Marvel Comics’ “Spider-Man and His Venomous Friends” Brings Big Symbiote Energy to NYCC
Marvel Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski kept his New York Comic-Con tradition alive with a raucous “Spider-Man and His Venomous Friends" panel that spanned street-level webs to cosmic ooze. Hosted by Nick Lowe, the session brought together key architects of Spidey and Symbiote storytelling — Jordan D. White, Al Ewing, Joe Kelly, Stephanie Phillips, and Charles Soule — for news, first looks, a surprise crossover reveal, and a summer event tease that had the room buzzing.
The panel opened with Lowe’s high-energy welcome and a giveaway announcement: attendees would walk out with a special-cover copy of Spider-Man Noir #1. From there, the conversation leapt straight into the twice-monthly engine of The Amazing Spider-Man (ASM), which is currently running on two tracks. In space, Peter Parker finds himself in over his head with unexpected allies and an alien “flexi-suit" whose occupant — Glitch, a rogue Technarch — turns a supposed upgrade into a new problem. Back on Earth, Norman Osborn is wearing the spider-suit, trying to prove himself to a community of Spider-heroes who emphatically doubt he should. Adding to the chaos, Ben Reilly remains a volatile variable, setting up what the team jokingly called “three Spider-Men across two lanes."
Upcoming issues promise a mix of tear-jerker stakes and fist-pumping spectacle. Tombstone surges back with muscle that can redirect damage (leaving Norman to “eat" the pain he’s dished out), and the creators flagged an approaching chapter they “defy you to read and not cry." An Amazing Spider-Man Annual arrives in January with a main story by Joe Kelly that dovetails into the core book, plus a Saladin Ahmed/Federico Vicentini tale spotlighting Rapid, the breakout hero introduced in June’s Giant-Size ASM #1 and seen again in ASM #11.
Attention then turned to Stephanie Phillips’ All-New Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider. Gwen Stacy has a sharp new (non-symbiote) suit and a formidable new nemesis: Tantrum, the malicious echo of her former symbiote. Intimately familiar with Gwen’s strengths and soft spots, Tantrum feeds on the anger of everyday New Yorkers by jumping hosts — turnstile tantrums and coffee-line meltdowns suddenly matter. On the personal side, Gwen’s rebuilding her music life; Cindy Moon (Silk) has joined her band, and the room helped christen their name “Threadbare" live on stage — an audience choice the creators said they’ll canonize in the book (the losing options were “Silk & the Static," “Silence & Silk," and “A Subtle Web"). Expect kisses (Phillips happily confirmed) and a guest swing-by from Agent Anti-Venom.
For Venom, Al Ewing showcased the milestone #250, where a main story with Terry Dodson and a backup by Charles Soule/Carlos Gómez channel classic Lethal Protector swagger. The headline, though, is cosmic: Knull is back — and Hela has him caged, siphoning his power as the self-declared “Queen in Black." As Ewing warned, “you don’t put Knull in a cage" without consequences.
The creative team then unveiled a first look at KNULL #1, a five-issue limited series launching in January from Al Ewing and Tom Waltz, with art by Juanan Ramírez. The uncolored preview pages, shown for the first time at NYCC, teased Knull’s reemergence following his imprisonment by Hela. The series will explore the God of Symbiotes reclaiming his throne and setting the stage for a major symbiote epic in 2026.
Another panel tease came from Eddie Brock: Carnage #10, the final issue in that series. Charles Seoul discussed reuniting with a character he created, Muse, and how cool it was to see this villain leap off the page in Daredevil: Born Again.
The biggest reveal came with the announcement of Amazing Spider-Man & Venom: Death Spiral, a nine-part crossover running from February through April. Joe Kelly, Al Ewing, and Charles Soule co-write; Jesús Saiz handles the launching one-shot (and contributes chapters to each title), with Ed McGuinness on ASM entries and Carlos Gómez on Venom. The trio described the book’s engine as a twisted family drama — Peter, MJ, Eddie, Venom, and Carnage bound by decades of history, supercharged by a serial-killer thread that presses every emotional bruise at once.
As if that weren’t enough, Marvel closed the panel with a cosmic tease: Queen in Black, a major crossover event launching next Summer. Written by Al Ewing, the storyline will spin directly out of the current Venom arc, as well as the upcoming Knull limited series. The event centers on Hela’s reign as the new Queen in Black, unleashing the power vacuum left by Knull’s imprisonment and plunging the Marvel Universe into a symbiote-fueled war of gods. Queen in Black was billed as a Knull-sized cosmic epic, promising to reshape the hierarchy of power across Marvel’s outer realms. Ewing hinted that entire worlds, and even Earth’s heroes, may find themselves caught in the crossfire when the Goddess of Death takes her vengeance beyond the realm of Asgard.
A lively audience Q&A closed things out. Marvel reiterated its no-AI-art policy, noting their talent team is trained to spot and reject AI-tainted submissions. Kaine Parker fans were assured, “you haven’t seen the last of him." Ben Reilly devotees were urged to keep watching both ASM and Venom as he wrestles with his Peter hang-ups and growth. Miles Morales won’t figure into Death Spiral, but he’s active in ASM and his own series, with a “big 2026" teased. New readers were pointed to the current Amazing Spider-Man relaunch (entry-friendly) and evergreen favorites like Spider-Man: Blue on Marvel Unlimited. One retailer even pitched a vinyl single variant to tie in with Gwen’s band — the panel loved the idea.
Between the dual-lane ASM saga, Gwen’s rebirth and band life, Venom’s escalating cosmic danger, a spring crossover, and a summer event, Marvel’s Spider-corner left NYCC with momentum to spare, and fans left with a free noir keepsake and a head full of symbiote scheming.