Given that Spider-Man is inarguably the premiere character of Marvel Comics, it makes sense that he'd have several different variations throughout the multiverse. Many of these different takes on the Webslinger have still been fairly similar to his usual incarnation, but there's one notable exception. A monstrous spider hero literally named Webslinger was the Spider-Man of the fantasy world of the Covenant of the Shield, trading a red and blue costume for a horrific, monstrous appearance.

Part of an attempted longform fantasy version of Marvel, Webslinger was one of several Spider-Man concepts brought into the weird mystical world of Eurth. Unfortunately, he's one of Spider-Man's less well-known variants, and he might even be too gruesome for the animated Spider-Verse. Here's the grisly yet spectacular story of a most amazing fantasy and the boy who was obsessed with spiders.

RELATED: Spider-Man: How Carnage Twisted a Venom 2 Villain Into a Real Demon

Webslinger and the Widow of the Web

The being known as Webslinger was once a normal yet inquisitive boy who was absolutely obsessed with knowledge, and of course, spiders. In an attempt to bolster his knowledge of them, he ventured to the Webwood where the mysterious Widow of the Web lived. The sorceress taught him everything that she knew about spiders, even bequeathing him with powers like those of the arachnids. The one condition, however, was that he must use these skills in the name of heroism and not for personal gain.

Unfortunately, this rule was broken when he used his powers to save his uncle from a thief, enraging the Widow of the Web. She charged him with newfound power and responsibility, forcing him to protect those in Webwood. His powers and abilities were augmented to the point where he now resembled a human/spider hybrid, with this freakish arachnid form branding him a monster and a menace to even those that he tried to protect.

Webslinger, as mentioned, is obviously this fantasy world's version of Spider-Man, with his origin inverting Spidey's first adventure in particular ways. Likewise, the Widow of the Web was a version of Madame Web, who at the time was still a very prominent part of Spider-Man comics.

RELATED: How Spider-Man's Lost Years Solved the Clone Saga's Biggest Mistakes

The Covenant of the Shield

Webslinger and the Widow of the Web both debuted in the second issue of Avataars: Covenant of the Shield. This three-part story from Len Kaminski and Oscar Jimenez was essentially the prologue to a planned twelve-issue alternate universe story, but this never surfaced due to Marvel's financial issues at the time.

This fantasy world, called Eurth, featured various reinterpretations of Marvel heroes and villains, with Dreadlord Zymo (Baron Zemo) leading a group of villains against the Champions of the Realm, a.k.a. the Avengers. Alternate versions of the Fantastic Four and mutants such as the X-Men also show up, as does Spider-Man and his Rogues Gallery, of course. These included the Six Most Sinister, who work for the evil Goblin King.

As mentioned, Avataars never really amounted to anything, although its concept was somewhat recycled in the recent reboot of Amazing Fantasy. This means that its unique take on Spider-Man has also been forgotten, possibly due to how horrific it is. Many of the other characters were given more overly heroic, almost knight-like interpretations, so it was weird to see Spider-Man of all heroes reimagined as a dark fantasy body horror monster. Webslinger is the perfect candidate to show up again through some version of the Spider-Verse, though a gigantic spider mutant who's mutated beyond humanity may be a bit too much for the animated movie universe.

KEEP READING: Venom: How Ultimate Marvel Made the Symbiote Even More Dangerous