Currently booming in cinemas on Sony’s side, the Spider-Verse is probably one of the favorite universes of superhero fans. Spider-Man has indeed been one of the world’s most popular superheroes for decades, but it may well be that as he gets older he changes forever.
Spider-Powered Superheroes
Character among the most popular superheroes, Spider-Man has had the right to many TV (animated series) and film adaptations, from animated films to sagas starring Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield and now Tom Holland. Of course, we must not forget the comics, in which Spider-Man lives many adventures that have never before been brought to the screen.
We can even talk about spider-men, since we know that there can be a multitude of Spider-Men across the universes and that some even rub shoulders, as is the case with Peter Parker and Miles Morales. You may not know this, but in comics, other superheroes possess similar powers.
This is particularly the case of Cindy Moon, alias Silk, a superheroine also bitten by an irradiated spider. and whose agility and spider-sense are even said to be superior to those of his male counterparts. But in the latest series of comics devoted to him, the young woman has become old and she can no longer use her powers. The worst part is that it should logically be the case for all similar superheroes.
What next for Spider-Man and the Spider-Verse?
In Silk #3a witch uses a spell that instantly ages the vigilante, who passes from the state of an agile and athletic young woman to that of a particularly old and fragile lady. After all, it makes sense, even without special spells, human superheroes are bound to age and weaken somewhat. But where it gets complicated is that Silk no longer appears to use her spider powers. In a preview for the next issue, Silk #4she is indeed trying to go after a gang of thugs, but the jet of canvas that comes out of her wrist crashes miserably a few centimeters from her.
If we imagine that the situation will be resolved one way or another and that Silk will recover his full powers, this event occurred in Silk #4 nevertheless raises a real question about the future of the Spider-Verse: if we are used to seeing young superheroes such as Peter Parker or Miles Morales, what will happen when these grow old? Maybe Marvel will never take the time to dwell on the subject, but the question is legitimate.
Because in the logic of things, the older these superheroes are, the less able they will be to use their powers and therefore save the world and protect the innocent. If the Spider-verse timeline runs its course, it could be that the Spider-Man embodied by Peter Parker ends up no longer existing. Then Miles Morales will be able to take over, for a time. But who to succeed him, then to succeed his successor, etc.?
We’ll probably never know if the “line” of the Spider-Men could truly die out one day, but the possibility seems in any case worrying and could well be considered by the screenwriters at Marvel in the future.
