Edge of Spider-Verse #3 and Aaron Aikman

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Edge of Spider-Verse has been an unexpected surprise, especially coming on the heels of some lackluster “special edition” stories over the past few months, like the 100th Anniversary Spider-Man comic and the Inhumanity Spider-Man tie-in. Whereas the Edge of Spider-Verse mini could have very easily been another cash grab for Marvel, thus far it has produced a very good Spider-Man Noir tale and an exceptional character introduction in Spider-Gwen.

As such, the bar has now been raised for this series, and I’m not so sure that Edge of Spider-Verse #3, which introduces Dr. Aaron Aikman as “The Spider-Man” is some kind of Blade Runner-esque dystopian universe, comes close to the heights achieved with the Noir and Spider-Gwen stories. But it’s hard to dismiss this comic outright as pejorative filler since I think Dustin Weaver, who doubles as the writer and artist, tries very hard to make something out of his new Spider-Man character. The story just ultimately falls flat for me.

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I would imagine that most difficult thing about creating a new Spider-Man is determining the delicate balance of making the character wholly original, and thus distinctive, while also maintaining a sense of familiarity. Many people, who are a lot smarter than me, have painstakingly analyzed what makes a hero “Spider-Man” – i.e. with all of these different iterations of the character in comics, movies, cartoons, video games, etc., what are some of the core elements that unite them into a recognizable entity. In reading a bunch of these alternative Spider-Man stories in advance of “Spider-Verse,” I’ve noticed a trend of creators putting more focused on the “spider” elements of Spider-Man – whether it be a character receiving a spider-bite or some kind of spider-DNA infusion – but for me, this is immaterial when compared to the morality tale Spider-Man’s origin story presents.

In other words, “with great power – there must also come great responsibility,” is very, very important for a Spider-Man story. And I think all of the great tales, whether it be Peter Parker, Miguel O’Hara, Spider-Man Noir or Spider-Gwen, all honor this credo to some degree. There’s a great scene in the Spider-Man 2099 Meets Spider-Man one-shot that I just wrote about where one asks the other why they became Spider-Man. The answer: “because I had to.”

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And that’s where I think Aaron Aikman’s origin story/narrative goes astray because I never got a clear sense why this guy injected himself with spider-DNA and how he was further inspired to create all of this high-end technology that transforms him into a superhero. He has this girlfriend, Kaori, who’s daughter was left in a vegetative state after she was struck by a car, but all of that information serves a different plot point, not The Spider-Man’s reason for existence.

In fact, as a whole, the story lacks a clear identity. Whereas the previous two issues of this series were very economic about how they presented the necessary character exposition, Weaver’s script was far more painstaking and laborious. And I was still scratching my head as to who these characters were and where they existed. A few paragraphs earlier I described this world as a Blade Runner-esque dystopian universe, but I’m not even sure that’s accurate. Was this the future a la Spider-Man 2099, or some kind of steampunk robotic-dominant universe in the present day? I can’t say with any degree of confidence. Also, the comic seemed to have an Asian-flare to it, but at the same time, it was completely unclear if this was taking place in Japan, or some other Pacific Rim country. Just odd.

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There are other smaller things about the script that are disconcerting. The fact that a villain, Redeye, is introduced (on a Marvel trading card, which is another curious device) as “the reason” Aaron is Spider-Man without any additional context. Then the comic goes on to focus on another villain anyway. It’s just one instance of a very stilted, exposition-heavy narrative. In fact, one could make the argument that the bulk of the dialogue read like something you’d find in a cut-sequence in a RPG video game.

And yet, Edge of Spider-Verse #3 is a beautiful comic. Like really, really gorgeous – probably one of the best looking Spidey books I’ve seen this year. Weaver creates a lush, multi-layered world that feels like a living, breathing city. There’s one double page spread of Spider-Man swinging above the skyline and it looks like something straight out of the John Romita Jr. Spider-Man days in terms of the level of detail and its dynamism. I don’t know if I need to read more of Aaron’s story, but I definitely want to see Weaver provide pencils and inks for more Spider-Man comics.

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Edge of Spider-Verse #3 ends of a very offbeat note when compared to the previous two issues – as Morlun arrives at Aaron’s door as he’s about to go out and save the city as The Spider-Man. Morlun tells him that his story is over – and with that being the final page it is to be assumed that Aaron bites the dust there. While I would have appreciated a clearer ending, especially in a comic that already dedicated so much of itself to its exposition, but at the same time, I like the idea of Morlun just popping up in some of these stories and pulling the plug on a character. It pushes forward this idea of Morlun and his family being a world-ending threat for the “Spider-Verse,” which is going to be a key part in keeping the tension and drama high as this story marches onward.

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