Spider-Verse - The Madding Crowd, Part 13 - Ray Wonsowski

Okay, I'm fully aware I'm bending the rules a bit on this one....

Double-page spread:
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Panel 1- Foreground: Standing on the back of a giant grand-daddy Hellspider, ECLIPSO rides, holding onto the reins with one hand, brandishing a long ornate scimitar over his head with the other. He is relishing the horror to come. Midground: Countless hellspiders swarming, all following after ECLIPSO's mount through space. Background: The Madness Gate that separates our universe from the spiders' has been breached by the Lovecraftian most-elder Spider-God, P'tah Pk'ha, the Arachnos of a Billion Eyes, its forelegs holding the gate open, mandibles slavering as they tear open its own egg sac, its delicate albino young interspersed in the silk. Three caption boxes on the left page, three on the right.

CAPTION, LEFT 1: When he was one with the I-Am, he was Kezef, the Wrath of God made manifest.

CAPTION, LEFT 2: The Lord thought the Forty Night Flooding of All Creation was way off the reservation, so to speak, and cast Kezef off.

CAPTION, LEFT 3: Banished to the dark side of the moon and his power-essence trapped in the Heart of Darkness on Apokolips.

CAPTION, RIGHT 1: Kezef was bloody furious. He had sided with God in the first Angelic War, obeyed orders, destroyed and killed at God's command, and eternal exile away from His light and presence was to be his great reward?

CAPTION, RIGHT 2: #&@k God, he said.

CAPTION, RIGHT 3: It was then that Kezef became Eclipso.

Panel 2- Night. On the deck of the Coast Guard Cutter Gavyn, HAWK and DOVE are battle-ready and impatient listening as WILLIAM GRAVEL smokes a cigarette and HARRY DRESDEN wipes spiderwebs from his duster coat.

DRESDEN (small lettering): Not that the Spectre was the picture of restraint. That whole first-born thing in Egypt...

HAWK: Get to the point.

Panel 3- Close-up on GRAVEL, gesturing with his cigarette as he explains.

GRAVEL: You two are the Avatars of God's Covenant with Noah after the flood.

GRAVEL: Forty days of sodding rain, Noah sent a raven first, to look for land.

GRAVEL: But the raven turns his back on Noah, so God set the hawk upon it as His vengeance.

Panel 4- Foreground, GRAVEL, back to us, leans against the deck railing, waving his cigarette as he speaks, the smoke spiraling in the air. HAWK is facing him, still in a battle-ready stance. Between them, DOVE stands thoughtfully as he listens, one arm back as if to hold his brother back. The sky has gone starless.

GRAVEL: Noah dispatches the dove then, returns with an olive branch, so on...

GRAVEL: The Lords of Order and Chaos have been allowed to fill those offices to keep humanity's ledgers balanced. The Hawk and the Dove...

Panel 5- Midshot, heads and upper bodies. HAWK has grabbed GRAVEL by his coat, holding him nearly nose to nose. Both men are showing teeth, HAWK in furious grimace, GRAVEL with a $#!t-eating grin biting his cigarette.

HAWK: The point, old man!

GRAVEL: Easy, boy. SAS, I am. And the six pants-pissing scariest words an SAS man can say?

GRAVEL: "I have a plan, old son..."

...to be continued...

Spider-Verse - Son of Nine Spiders - Travis M. Holyfield

Panel 1: Exterior. A Celestial City in flames. Spider-Man leaps into the air, arms outstretched, legs tucked in below him. Facing him, flexed to destroy, is DAEMOS.

SPIDER-MAN (CAPTION): I have rained blows against this monster for hours, and still he does not slow. Still he does not waver.
CAPTION: EIGHT-LEGGED VAULTING STRIKE

Panel 2: Close-up of Daemos’ face being struck by multiple kicks. His head snaps from side to side, but his expression remains one of hunger and contempt.  

SPIDER-MAN (CAPTION): I am the last descendent of the nine Spider-Kings of Nepal. I cannot fail.


Panel 3: Spider-Man crouches low to deliver a knife hand strike to Daemos’ solar plexus.
SPIDER-MAN (Caption): I am an Immortal Weapon of the Nine Celestial Cities. I cannot fail.

CAPTION: RECLUSIVE VENOM STRIKE
 

Panel 4: Spider-Man opens his mouth, vomiting a cloud of tiny spiders to envelope Daemos.

SPIDER-MAN: I am the Son of Nine Spiders. I cannot fail.
 

Panel 5: Daemos strides through the wall if spiders untouched. His hands find Spider-Man’s neck.  

SPIDER-MAN: And yet I fail.

Panel 6: Close-up as Daemos’ hands snap Spider-Man’s neck.

SPIDER-MAN: I was Danny Rand

SPIDER-MAN: The Immortal Spider-Man.

SFX: CRACK!

 

 

 

Spider-Verse – Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Spider-Bot – MK Stangeland Jr.

5 Panels

Panel 1: Opening panel featuring BEN URICH; this is a younger version who has the appearance of a quick-talking play-by-play sportscaster rather than a news reporter. He’s in a broadcasting booth that overlooks a battle arena.

