This article contains SPOILERS for Edge of Spider-Verse #3!
Part of the promise of Marvel reveals that not everyone should, as gaining spider-powers might be the worst thing to ever happen to Black Cat. The Spider-Verse is ramping up to its next huge crossover event, and in doing so Marvel has revived the Edge of Spider-Verse series for another volume. Serving as a jumping in point for fans to meet Spider-Variants new and old, among them being an alternate universe Felicia Hardy using the moniker Night-Spider.
Black Cat is one of many fan favorite characters to have a Spider-Variant of themselves introduced ahead of Dan Slott and Mark Bagley's The End of the Spider-Verse event that kicks off later this year. Earlier Spider-Verse stories focused more heavily on endless variants of Peter Parker and his relatives: Spider-Man Noir, Spider-Ham, Spiders-Man, Spider-Ben, Spider-Girl, Spider-Ma'am. It was in the wake of 2018's Into the Spider-Verse film that Spider-Verse comics began to focus less on the centrality of Peter Parker and more on the endless diversity of who could become a Spider-Hero, like Gwen Stacy, Miles Morales, or Cindy Moon. The new volume of Edge of Spider-Verse picks up on this theme, and while some new heroes like Spider-Rex are still Peter variants, it's balanced out with the introduction of distinctly non-Parker Spiders such as Kraven's Hunter-Spider, Sun-Spider, and Night-Spider.
Introduced this week in Edge of Spider-Verse #3 in a story by Dan Slott, Sumeyye Kesgin, Brian Reber, VC's Joe Caramagna, Nick Lowe, and Devin Lewis, Night-Spider is the Felicia Hardy of Earth-194. Initially indistinguishable from Earth-616's Black Cat, Hardy's life careens in an alternate direction when she receives spider powers mid-heist. Her new powers are thrilling at first, but Night-Spider realizes that her abilities have quickly lost their charm. Felicia comes to see her powers as a curse since burglary is no longer a challenge. Night-Spider even willingly ruins her life by turning herself over to her best friend, detective Jean DeWolff, on the off chance that escaping from prison gives Felicia some excitement to live for.
Alternate universe stories are an interesting form of character study, as they allow a familiar character to be examined under unique lenses. In the case of Night-Spider, she reflects a core drive at the center of both Felicia Hardys: the thrill of the game. Black Cat is a thief unlike any other because she is not driven by desperation to survive, but instead by the joy, adrenaline, and cleverly constructed chaos of a heist. But when given Spider-Man's power-set the challenge that Night-Spider used to revel in has melted away. It seems a Felicia Hardy with spider-powers is like a cat who managed to figure out a laser dot: unsatisfied after no longer being able to play the game.
Of course fans reading Night-Spider's story might point out that rather that quit, Felicia need only set her eyes on a more dangerous prize. Saving the Marvel multiverse and preserving the Web of Life and Destiny is certainly a more dangerous game than cat burglary, hopefully Felicia Hardy of Earth-194 is up to the task. If so, then perhaps Night-Spider can learn that having Spider-Man's powers is not going to ruin her life forevermore.
Edge of Spider-Verse #3 is available now from Marvel Comics.
