The following contains spoilers for Deadly Neighborhood Spider-Man #5, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
Peter Parker has encountered more than his fair share of terrifying foes over the past sixty years, yet none of them have ever posed quite the same threat as Marvel's Demon Bear. Not only has this ethereal force of nature turned Spider-Man's entire reality inside out, he is poised to do the very same to the rest of the world. Thankfully, Spider-Man isn't alone in his cross-country mission, although he never expected an old acquaintance to become the Spider-Verse's most mind-bending hero along the way.
As the battle between the titular hero of Deadly Neighborhood Spider-Man #5 (by Taboo, B. Earl, Juan Ferreyra, and VC's Travis Lanham) and his nightmarish doppelganger rages on, Peter manages to unmask his foe, miraculously bringing about an end to the fight in an explosive way. This destroys Spider-Man's doppelganger, but it also fatally wounds the real Peter in the process. Of course, Crystal Catawnee has been right by his side this entire time, and after being transformed by mystic debris, she is more capable than ever of playing the hero.
Crystal Catawnee is Marvel's Dream-Spider
Although Crystal Catawnee was first introduced in Deadly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1, she has quickly made a name for herself as both a scientist and adventurer. In fact, it was her work that brought Peter to Los Angeles, in the first place. Following Peter's encounter with the magical stone and the subsequent thinning of the veil between the waking and dreaming worlds, Crystal has been steadfast in doing everything she can to help, even if it means putting her life on the line.
Apart from her technical expertise, Crystal has leaped headfirst into every challenge that Demon Bear has to offer, at least in part due to the role she believed her experiments played in unleashing him. Crystal's sense of responsibility already makes her a prime candidate for joining the Spider-Verse's other heroes. This is even more true now that she has her own powers to put to use as the Dream-Spider, and especially so considering she is the only one of her kind keeping an eye on the world.
Dream-Spider's New Powers Could Save the Spider-Verse
While Crystal displays plenty of superhuman strength and agility in her Dream-Spider form, the mystic stone suit that forms around her seems to imbue her with an impossible level of resilience. Even when completely crushed by one of the Demon Bear's massive paws, Crystal emerges entirely unscathed. This points toward how powerful the mystic stone that is now a part of her truly is, yet it barely scratches the surface of what other abilities it may have imparted upon her.
Presumably, the mystic stone's innate connection to dream world is something that Crystal now bears. As such, she could easily play a key role if the Demon Bear or another villainous figure rose up to pose a threat to it. She could also be the one to unravel the secrets that the dreaming world holds, opening the door to places and concepts that have only been glimpsed by the heroes so far. Hopefully, whatever Dream-Spider finds won't be worse than what she has already dealt with, even if she has already proven that nothing can keep her down for very long.