Edge of Spider-Verse #2

History

The seed of the concept came from longtime Spider-Man writer Dan Slott, who pitched a spider-powered Gwen Stacy to editor Nick Lowe as part of the multiverse-spanning 'Spider-Verse' crossover he was architecting in Amazing Spider-Man; Lowe then approached Jason Latour to execute it. Latour, initially wary of revisiting the character given the weight her death carries in Spider-Man canon, eventually committed, and enlisted artist Robbi Rodriguez — his collaborator on the DC/Vertigo series FBP — to design the character from scratch. Rodriguez's design brief from Latour was to keep her identity ambiguous under the mask — 'it should feel like anyone could be under that mask' — and the costume's now-famous black-and-white palette with pink and teal accents was a deliberate nod to the Charlotte Hornets as a tribute to Latour's hometown. Colorist Rico Renzi, fresh off his run with Rodriguez on FBP, completed the core creative team alongside letterer Clayton Cowles, with Nick Lowe editing; what was conceived as a one-shot tie-in in a five-issue anthology became, by the time NYCC 2014 convened, the launchpad for an ongoing series.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First appearance of Gwen Stacy as Spider-Woman (Earth-65), the character later known as Spider-Gwen and Ghost-Spider, created by writer Jason Latour and artist Robbi Rodriguez.
• Published September 17, 2014, as issue #2 of the five-issue Edge of Spider-Verse anthology, a prelude miniseries leading into Dan Slott's main Spider-Verse crossover in Amazing Spider-Man.
• Also contains the cameo (first) appearance of Billy Braddock, Spider-UK of Earth-833 — seen watching Gwen and remarking 'She'll do quite nicely' — with his first full appearance following in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 3) #7.
• Full creative credits: Jason Latour (writer), Robbi Rodriguez (pencils, inks, cover), Rico Renzi (colors), Clayton Cowles / VC (letters), Nick Lowe (editor), Ellie Pyle (associate editor). Variant cover by Greg Land, Jay Leisten, and Morry Hollowell.
• The issue introduces the all-female punk band the Mary Janes — featuring Earth-65 versions of Mary Jane Watson (lead singer), Glory Grant, and Betty Brant — as well as Earth-65 counterparts of Captain George Stacy, J. Jonah Jameson, Matt Murdock (here the Kingpin's lawyer), and Aleksei Sytsevich.
• Demand drove at least five successive printings of the original issue, and Marvel published a full facsimile edition in April 2022 (with multiple exclusive variants) — a rare honor for a decade-old single issue.
• The story was reprinted in the Edge of Spider-Verse trade paperback, the Spider-Gwen: Most Wanted? trade paperback, the Spider-Gwen Omnibus (2021), and the Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider Modern Era Epic Collection (2023).
• The character's overwhelming fan and cosplay reception at New York Comic Con 2014 — just weeks after publication — led Marvel editor Nick Lowe to announce an ongoing Spider-Gwen series there; that series launched in February 2015 with the same creative team.

Cast · 13 characters

Full credits

Key issues in Edge of Spider-Verse

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#5 1st appearance — SP//dr

Variants (7)