Spider-Man Unlimited (comics)

Last updated
Spider-Man Unlimited (vol. 1)
Spideyunlimited1.jpg
Cover of Spider-Man Unlimited #1
Publication information
Publisher Marvel Comics
ScheduleQuarterly
Publication dateMay 1993–November 1998
No. of issues22
Main character(s) Spider-Man
Creative team
Written byVarious
Artist(s)Various

Spider-Man Unlimited is the title of three comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The first series began in 1993 and was named in its indicia as Volume 1. It was set in the main Marvel Universe. The second series was based on the animated TV series Spider-Man Unlimited , and was not set in the Marvel Universe. It is called Volume 2. The third series, which began in 2004, did not have a volume number listed and was also set in the main Marvel Universe.

Contents

1993 series (vol. 1)

Originally announced under the title Spider-Man Giant Size, [1] the 1993 series was a quarterly series with double-length stories, which at the time was notable for being printed on glossy stock paper (a practice discontinued in later issues before being adopted by the entire Marvel line in the 2000s). Earlier issues played a part in Spider-Man crossovers; the first issue was the first part of "Maximum Carnage" and the second issue was the last part of "Maximum Carnage". Issues #7-14 formed part of the Clone Saga. Later in the series, the focus shifted to stand-alone stories. Ron Lim penciled the lead story in the first eight issues of the book. Most of the later issues were written by Christopher Golden and drawn by Joe Bennett.

Issue #1

Spider-Man Unlimited #1 was published in May 1993. The issue credits are:

Plot

Cletus Kasady has been transferred from the Vault to Ravencroft Institute for some tests. He there reveals that the alien symbiote which made him the supervillain Carnage infected his bloodstream before it died, allowing Kasady's metabolism to produce an imitation of the symbiote. Using this faux symbiote, he slaughters the guards and doctors. Carnage comes across a fellow Ravencroft inmate, Shriek. She persuades him to free her so she can join his killing spree.

Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson are at the wake after Harry Osborn's funeral. J. Jonah Jameson thinks Spider-Man was responsible for Harry's downfall (as the Green Goblin). Peter is incredibly mixed up as he comforts Harry's wife Liz Allan. Mary Jane is upset from the whole Harry fallout and asks Peter to give up being Spider-Man, for a couple of weeks at least, so things can settle down. He agrees.

Out on the streets, Carnage is attacked by Spider-Man's doppelganger. Carnage ensnares and attempts to kill it, but Shriek stops him with a sonic blast and says she is adopting the doppelganger. Peter goes for a takeout and hears on the radio about Carnage's escape. He changes to Spider-Man and goes swinging off to find Carnage. He is attacked by Shriek and the doppelganger instead, who quickly defeat him. Spider-Man topples off a building into a back alley as the doppelganger and Shriek swing off.

Because Carnage used him as a hostage before, Jonah is immediately informed by the authorities of his escape. Jonah enters his Bugle office with plans to flee New York, only to find himself in a meeting with Carnage, who neglected to make an appointment.

1999 series (vol. 2)

Spider-Man Unlimited (vol. 2)
Spider-Man Unlimited (fair use).png
Publication information
Publisher Marvel Comics
ScheduleMonthly
Publication dateDecember 1999–April 2000
No. of issues6
Main character(s) Spider-Man

Spider-Man Unlimited Wizard Edition

Spider-Man Unlimited Wizard Edition is a Marvel comic book series that was printed in 1999, and told the story of Spider-Man's new adventures in the Spider-Man Unlimited television series. In this storyline, Spider-Man sports a new costume - one similar to that worn by Ben Reilly and May "Mayday" Parker - made using Nanotechnology "discretely borrowed" from Reed Richards. In this series, Spider-Man also confronts a species known as the Bestials: monsters created by the High Evolutionary which rule a planet called Counter-Earth and outnumber the planet's human population.

Issues #1/2, 1 and 2

Peter Parker meets with J. Jonah Jameson to take picture of his son, astronaut John Jameson, before a space mission to a hidden planet on the other side of the Sun called Counter-Earth, but it is quickly revealed that Venom and Carnage have joined forces in a plot against the space mission. Following the two to the launch site, Spider-Man attempts to thwart their plot, but fails.

Blamed for Jameson losing contact with Earth after the battle with the two symbiotes, Spider-Man becomes a target of persecution by the media and the public. This causes Peter to temporarily retire from his life as Spider-Man. After a brief hiatus, Peter Parker decides to board a new spaceship on a flight to Counter-Earth to save John Jameson.

