Not long ago the thought of multiple variations of Spider-Man teaming up would be considered an outlandish claim. But since the success of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, even the most casual fan knows how many different iterations of the hero exist across different realities. While the movie was based off an idea created in the comics where Spider-Man exists in every iteration of Marvel's Earth across the multiverse, the comic origins are a little more confusing -- and include vampires.
Before readers were introduced to the Spider-Verse concept, Spider-Man was introduced to a villain named Morlun. A vampiric being, Morlun feeds on animal embodiments called totems. While he can feed on normal humans, only a pure totem can sustain his hunger. Spider-Man just so happens to be one of these pure totems, and in their initial battle, Peter was badly beaten. After touching him, the vampire Morlun could now find him anywhere. Morlun enjoyed the hunt, and would continue to pop up and fight Spider-Man through issues. To make it clear that this is a story made for more mature comic readers and not a young movie audience, one of the most brutal battles saw Spider-Man nearly killed, left hanging on to life... after Morlun ripped out one of his eyes, and ate it.
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Spider-Man would survive, and gain some new powers in the process. Morlun would be given a complex background that would bring with it the beginning of the web fans now know as the 'Spider-Verse.' Morlun was revealed to belong to the Inheritors, a clan of totem hunters from Earth-001 led by Solus, patriarch of the Inheritors, who considered Morlun his favorite son. Daemos was the oldest son, Bora and Brix were competitive twins, Jennix was the brains of the clan, and Verna owned a pack of hounds that would do her bidding. The family's mission was more than bloodshed, revealed when they captured the Spider deity known as the 'Master Weaver' on Earth-000 (dubbed "Loomworld"), allowing them to traverse the multiverse in search of the totems prophesied to one day overthrow them.
The original Spider-Verse story showed the Inheritors travelling the multiverse and consuming the Spider-Totems, and a band of Spider-Men/Women fighting against the clan. Into the Spider-Verse may have introduced fans to the likes of Spider-Ham and Spider-Noir, but there are dozens of other Spider-people that were shown or glimpsed, and even more that were killed at the hands of the Inheritors. The Spider-Army discover that the Inheritors cannot truly be killed, because when they die, their consciousness is put into a cloned body and they are born anew.
However, the team of Spiders are finally able to win the war, after successfully turning one of the Inheritors, the youngest and least vicious Karn, to their side. With Karn backing them, the Spiders are able to overpower the villains, and when Karn takes the place of the Master Weaver after its death they are able to trap the inheritors on a desolate radioactive planet. The story, of course, does not end here, as the Inheritors would return during Spider-Geddon. With a sequel to Into the Spider-Verse in the works, we can only hope to see some more Spider-People that were first introduced in the Spider-Verse event.
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