The setup of the panel should give the idea that BEN URICH is looking at the reader, suggesting the idea that URICH is actually talking to them as one of several fans ‘watching’ the page as if rather than reading a comic book, they’re watching a major sporting event on TV. Completing this picture should be a title bar at the bottom of the panel with his name on it.

BEN URICH (1): And we’re back!

BEN URICH (2): I’m Ben Urich, and both myself and the Robot Combat League are glad to have you as we’re just about to kick off tonight’s headlining matchup!

Panel 2: A top-notch looking ‘Vs’ display, the likes of which you’ll often see when showing which two competitors are about to have a showdown in a 1v1 sports matchup.

On one side are pictures of PETER PARKER and SPIDER-BOT. We don’t see a full view of either here, as each is a profile shot designed to give the audience a quick visual reference while still making them look their best. This version of PETER PARKER looks full of self-confidence, even though he still wears glasses. These glasses shouldn’t give off the idea of ‘nerd’, but rather ‘hip’ and ‘cutting edge’.

SPIDER-BOT has an arachnid-like design, but with a single body section topped off by a head and with claws on each of its eight arms. It features the traditional SPIDER-MAN color scheme, and overall should come off as a mix of sleek and cool with a touch of cute – it should be robot you’re able to love, root for, and emphasize with on first sight.

On the other side are pictures of EDDIE BROCK and VENOM. EDDIE BROCK looks like a professional who doesn’t have a grudge with PARKER so much as something to prove. VENOM is a hunched-over biped robot. The overall look should come off as a walking tank by way of stealth bomber.

BEN URICH (1): It’s the “Amazing” Peter Parker and his fan-favorite SPIDER-BOT taking on surprising newcomer Eddie Brock and VENOM!

BEN URICH (2): But what’s most exciting about this showdown isn’t who’s fighting, but why!

Panel 3: Flashback panel showing EDDIE BROCK in the same broadcasting booth that BEN URICH occupies in the present. He’s in the midst of casting an unseen fight, and he’s really into it himself.

BEN URICH: As I’m sure we all remember, it was just last year that Eddie Brock occupied this very seat!

Panel 4: Flashback panel as SPIDER-BOT is in the midst of an exciting fight against OCTOPOD, a robot controlled by an unseen version of OTTO OCTAVIUS.

The area, or what we can see of it, should have a balanced mix of open area and elevated terrain features, at least prior to when a fight begins and the robots have at it.

Aside from being reminiscent of DOCTOR OCTOPUS, the OCTOPOD should consist of two primary sphere body sections connected by a short, thick, central cone. Each sphere has a set of sensors and a pair of heavy, sturdy limbs while the middle section is surrounded by four arms that look similar to the four extra robot arms that DOCTOR OCTOPUS normally wears.

BEN URICH (1): But THEN!

BEN URICH (2): That infamous season where rookie Bot-Jockey Parker beat the odds and defeated reigning champ Otto “Doc Ock” Octavius’ infamous OCTOPOD!

Panel 5: Flashback with another panel of EDDIE BROCK in the broadcast booth.

BEN URICH (1): It was not a victory without controversy, however!

BEN URICH (2): Especially after Eddie Brock challenged the validity of Parker’s victory on air and declared that he himself could trump the Spider-Bot if given the right opportunity!

(END PAGE)

Spider-Verse - Universe 34 - Ben Rosenthal

1.  Spider-Man has been captured, and tied up.  He cannot move and is on his knees in a darkened room.  A light shines on him.  His suit has a little more scientific theme going so we can tell it isn't our Peter Parker.  A figure is standing behind him, shoulders up darkened by shadows.  From the colour scheme we can tell it is the Green Goblin.

GOBLIN
You're a failure.
All that power, and you waste it swinging around town in your pyjama's playing hero.


2.  A close up of Spidey's mask, with the Goblin's hand on it, pulling it up.

GOBLIN
You're Weak.
Pathetic.

SPIDER-MAN
N-no.


3.  The mask is off revealing that Spider-Man is Harry Osborn.  He was bitten by the Spider.  The Goblin is still behind him looking at the mask.  His face is still covered in shadows.

GOBLIN
Harry, Harry, Harry....


4.  Reveal of the Goblin - It's Peter Parker, driven insane by the Goblin formula and the experiments that Norman Osborn has conducted on him throughout the years.

PETER GOBLIN
Didn't your father teach you anything?
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAAA

Why Spider-Verse?

Every Spider-Man.  Ever.

That one line had me.

A storyline that not only celebrates every incarnation of everyone's favourite wall crawler, but features them in a battle against what is possibly the finest modern day villain to come from the Spider-Man corner of the Marvel U.

For those of you not in the know (shame on you) The Superior Spider-Man (Doc Ock in Peter's body) travelled though time and discovered Spider-Men and women from parallel universes were being eaten (well, their energy at least) but a family of life force draining vampires (of which Morlun is a sibling).

Ock starts to gather and recruit Spiders to form an army to fight - so far we have seen Spider-Ham, Ben Reilly, a young Gwen Stacy in the spider garb, as well as new creations such as Penelope Parker written  by Katie Cook of My Little Pony fame.

It appears with the Secret War looming Marvel editorial has opened up the doors for their creators to come up with their own Spider-Hero.  Something that we could not ignore over at Thought Balloons.

If you have a Spider-Man related hero in you, feel free to post it below in the comments section.