The first three issues, the first of which is a half-issue, are based on the first three episodes of the television series.

Issue #3

In issue #3, Peter is assigned by the Daily Byte to follow the Counter-Earth version of Reed Richards. It is suspected that Reed has knowledge of a mysterious creature called the Brute. The only thing Peter finds out is that Richards is a really uptight individual. Together, they go to a party which requires everyone to have ID chips. Before Peter is discovered not to have one, the Brute shows up to crash the party. After a fight between Spider-Man and the Brute, it is revealed to him that the creature is none other than Reed Richards. The Brute is helping the rebels against the Beastials; as Reed, he is a spy. He is also aided in his mission by his friend Ben Grimm. Reed reveals that, after a tested flight similar to the one which created the Fantastic Four, the Counter-Earth Reed was transformed by cosmic rays into the Brute, while Ben Grimm was unaffected, Johnny Storm was killed and Susan Richards was left in a coma.

Issue #4

Peter decides to take a look at life outside the city after Naoko is hesitant to tell him what lies beyond Manhattan; as Spider-Man, he asks the Green Goblin for help in leaving the island, which the Goblin only grants after Spider-Man tells him that he does not have the sub-dermal ID chip with which the High Evolutionary tracks human residents. As soon as he reaches the other side of an exit tunnel, he is dragged into the water by a tentacled creature; when he reawakens, he finds himself in a tree house in a hidden forest refuge known as "Harmony", where humans and Beastials live together. However, his stay is short-lived when he raises the ire of one of the human leaders of the area, a man named Brixton, and he barely escapes from what suddenly turns out to be a police state when he stumbles on a human Gwen Stacy double; she assists him by secretly housing him and then guiding him to the tunnel back to Manhattan. [2]

Issue #5

Peter Parker and his house rental Dr. Naoko Jones finally succeed in putting her son Shayne to sleep after he was hiding from the mysterious serial killer that was lurking on the streets. This mysterious serial killer was attacking people and viciously removing their sub-dermal ID chips.

Later in the comics, we see Peter writing in his journal back in his room, until he noticed a picture of Naoko, Shayne and Naoko's husband, who is a decorated soldier. Suddenly, Peter's spider sense alerts him to danger outside the house, where he encounters another of the killer's victims, who looks like a Wolverine Beastial.

After an enormous fight, the Wolverine Beastial and Spider-Man stopped fighting, after which they started to talk things out, until they noticed a robber kidnapping Dr. Naoko Jones.

They followed the quick-moving robber with the Wolverine Beastial's sense of smell and easily found him. They teamed up and started to fight the robber, who then transforms into a lizard-like Beastial and calls himself "the Chameleon from Counter-Earth".

After beating the Chameleon, the Wolverine Beastial said that this neighborhood is not his home any more and gave Spider-Man a medal that looks just like the one that Naoko's husband wore in the picture, which confirmed that the Wolverine Beastial is Shayne's father and Naoko's missing husband.

2004 series (vol. 3)

Spider-Man Unlimited (vol. 3)
Spider-Man Unlimited V3.jpg
Cover of Spider-Man Unlimited (vol. 3) #3
Publication information
Publisher Marvel Comics
ScheduleBimonthly
FormatAnthology
Publication dateMarch 2004–May 2006
No. of issues15
Main character(s) Spider-Man
Creative team
Written byVarious
Artist(s)Various

The third series, launched concurrently with X-Men Unlimited (vol. 2), was a bimonthly anthology featuring two stories per issue, usually by writers without a significant body of previously published comics work.

Collected editions

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gwen Stacy</span> Marvel Comics fictional character

Gwendolyne Maxine "Gwen" Stacy is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually as a supporting character in those featuring Spider-Man. A college student and the daughter of George and Helen Stacy, she is the first romantic interest for Peter following his high school graduation before she is murdered by the Green Goblin. Her death has haunted Peter ever since, and stories published long afterwards indicate she still holds a special place in his heart. Gwen is posthumously subjected to numerous cloning experiments by her former professor Miles Warren, Peter's clone Ben Reilly, and an A.I. of Harry Osborn, the latter resulting in the creation of the Kindreds, and Ben briefly resurrecting Gwen in "Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy" (2016–2017), with the embodiment of Death herself confirming in Ben Reilly: The Scarlet Spider (2017–2018) that all clones Ben created of deceased people had their souls intact on being brought back, while clones of living people had unique souls of their own. In the alternate realities of Ultimate Marvel and Spider-Gwen, a still-living Gwen respectively becomes their universe's versions of Carnage and Spider-Woman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carnage (character)</span> Character in the Marvel Universe

