Spider-Girls (2018) #1 (of 3)

by Jody Houser

[Quirky Cat]

You’re going to want to read Spider-Geddon before you read this issue. If you haven’t been following that series at all you could probably jump in here, as long as you a.) don’t mind spoilers and b.) don’t mind missing some of the context (though to be honest as long as you have a basic understanding of the Inheritors and their threat, then you’re probably fine).
This is one of those many many alternate universes where Spider-Man characters exist. In this case it’s Peter Parker again, but his life is drastically different from what we’re used to seeing. It’s an interesting twist, and obviously Peter isn’t the main focus of the plot (it wouldn’t be named Spider-Girls, in that case). That’s because he’s not the only spider-character in this universe.
They did a really great job making all these spider-characters unique. Considering they’re frequently just variations of each other, I feel like that’s actually quite the challenge. I like the way the powers seem to manifest differently for some, and how some universes are mirrors of each other (like how in the main universe Gwen Stacey is dead, but in Gwen’s universe it’s Peter Parker who passed).
I’ll be honest and say that I’m not really sure where this is going to lead to. It could become a bigger part of Spider-Geddon (which I suspect will be the case), or it could end up being entirely standalone. I’ll have to keep reading to find out.