Spider-Man believes it's his responsibility to use his powers to protect the people of the Marvel Universe, and over the years he's made a number of sacrifices to shoulder that responsibility. What if that responsibility was not his to bear alone? What if the radioactive spider that bit Peter Parker also bit another one of his classmates? If so, is it Peter's responsibility to be there to support and help this classmate deal with their new abilities?

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These questions and more will run through Spidey's head this July in "Amazing Spider-Man" #4 by writer Dan Slott and artist Humberto Ramos, which kicks off a tie-in to Marvel's "Original Sin" event and introduces Spidey to the mysterious Silk -- a woman who was bitten by the same radioactive spider that bit Peter, but whose life went down a drastically different path. CBR News Spoke with editor Nick Lowe about the character and the storyline that was announced by Marvel yesterday at their "Original Sin" and "Spider-Verse" panels at the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo.

CBR News: Nick, many of the "Original Sin" tie-ins are about characters discovering shocking information about their lives and in "Amazing Spider-Man" #4-5 Peter Parker will discover that he wasn't the only super human created by the radioactive spider that bit him. How long has this story been in the works? And what was your reaction when writer Dan Slott first told you about the idea?

Nick Lowe: This has been in the works for some time. When I came into the Spidey office a couple months ago this was already pretty well under way as far as the conception of the idea of someone else being bit by the spider. I think it was something that Dan had been wanting to do for awhile, but the planning of the "Original Sin" event I think is what crystalized it for Dan.

One of the fun things about it was that Dan and I went to lunch with [editor] Ellie Pyle when I first joined the Spidey office. At that lunch we were talking about this new character and because there were some cool ideas that were tossed out as lunch went on we ended up making some big changes to her origin story. It's just one of those fun comics collaboration stories where you go in with one idea and you come out with something that's decently different, but a lot of fun.

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We know that Silk is a female character, but is there anything else you can tell us about her?

Her story is a really neat twist on what could have happened if Peter had gone a different way; if Peter had a different upbringing and family. Does Silk have her own Uncle Ben? You're going to have to wait and see, but she is a character whose roots will go back into Spider-Man's history obviously to the bite of the original spider. There will be little bits and pieces of Peter's history though that are also bits and pieces of her history that will be told in interesting ways.

Is "Amazing Spider-Man #4-5 primarily about Peter discovering the existence of Silk? Or will he have other matters to deal with as well? Will these issues involve a super villain antagonist?

Absolutely. Issues #4-5 are actually going to be a big part of what's going on in "Amazing Spider-Man" #1-3. So Silk is going to be a complication of the situation that Peter already has going on. He'll already have his hands full with Electro and Black Cat at that point and Silk coming in isn't going to make things easier for him. I'll tell you that much.

Will these issue take place primarily in the present? Or will there be some flashbacks involved?

There are some flashbacks involved in telling Silk's story, but #4-5 for the most part are going to primarily be present day stuff. We'll get a little taste of her story, but it will be unfolding as months go on. We'll learn more and more about her.


"Amazing Spider-Man" #4-5 will not be the last time you see this character in the least. She will be a pretty major character in the Spider books going forward. The question will be what role will she play in Spider-Man's world? Is she a foe? Is she a friend? Is she something else entirely? That will be something we're all going to have to wait and see.

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What can people expect from Humberto Ramos' work on the story? Did he design the look of Silk?

Yes, Humberto designed Silk's look. He took some initial notes from Dan, [former "Amazing Spider-Man" editor] Steve Wacker, and Ellie Pyle before me. They started working on her at that point and it's such a cool look.

Humberto is so incredible. One of the best things of coming into the Spidey Office is the art team on the Spidey books. Between Humberto and Giuseppe Camuncoli I'm just the luckiest editor. Because not only are they incredibly professional, but they're so good.

There are very few people who draw Spider-Man better than Humberto Ramos. I've been at Marvel for a long time, Dave. It will be 12 years in May. I remember when I was an intern here 13 and a half years ago and seeing one of Humberto's first Spider-Man pages when he was on "Peter Parker: Spider-Man." It was a double page spread of Spidey swinging that I made xeroxes of and had up in my college dorm room. I still have them. [Laughs] I treasure them. He draws such a dynamic, interesting Spider-Man. He's great.

This story is a new look at a new Spider character that I think is really going to fascinate people.

"Amazing Spider-Man" #4 swings into stores in July.