Carnage is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually as an adversary of Spider-Man and the archenemy of Venom, in particular the Eddie Brock incarnation of the character, although Carnage and Venom would join forces if their goals aligned. The character made its first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #361, and was created by writer David Michelinie and artist Mark Bagley, although the first published artwork of Carnage was penciled by Chris Marrinan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mac Gargan</span> Marvel Comics fictional character

MacDonald "Mac" Gargan is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #19. Mac Gargan is a recurring antagonist of the superhero Peter Parker / Spider-Man. He debuted as a private investigator hired by J. Jonah Jameson to learn how Peter Parker took pictures of Spider-Man. In the following issue, Jameson decided to turn Gargan into a deadly adversary for Spider-Man through a barely-tested procedure, which left Gargan with an irremovable scorpion-themed armor and the predatory instincts of the arachnid. Driven insane by his mutation, Gargan instead turned to a life of crime as the Scorpion, and went on to menace both Spider-Man and Jameson, whom he held responsible for his transformation. Since then, having finally removed the armor, Gargan has also served as the third host of the Venom symbiote, and a member of the Dark Avengers as Spider-Man, but eventually returned to his Scorpion alias as it kept him alive due to the strain both the neural-armors and symbiote put on his body.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eddie Brock</span> Marvel Comics fictional character

Edward "Eddie" Charles AllanBrock is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane, making a cameo appearance in Web of Spider-Man #18, before making his first full appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #300 as the most well-known host of the Venom symbiote. The character has since appeared in many Marvel Comics publications, including Venom. He has endured as one of Spider-Man's most prominent villains, and is regarded as one of his three archenemies, alongside the Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus. He later evolved into an antihero, slowly distancing himself from his initial goal to ruin Spider-Man's life to instead do good, even occasionally allying with Spider-Man.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spider-Girl (Mayday Parker)</span> Fictional superheroine in Marvel Comics MC2 universe

Spider-Girl is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She has been referred to as both Spider-Girl and Spider-Woman. The character appears in the MC2 universe. The character was created by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz as the teenage daughter of Peter Parker (Spider-Man) and Mary Jane Watson, and first appeared in What If #105. She later acquired her own ongoing comic book, Spider-Girl, written by DeFalco and drawn by Frenz and Pat Olliffe, which was the longest-running superhero book with a lead female character ever published by Marvel before being relaunched as The Amazing Spider-Girl, and later The Spectacular Spider-Girl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Reilly</span> Fictional character in the Marvel Universe

Benjamin "Ben" Reilly, also known as the Scarlet Spider, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Grown in a lab by Miles Warren/Jackal, he is a clone of Peter Parker/Spider-Man tasked with fighting him but instead becoming an ally, later even regarded as a "brother". Created by writer Gerry Conway, the character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #149 and is seemingly killed in the same issue. The character returned and featured prominently in the 1994–96 "Clone Saga" storyline, adopting the "Scarlet Spider" alias with a costume similar to Spider-Man's consisting of a red spandex bodysuit and mask complemented by a blue sleeveless hoodie sweatshirt adorned with a large spider symbol on both sides, along with a utility belt and bulkier web-shooters. This Scarlet Spider costume was designed by artist Tom Lyle. When Peter Parker temporarily left the Spider-Man role, Ben became the new Spider-Man while wearing a new costume variation designed by artist Mark Bagley. However, Reilly dies at the hands of Norman Osborn/Green Goblin, sacrificing himself to save Parker who then resumes the Spider-Man role.

John Jonah Jameson III is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as the son of J. Jonah Jameson, and a friend to Peter Parker. He has also been portrayed as the husband of Jennifer Walters / She-Hulk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toxin (character)</span> Marvel Comics character

Toxin is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He has been depicted as a superhero and at times a supervillain. The character is the offspring of Carnage, the third major symbiote in the Marvel Universe, the ninth known to have appeared in the comics outside of the Planet of the Symbiotes storyline, and the first symbiote that Spider-Man considers an ally, despite several temporary alliances with Venom in the past. The Toxin symbiote's various hosts are former NYPD police officer Patrick Mulligan, Eddie Brock, and teenager Bren Waters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cletus Kasady</span> Marvel Comics fictional character

