpse and stating that he deserved better than to die a monster. Spider-UK remarks that all the lost Spider-Totems deserved to live, volunteering to travel the Multiverse and protect the worlds that lost their Spider-Totems. Anya volunteers to join him, to Spider-Woman's surprise, but Anya insist that there are too many female Spider-Totems on Earth-616 as-is and that she can put her totemic knowledge to good use. Karn dubs them the Warriors of the Great Web and charges them with helping him repair the severed threads, and when Anya wonders if they can do it alone, Spider-UK remarks they made a number of Amazing Friends, as images of Earth-982's Spider-Woman, Spider-Ham, Spider-Man Noir, Pavitr Prabhakar, and Gwen Stacy appear in the Web of Life.

Karn opens a portal to Earth-616, and the Spiders bid farewell, with Jessica fussing over Anya and Peter teasing Spider-UK one last time. After they depart, Karn offers Anya and Spider-UK a tour of the Inheritor's palace, while unbeknownst to them a hand erupts from the Other's corpse, revealing that Kaine is still alive.

On Earth-616, Silk realizes they've been gone for days and hopes the Fact Channel hasn't fired her. Jessica remarks that, as his own boss, Peter doesn't need to worry about such things. Peter corrects her, stating that for a long time he didn't feel ready to run his own company, but that after leading the Spider-Army he feels ready for anything. As he swings across Times Square, Peter wonders if he can ever go back to the small stuff after everything he's seen, but as a woman being mugged calls out for help, chides himself, apprehends the thief, and returns her purse.

(https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Amazing_Spider-Man_Vol_3_15)

Fan Art: Spiderverse by krysdecker

Accompanying Podcast: ● Amazing Spider-Talk - episode 15