Spider-Verse vs. Venomverse #1: Sticky Wars

No matter how many times a crazed villain or multiversal contrivance takes a swing at it, the Spider-Verse just refuses to die. The initial spark of creativity may have dimmed over the years, but that hasn’t stopped Marvel from slapping familiar names on the concept to move a few more books. Kyle Higgins is one of those names.

Teaming up with Mat Groom on writing duties, the pair have managed to assemble a take on the concept that’s convincingly fun—if admittedly familiar. Their approach is small-scale and focused, echoing the tone and structure of classic Marvel events spun out of the Secret Wars playbook. With only a handful of Spiders leading the charge, the variant personalities finally have room to breathe—a welcome contrast to the recent overload of alt-Spideys crammed together like a Wal-Mart discount bin of action figures.

The book’s real strength lies in its underlying conflict, which goes beyond the tournament-style setup of the main plot. This version of Peter and Eddie has a dynamic that cleverly plays with the history between them, injecting just enough emotional weight to lift the story above mediocrity. It’s standard fare, and very much in the vein of ‘90s Spider-Man—but that’s not necessarily a knock in a landscape where Peter and Eddie couldn’t be further from their classic dynamic.

That said, what this title lacks is originality. It’s such a pure distillation of the Marvel multiverse formula that it’s a wonder the cover doesn’t come with a blister-packed action figure. The plot beats aren’t just predictable—they’re practically preordained. The pacing is straightforward, the character arcs hit all the expected notes, and the whole thing reads like a comic about a comic from within the Marvel Universe. It’s undeniably safe—but solid enough in its mechanical structuring that you can still have a good time without feeling numbed by cardboard tension.

Luciano Vecchio’s art is a perfect match for this kind of story. Their style delivers exactly the kind of energy and fluidity needed for a book full of bombastic battles and wild character designs. The coloring is on point, too—rich and expressive enough that when paired with Vecchio’s strong panelling, you could follow the story without a single line of text from the writing team to guide you.