Warning: contains spoilers for Edge of Spider-Verse #2!
Marvel's newest Spider-Man has more than a few secret ties to a certain time-traveling Time Lord from the Doctor Who franchise - and only the most diehard of fans would catch the connection between the two. Both Spider-Man and Doctor Who are long-running franchises that began nearly one year apart (Spider-Man in 1962 and Doctor Who in 1963) and have only increased in popularity ever since. Now the franchises are joined in Edge of Spider-Verse #2 in the form of an all-new Spider-Man: Spider-UK.
The Spider-Verse as a concept is a small subset of the Marvel Multiverse in which the many heroes with Spider-powers team up with (or battle against) one another. The initial Spider-Verse crossover in 2014 was successful enough to spawn different series centered around different Spider-People. Certain characters such as Spider-Man Noir and Peni Parker were popular enough for Sony to include them in 2018's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse film, which was itself popular enough to lead to two sequels. Now longtime writer Dan Slott brings the Spider-Verse back with the new Edge of Spider-Verse series, which brings together Spider-warriors old and new.
In Edge of Spider-Verse #2's story "The Spider and The Dragon" written by Ramzee with art by Ruairi Coleman, readers are introduced to Zarina Zahari, the resident Spider-Man of the United Kingdom - and appropriately named Spider-UK. Apart from the requisite suite of spider-powers, Zarina has electrochemical powers as well (similar to Miles Morales' venom strike abilities). When a dragon threatens the city, she suits up and immediately calls her boss. "What's the game plan, Brigadier?" she asks, referring to "Brigadier Alysande Stewart, Commander of W.H.O."
Astute Doctor Who fans will immediately recognize the Brigadier's name as a nod to one of the Doctor's most stalwart allies. Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart was an icon of the show for decades, and his daughter now makes appearances ever since his actor passed away in 2011. The fact that the Brigadier works at W.H.O. is no accident - nor is the fact that when Zarina swings into battle to defend the city from the dragon, she wears a "...vintage leather jacket with extradimensional pockets, courtesy of W.H.O." This is most likely a reference to the TARDIS, the police box-shaped vehicle the Doctor uses to travel through time - and as many Doctor Who fans know, the outside appearance is small yet is far bigger on the inside.
Spider-UK is a welcome addition to the Spider-Verse and especially to the roster of British superheroes. The vast majority of superheroes in Marvel's universe are based in New York City and Spider-Man himself is a New York icon. Fitting, then, that the latest Spider-Man in the Spider-Verse would not only fight for the UK, she would also outwardly reference the mythology of Doctor Who (along with her writers).