Cletus Cortland Kasady is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer David Michelinie and artist Erik Larsen, the character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #344 as the first and most infamous host of the Carnage symbiote, an offspring of Venom. Originally a deranged serial killer, Kasady bonded with the symbiote while sharing a cell with Venom's human host, Eddie Brock, and broke out of prison using the super-human abilities granted by it. Since then, he went on to menace both Venom and Spider-Man, resulting in various unlikely alliances between the two to defeat him. Kasady and Carnage are a perfect match, as they both have sadistic personalities, and the symbiote only increases Kasady's already existent violent tendencies. After being separated from the redeemed Carnage symbiote in Absolute Carnage, Kasady nonetheless continued calling himself Carnage, bonding with Grendel, Mania and several other symbiotes to become Dark Carnage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doppelganger (Marvel Comics)</span> Comics character

The Doppelganger, also called the Spider-Doppelganger, is a fictional character and supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is a near-mindless duplicate of Spider-Man with a vicious, animal-like mind who primarily acts as a servant to other villains rather than having a full will of its own. Along with Peter Parker's agility, speed, and power to cling to walls, the Spider-Doppelganger possesses greater strength, six arms, talons, and organic web-spinnerets on each forearm that fire "razor-sharp" webbing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shriek (character)</span> Marvel Comics supervillainess

Shriek is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is usually depicted as an enemy of Spider-Man, and the lover of Cletus Kasady.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scream (character)</span> Comics character

Scream is a supervillainess and antiheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Scream symbiote has appeared in Spider-Man comics, as one of five symbiote spawns created simultaneously and has had four different types.

<i>Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage</i> 1994 video game

Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage is a side-scrolling beat 'em up game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Mega Drive/Genesis, developed by Software Creations and published by Acclaim Entertainment and its subsidiary LJN in 1994. The game, based on the comic book story arc of the same name, features numerous heroes, including Spider-Man, Venom, and their allies from the Marvel Comics fictional universe like Captain America, Black Cat, Iron Fist, Cloak and Dagger, Deathlok, Morbius and Firestar, all teaming up to battle an onslaught of villains led by Carnage, including Shriek, Doppelganger, Demogoblin and Carrion.

<i>Maximum Carnage</i> 1993 comic book crossover

"Maximum Carnage" is a 14-part comic book crossover published in Marvel Comics' Spider-Man family of titles in 1993. It featured Spider-Man, Venom, and a host of other superheroes teaming up to face Venom's murderous offspring Carnage and his team of supervillains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Venom (character)</span> Marvel Comics character

Venom is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a sentient alien symbiote with an amorphous, liquid-like form, who survives by bonding with a host, usually human. This dual-life form receives enhanced powers and usually refers to itself as "Venom". The symbiote was originally introduced as a living alien costume in The Amazing Spider-Man #252, with a full first appearance as Venom in The Amazing Spider-Man #300.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alternative versions of Spider-Man</span> Marvel Comics superheroes

"Spider-Man" is the name of multiple comic book superheroes from the Marvel Comics Multiverse. The original and most well known is Peter Parker created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko originating from the Earth-616 universe. Within the mainstream Marvel Universe there have been characters that have taken the mantle such as Ben Reilly, Mac Gargan and Doctor Octopus.

<i>Spider-Man Unlimited</i> American animated television series

Spider-Man Unlimited is an animated television series produced by Saban Entertainment which features the Marvel comic book superhero Spider-Man and serves as a reboot of Spider-Man: The Animated Series, which ran from 1994 to 1998. Unlimited premiered in 1999, and though it had fair ratings, it was overshadowed by Pokémon and the newly debuted Digimon, and canceled after airing only a few episodes. Fox Kids later resumed airing the show from 1999 to 2001, airing 13 episodes, the last ending on a cliffhanger.

"Go Down Swinging" is a four-issue comic book storyline in The Amazing Spider-Man, first published by Marvel Comics between March and May 2018 and featuring the fictional superhero Spider-Man. The story overall received generally positive reviews, with critics praising the art, action, and the ending.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Absolute Carnage</span> Comic book crossover storyline

"Absolute Carnage" is a 2019 comic book crossover storyline published by Marvel Comics, by Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman.

References

  1. "Here's Marvel: 1993!". Wizard . Wizard Entertainment (#17): 7–8. January 1993.
  2. Review of Spider-Man Unlimited (Vol. 2) #4