Update: In February, Marvel Comics teased the debut of a new character debuting in May's Miles Morales: Spider-Man #38(see below). Revealing just the character's name (Spider-Smasher) and design (high-tech armor with a gun for an arm), it seemed like a good bet this new addition to Miles' cast would be a dangerous new foe.
Nah-uh.
Not only is Spider-Smasher a friend and a fellow hero, but she's also Miles' baby sister, Billie.
How?
The Multiverse, of course.
Marvel just revealed that Spider-Smasher, created by writer Saladin Ahmed and artist Christopher Allen, will indeed debut in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #38 and play a "vital role" in a storyline that finds Miles Morales on a "dangerous inter-dimensional quest."
The grown-up and "extremely badass" version of Billie Morales, also known as Capitán Billie, is a product of 'The Empire of the Spider,' a timeline in which Miles' clone Selim bested Miles in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #28, the conclusion of his 'Clone Saga,' and Billie leads a resistance against the evil Spider-Man in the future.
"It blows my mind that, not only do I get to draw a chapter in one of the greatest sagas of all time, but I get to add something this significant to the story of one of my favorite characters!" Allen says in Marvel's reveal.
Check out a gallery of covers by artists Taurin Clarke, Allen, Sergio Dàvila, Skan, Jen Bartel, and Ernanda Souza to May 4's Miles Morales: Spider-Man #38:
Original story follows...
Marvel Comics is teasing a new character that appears to be debuting in May''s Miles Morales; Spider-Man #38. And their name… well, doesn't bode well for Miles or any Spider-Hero for that matter.
Spider-Smasher.
'Who is the Spider-Smasher?' you ask? Well, Marvel is asking that question too in the teaser, but we hope it's rhetorical since they are the ones to be telling us come May 4.
April's Miles Morales; Spider-Man #37 is the start of an "alter-dimensional quest", so perhaps this Spider-Smasher is someone Miles and his new ally Shift will be meeting along the way.
There's no Spider-Smasher in Marvel Comics' past, although the name reminds us of the long-time Spidey villains the Spider-Slayers, as well as the oft-forgotten one-off villain Smasher (also known as Man-Monster) from 1968's Spectacular Spider-Man Magazine #1. Smasher made his debut and died all in that one issue, so he'd have at least one good reason to come back as the Spider-Smasher.
But they may not even be an adversary for Spider-Man. Marvel's teaser is on the fence of if the new character is a hero or a villain, asking "Are they friend or foe?"
Whomever Spider-Smasher is, it looks like they are well-equipped - with a gun for an arm, and a pair of robotic pinchers ala the Iron Spider costume. And the glowy bits of their mask look like the eyes of an actual spider.
Miles Morales: Spider-Man #38 will be the newest issue of the series by the regular team of writer Saladin Ahmed and artist Christopher Allen.
Miles Morales: Spider-Man #38 goes on sale on May 4.
Look for Marvel Comics' full May 2022 schedule later in February here at Newsarama.
If Spider-Smasher is a villain, he has some competition to be one of the best Spider-Man villains of all time.
