The following contains major spoilers for Spider-Man #5, on sale now from Marvel Comics.

Over the past few months, the origin of the Spider-Verse has been revealed alongside some of the most horrifying villains it has ever known. Even worse, the ancient Shathra and her insectile army have acquired the means to erase their enemies from history altogether. At least, that appeared to be the case until the surprise introduction of a brand new Peter Parker following the demise of the version fans know best, and his origin could be the key to bringing back everyone the Spider-Verse has lost.

After seeing the titular hero of Spider-Man #5 (by Dan Slott, Mark Bagley, John Dell, Edgar Delgado, and VC's Joe Caramagna) literally unravel into nothing, readers are brought back to the fateful day that Peter Parker was bitten by the radioactive arachnid that changed his life. This time, only Cindy Moon was bitten while Peter escaped the experience unchanged, and, in turn, Silk became the first Web-Slinging hero. He eventually made a name for himself saving his Uncle Ben and began helping Silk from the sidelines with his ingenious inventions. Of course, the most shocking part of all is the fact that Peter Parker still exists in the first place.

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Marvel's New Peter Parker Changes Everything

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While this is hardly the story that fans know and love, it isn't the abject tragedy they expected, either. As far as any of his fellow heroes were concerned, being untethered from the Web of Life and Destiny was worse than a death sentence. This was made perfectly clear when, upon being unraveled for herself, Jessica Drew's memory faded from the rest of the world as if she had never been born at all.

This concept was made all the more unsettling when it came to the primary Peter Parker, the so-called Chosen One whose survival was supposed to ensure the heroes' victory over Shathra. Without him, the next best hope at saving the Spider-Verse landed in the hands of a Spiderman born of decades-old editorial errors. Now that there is another primary Peter Parker, however, there might also be another route the heroes can take to stop Shathra and repair all the damage her Wasps have done along the way.

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Marvel's New Peter Parker Brings Hope to the Spider-Verse

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With another Peter Parker having lived a life so closely intertwined with Silk even in spite of never being bitten himself, it is obvious that Shathra's plan to sever the Spiders from the Web of Life and Destiny isn't as simple as she thought. Her army of infested Spiders may have unraveled their fair share of heroes, yet they were all merely reset rather than erased. As such, there is bound to be another Jessica Drew just as there is another Peter Parker, and knowing their strands still exist means knowing they can return to where they were always meant to be.

The idea that the Web of Life and Destiny acts as a living map of the multiverse is nothing particularly new, nor is the idea that there are heroes specifically tasked with protecting and maintaining it all the same. And, while the battles at hand might still be raging on, having such an easy way to bring back any lost souls is far too valuable to be ignored. That is, assuming the Spider-Verse's few remaining heroes realize what they stand to gain before they forget it ever existed.