5 Silk Comics to Check Out Before Silk: Spider Society

The Spider-Verse is expanding! In news that was first hinted at last year, Amazon has confirmed that they will be working with Sony to bring the studio's expansive catalog of licensed Spider-Man characters to the small screen. With over 900 to pull from, they're spoiled for choice. And they've revealed that their first project will focus on a fan favorite new addition to the Marvel Universe: Cindy Moon. 

The young spider-hero who saves the world under the moniker of Silk was originally teased in 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man (vol 3) #1, but fans wouldn't actually meet Cindy Moon and learn her story until issue four of that relaunched series. It was there that, thanks to the Watcher, Peter learned the truth about Cindy: she'd been bitten by the same radioactive spider as him and was trained by a man named Ezekiel so that she could harness her spider-powers. Just like Peter, she has superhuman strength and reflexes. But unlike him, she can create organic webbing (itself a holdover from Sony's first spider-film). After being freed from her protective prison by Spider-Man,  Cindy became a hero in her own right. And it makes a lot of sense that we're seeing her introduced in the lead up to the Madame Web movie. 

Silk is deeply connected to Web and the wider Spider-Verse, so let's dig into the comic book stories that we want to see this series adapt and how they tie into spider-lore. 

Original Sin

From what we know of the plans for the series so far, it sounds like the first season will take heavily from the event that introduced Cindy to Marvel readers everywhere. The official announcement teases that with this line: "as she escapes imprisonment and searches for her missing family on her way to becoming the superhero known as Silk." So what else happened in Original Sin? Well, some major things we could see adapted include the introduction of the spider-villain known as Morlun (who recently reappeared in the comics in a major way). Looking at the plans that Sony has, it's likely he could be the big bad for this part of their universe. This series will also likely establish some of Spider-Man's other most famous foes like Black Cat. And interestingly we could see Jonah J. Jameson's news network, which plays a large part in the comics as Cindy Moon ends up working for him to help her find her missing family. ​

The Spider-Totems / Order of the Web

It'll be very interesting to see if the Sony series starts to build in the esoteric lore of the Spider-Totems, but if Cindy and Madame Web are joining the fray then it seems likely. The concept first came about in 2002's Amazing Spider-Man (vol 2) #42, and has become ever more key to the stories of the Spider-Verse. Basically, it connects the spider-heroes to spider-gods, making them their avatars on Earth. In the comics, Morlun was known as the Totem-Devourer and was said to gain power from eating the Spider-Totems, hence why Cindy was imprisoned by Ezekiel (who according to set photo leaks will be appearing in the Madame Web movie). The organization that worships the Totems is known as the Spider Society, so seeing as the new series is named after them (Silk: Spider Society) we can guess the Totems will be key. There's also a spider-team featuring Silk, known as the Order of the Web that we could see show up. 

Spider-Women

This is a big arc and the one that we would be most excited to see. Marvel and Sony's constant licensing drama means that we've never gotten to see a live-action Spider-Woman come to life on screen in the modern age (though Tiffany Espensen played Cindy Moon in a cameo role in Homecoming and Avengers: Infinity War in her human form). In a way, this is Sony's biggest leverage and unique selling point against Marvel. So it would make sense to see this arc adapted here. The story brings together Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew), Silk, and Spider-Gwen to battle their evil doppelgangers and this is probably something that Sony is eager to bring to life, perhaps setting it up in Silk: Spider Society before releasing their Madame Web film. And luckily Cindy has an awesome selection of solo stories from her Silk series that could build out her world. 

Spider-Verse

If there is one thing that Sony and Amazon will want to explore the most, it's this. There's a reason that Chris Miller and Phil Lord have been brought on as producers, and that's because Into the Spider-Verse is widely seen as the best Spider-Man and multiverse movie ever made. So to be able to tap into that and use it as a way to translate the access they have to the many, many spider-characters could be a huge win for the studio. In regards to Silk, the Spider-Verse arc saw her drawn into an epic Spider-Totem related battle as she fought alongside multiple spider-folks including Spider-Gwen, Anya Corazon's Spider-Girl, Benjy Parker, Superior Spider-Man, and more. So don't be surprised if this is another event that the series and wider Sony/Amazon TV-verse draws from as it aims to grow its offerings. 

Agents of Atlas

This one is a bit of a reach as it would venture outside the world of Spider-Verse characters. But seeing as we're in the multiverse now, we could imagine a Disney+/Amazon crossover event in a few years once the latter's properties have found their footing. After all, the incredibly popular Sony/MCU Spider-Man canon is vital to the continued success of both franchises. So we're including it just for fun. Though the team has a storied and complex history in the Marvel Universe, the version that Silk was a part of was founded by Jimmy Woo during Marvel's War of the Realms event. They're joined by Amadeus Cho, who we cannot wait to see on screen in the MCU as soon as possible. As we said, this one is a real longshot, but may happen further down the line. After all, No Way Home brought all the Spider-Mans together so nothing is impossible anymore. 

What Other Characters Could the Sony/Amazon Shows Introduce?

Well, that's the big question. Basically any Spider-Man adjacent character is alleged to be included in Sony's licensing agreement, so we could see any of the many characters already used in the Sony movies. That means there's a smorgasbord of arachnid-heroes that we haven't seen yet. Some potential arrivals could include characters as well known as Kraven and as deep cut as Fancy Dan. There are some big names fans are desperate to see like Spider-Woman and the aforementioned Black Cat (who seems like a near certain inclusion in the Silk series). Sony has previously announced and seemingly scrapped appearances of Silver Sable and the Sinister Six, the latter of which has a shifting lineup including unseen villains like Hobgoblin, Beetle, and Chameleon (who's rumored to appear in the Kraven film). Other untapped creations range from Hammerhead to Mister Negative to Puma to Alistair Smythe to Hypno-Hustler. So basically it's a Spidey free for all as this deal moves forward.