There is one thing that never changes, no matter how many times Spider-Man appears in films, no matter how much praise Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man trilogy receives for being the finest one, and no matter how well-liked the M.C.U. Spider-Man becomes. The best Spider-Man film, despite the ongoing debate over Maguire, Garfield, and Holland’s Spideys, is definitely Into the Spider-Verse.
We have great hopes for Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse, which is also forthcoming. Marvel Comics has published a miniseries that develops the Spider-Verse plot. Marvel has imitated DC’s Jurassic League in this miniseries by introducing Spider Rex, a Spider-Man from the time of the dinosaurs.
We will discuss Spider Rex and his origin story in today’s video.
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Spider-Rex: Edge Of Spider-Verse
A mini-series known as the Edge of Spider-Verse expands the Spider-Verse that we know of as it adds new, exciting, and unusual versions of Spider-Man to its arsenal. The first issue, written by Alex Segura, Karla Pacheco, and Dan Slott glosses over four versions of Spider-Man, namely, Spider Laird, Araña, Spider Rex, and Spider-Man Noir. You must already be familiar with Spider-Man Noir, thanks to his beyond iconic appearance in Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse.
The issue is laid out as a mini-series, with each series going over a certain Spider-Man from the Spider-Verse. And as such, the unusual but amusing Spider Rex finds himself the star of the third segment.
But before that, let’s go over why and how Spider Rex is relevant. After Spider Laird (a Scottish Spider-Rex from the 18th century) gets his intro, Madame Web visits him in his timeline. She introduces the concept of the Spider-Verse to him and tells him of a terrifying war that will test him and every other one like him.
In the miniseries dedicated to Araña, Madame Web finds her going through an internal transformation that powers her up. Some older villains she had previously dealt such as the Sisterhood Of The Wasp return. Araña also has to deal with a hunter called Delilah. After she is done dealing with Delilah, Madame Web reappears and asks for her help. The situation seems to be a dire one which probably results in Araña travelling back in time and to a different Earth, quite possibly to recruit another Spider-Man.
This brings us to the prehistoric era in Earth 66. It is hard to pinpoint the accurate time period in this timeline but according to the illustration, it all happened ‘long, long, long ago…’ Here, Spider-Man is no mere human Spider and is actually a dinosaur. He is fighting a dinosaur who looks like the Green Goblin of his world. We also get a short backstory of how things turned into the way they are.
‘A little long, long, longer ago…’, Pter Ptarker was your average pterodactyl. The joke comes off really well on print since you can see the smooth wordplay on the word ‘pterodactyl’ and ‘Peter Parker’. He was being bullied by an antagonistic Tyrannosaurus Rex, known as Norrannosaurman (the name is probably a play on Green Goblin since his colour scheme is quite similar to Norman Osborn’s villain). Norrannosaurman was ordering his henchmen (in this case, other dinosaurs) to get Pter Ptarker. He then bit him when a meteorite filled with Spiders crashed onto them.
Suddenly, Pter’s entire physiology changed. He went from looking like a regular pterodactyl to one with the red and blue Spider suit (in his case it was a complete physical transformation instead of being an externally made suit). He wakes up from the accident and realizes that something is not right. Aunpt May and Uncle Bten (the pterodactyl versions at least) seem to be concerned as they bring berries to their nephew. Meanwhile, Pter wonders about what he woke up as.
Norrannosaurman has also changed as a result of the meteorite phenomenon. However, his form turned into that of a pterodactyl (which he hates). He closes in on Pter Ptarker and tries to attack him but Pter who is now Spider Rex (yes, he somehow turned into a T-Rex so it is like the two dinosaurs swapped) slashes Norrannosaurman with his swingy tail. Norrannosaurman believes that Pter weakened him from being a T-Rex to a pterodactyl with his blood but Pter points out how he was the one who bit him.
The weakening makes Norrannosaurman worse and he begins to pursue Spider Rex as he calls him out on his weakness. Pter cannot deal with all this anymore and he uses his webbing to attack Norrannosaurman’s henchmen (or rather, hench dinosaurs). His webbing is also natural instead of being artificial like let’s say Andrew Garfield or Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. You cannot expect a dinosaur from a ‘long time ago’ era to concoct his own scientific webbing, can you?
Anyway, Norrannosaurman still keeps mocking Pter, calling him an orphaned runt, when Pter points out how the very weakling he is making fun of is now stronger than him. Norrannosaurman flies to catch up with Spider Rex, who seems to be having an amazing time swinging from branch to branch with his webbing. This is strange as web-swinging cannot be as fun as flying as a pterodactyl. But it is understandable why Pter Ptarker is ecstatic to experience a massive influx of power as Spider Rex.
As he swings away, he thinks about telling Aunpt May and Uncle Bten about him now being like the King of the Dinosaurs. However, the branch holding his webbing breaks as branches are not nearly as convenient for the sport of web-swinging as the skyscrapers of New York City. Spider Rex falls on Norrannosaurman, causing the latter to land on a bunch of other dinosaurs. What Spider Rex finds next changes his perspective on life forever.
This moment is surely a moment of deja vu. Pter Ptarker or Spider Rex soon finds out that he has fallen on other innocent dinosaurs (prehistoric pedestrians). He sees the collateral damage that has been caused by his actions and feels guilty for being reckless. Especially because he was swinging away while feeling extremely prideful and borderline cocky. If he had toned it down, the branches would have probably stayed intact. However, this incident helps him realize how with great power comes great responsibility. Or with ‘grraaah power there must also come grrresponsibility’.
The final panel zooms in on Araña, who has seemingly travelled back in time and finds Spider Rex. It is only natural for her almost to cuss out, considering what she witnesses is far from normal, even in a world where it is acceptable and believable to have a Titan erase half of existence with a snap of his fingers along with some fancy, otherworldly jewellery (in his case, the infinity stones).
The storyline is a lot more lighthearted, which makes sense with its unusual setting. It also cleanses the palate of the reader before the story transgresses into the heavier story of Spider-Man Noir.
And with that, today’s video comes to an end. What did you think of Spider Rex? Did you enjoy this video? If yes, then don’t forget to like and comment on this video. Till then, goodbye. And have a nice one!