Marvel’s Spider-Man: Across the Multiverse

Among all versions of Carnage, Peter had the deepest impression of two.

The first was the legendary 1994 Spider-Man animated series' Carnage Spider-Man.

This version of Carnage Spider-Man was the greatest villain of the entire 1994 animated series. He was so dangerous that the Beyond Realm Traveler—suspected to be a variant of the Beyonder—lost most of his power because of him, leading to a multiversal reboot. Even Madame Web took special interest in the 1994 Spider-Man, frequently guiding him throughout the series' events.

In this version, everything started when a parallel universe's Peter Parker was cloned.

As a result, that world had two Spider-Men—one remained as Spider-Man, while the other became Scarlet Spider.

At first, Scarlet Spider believed he was the clone. To cope with it, he altered his appearance, cut his hair short, and even wore a vest over his Spider suit, renaming himself Ben Reilly to start a new life.

But later, the shocking truth was revealed—

Ben Reilly was the real Peter Parker, and the "Peter Parker" living his life… was actually the clone.

This revelation shattered the clone Peter's mind.

Seizing the opportunity, the Carnage symbiote bonded with him, transforming him into Carnage Spider-Man!

A deranged symbiote combined with a fallen Spider-Man—this fusion created one of the greatest evils in the multiverse.

Using a powerful device, Carnage Spider-Man destroyed entire universes.

The second version was "Spider-Man Unlimited", a so-called sequel to the 1994 series, though it had no direct connection.

This Spider-Man wore an advanced nanotech suit, capable of optical invisibility and other futuristic features.

Most of the story took place on Counter-Earth (also called Anti-Earth).

In this version, J. Jonah Jameson's son, John Jameson, was an astronaut sent to explore Counter-Earth.

However, Carnage and Venom followed his space mission, hoping to hitch a ride to the mysterious planet. Spider-Man Unlimited tried to stop them, but was mistaken for an intruder.

A three-way battle ensued, leading to John Jameson going missing.

To clear his name, Spider-Man Unlimited stole a S.H.I.E.L.D. spaceship and traveled to Counter-Earth to rescue John.

Meanwhile, Carnage and Venom arrived on Counter-Earth and aligned themselves with the planet's symbiote overlord—"The Synoptic."

In this version, it wasn't clear if Carnage and Venom were actually father and son, but they seemed to get along fairly well.

Due to the show's limited episodes, they were often shown failing, which made them feel less threatening than other versions.

However, one thing about them stood out—

No matter how badly they were injured, they could always regenerate completely, as if they were immortal. This made them extremely hard to deal with.

The good news was that—regardless of which version—Carnage had the same weaknesses:

Sonic waves and fire.

Exploiting these weaknesses greatly reduced the difficulty of defeating a symbiote.

Step!

Gwen landed beside Peter , holding a large bag in her hand.

The bag was made of white webbing, forming a temporary container.

Inside, something was moving aggressively, constantly pushing against the webbing.

Fortunately, the webs were strong enough to keep it contained for now.

And the thing inside?

It was none other than this universe's Venom symbiote.

Truth be told, the Venom symbiote from Toby-Spider's universe was rather weak.

Its overall power level was noticeably low.

In the original events of this world, Toby-Spider was able to beat it senseless just by banging some metal pipes together—and after that, a single pumpkin bomb from Green Goblin completely obliterated it.

This might have something to do with its lack of experience as well.

After all, this world doesn't have many major villains. As the protagonist, Toby-Spider had only fought Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus so far—basically still a rookie in the superhero game.

And symbiotes are called symbiotes for a reason—they need a host to survive.

Without a host, their abilities are significantly weakened.

At this moment, the Venom symbiote was in exactly that state.

First, it was woken up by a series of loud church bells—"gently awakening its slumbering heart."

Then, before it could even open its eyes, Gwen had already trapped it inside a giant web sack.

And now, it was being brought back to the very same bells.

There was probably only one sentence that could describe Venom's current feelings:

"I'm suffering, but I can't even complain~"

"How should we deal with this?" Gwen asked.

Peter pointed to the large bell in front of them.

"Just leave it next to this. Let's send it off together."

Gwen chuckled, tossing the web-wrapped Venom symbiote beside the bell.

Then, mimicking Peter's actions, she reinforced the webbing a few more times.

Soon, the continuous tolling of bells filled the air.

At this point, Toby-Spider was completely convinced that Peter and Gwen were allies.

While they were handling Carnage and Venom, he rushed over to Gwen Stacy, who was still restrained, and freed her.

"You okay?" Toby-Spider asked.

Gwen Stacy, however, simply gazed at him with warm affection.

"Why didn't you ever tell me you were Spider-Man?" she asked.

Toby-Spider hesitated for a moment before replying awkwardly, "Can you... keep this a secret for me?"

Gwen Stacy's lips curled into a bright smile.

"Of course! But… can you promise me something in return?"

"What is it?" Toby-Spider asked.

He figured that, as long as it wasn't too outrageous, he would agree to keep her quiet.

Gwen Stacy grinned.

"Go on a date with me."

"...Huh?" Toby-Spider was completely caught off guard.

"What? You don't want to?" Gwen Stacy pretended to be upset.

"But you already have a date with me tonight!"

"Uh… I mean, dating a gorgeous girl like you is obviously a great thing, but… is this because I'm Spider-Man?" Toby-Spider suddenly realized.

Gwen Stacy nodded.

"Of course! You're the hero of the city, and you saved me—not once, but twice~"

Toby-Spider shook his head and firmly rejected her request.

"No… You like Spider-Man, not Peter Parker."

Gwen Stacy cut him off before he could continue.

"No, you're wrong.

Spider-Man is Peter Parker.

Peter Parker is Spider-Man.

So, when I say I like Spider-Man, I mean I like Peter Parker.

They're both you—there's no need to separate the two!"

"Th—"

Just as Toby-Spider was about to say something, a gunshot rang out from the streets below.

BANG!

A gruff voice followed.

"Damn it! It's the middle of the night! Some of us are trying to sleep!"

Gwen peeked down for a moment, then quickly recoiled, shrugging at Peter.

"Just some grumpy old guy. Guess we were too loud."

On the other side, Toby-Spider and Gwen Stacy exchanged a somewhat awkward glance.

Then, they walked over to Peter and Gwen.

Gwen Stacy looked at them curiously, then said gratefully,

"Thank you… for saving me."

"No problem," Peter replied, rhythmically tapping the bell as he spoke.

"Oh, by the way—about something you said earlier—I need to correct you."

"Not every Spider-Man is named Peter Parker."

"For example, I'm Peter ."

Next to him, Gwen decided to play along.

She removed her mask, winked, and said—

"And me? I'm Gwen Stacy."

??? ×2

(End of Chapter)

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