Marvel‘s first gay Spider-Man has yet to take center stage, but new preview material shows Web Weaver slinging the Spider-Verse straight into the world of high fashion. Only a few details are known about Web Weaver and his origin, collated together from Comic-Con announcements and upcoming solicits. However, recently shared cover art and preview pages from Steve Foxe, Kei Zama, VC’s Joe Caramagna, and Nick Lowe’s Edge of Spider-Verse #5 story have given fans their best tease yet about Web Weaver’s story and his passion for fashion.
Web Weaver was created by writer Steve Foxe and artist Kris Anka. At this year’s San Diego Comic-Con Nick Lowe, editor of Marvel’s Spider-Office, shared that Web Weaver’s name is Cooper Cohen. Cohen’s sexuality, personality, and profession as a fashion designer at Van Dyne were also revealed between Marvel’s solicit for Edge of Spider-Verse #5 as well as Steve Foxe’s own tweets. Taken together, one can begin to picture Cooper in action, but this newest release of preview material truly shows how Web Weaver works the streets as well as the catwalk.
A two-page spread and another single page, both from Web Weaver’s portion of Edge of Spider-Verse #5, were shared by Marvel Comics last week via an article from ComicBook.com. The single page shows Cooper in costume confronting some bank robbers, while the double spread weaves together a montage of his origin. In Web Weaver’s universe, Cooper Cohen apparently received his spider-powers after saving Peter Parker from that life-altering bite. Web Weaver’s origin diverges from the typical Spider-Man mythos when Cooper is apparently kicked out of his family’s home after being outed as gay. Thankfully, it would seem that Web Weaver finds a chosen family of his own, and is still able to follow his passion as a designer at Van Dyne. It’s Cooper’s haute couture sensibilities that his co-creator Kris Anka is drawing upon in his variant cover for Edge of Spider-Verse #5, also shared last week on Twitter.
That’s right; it’s Spider-Verse meets New York Fashion Week as far as Anka’s variant cover is concerned. The art itself is a beautiful showcase of Cooper’s costume and personality, and it deftly communicates how Web Weaver stands out in any crowd, including among his fellow Spider-Folk. The audience is composed of many of Web Weaver’s fellow Edge of the Spider-Verse cast members. Longtime favorite Spider-Variants like SP//dr and Araña can be spotted alongside exciting newcomers such as Night Spider, Spider-Rex, and Marvel’s first disabled Spider-Hero, Sun Spider.
Cooper Cohen is among the newest wave of Spider-Heroes recruited from across the multiverse ahead of Dan Slott and Mark Bagley’s The End of the Spider-Verse event later this year. With a sickening costume design and a historic legacy as the first gay Spider-Man, one can only hope that Web Weaver survives whatever Shathra and Morlun have in store for Marvel‘s massive Spider-Verse. In the meantime, Web Weaver gives the LGBTQ+ community and fashion enthusiasts alike the chance to see a Spider-Man who can serve it ancient city style.
Sources: Comicbook.com, Kris Anka
Edge of the Spider-Verse #5 will be available from Marvel Comics on October 5, 2022.
