The universe of Earth-12041 may not be widely recognized by its designation, but when its origins are mentioned, many would suddenly realize what it is.
This is the world where the animated series Ultimate Spider-Man, which premiered on April 1, 2012, takes place.
The Spider-Man in this universe has quite a rich experience, comparable to Peter Parker of the primary Earth-616 universe.
At the age of 15, he gained his spider powers and, after Uncle Ben's death, gradually embarked on the path of becoming a community vigilante. A year into his vigilante career, he caught the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury, also known as "Egghead," who recruited him.
Thus, Earth-12041's Spider-Man joined forces with Iron Fist, Nova, White Tiger, and Power Man to form the young superhero team known as the "New Warriors."
Their first mission was to take down Doctor Doom—and they actually won, which was quite absurd.
Not long after, Doctor Octopus used the DNA of Ultimate Spider-Man (as Earth-12041's Spider-Man will be referred to from here on) as a genetic template to create the Venom symbiote. The Venom symbiote naturally latched onto Ultimate Spider-Man, forcing him into a grueling battle to finally rid himself of it.
Later, he received the Iron Spider Armor from that universe's Iron Man. However, every time he wore the suit, he would first accidentally attack his allies—whether dismantling his own base or crashing into innocent residential buildings.
If a certain someone named Ryū Aihara were to witness this, he'd probably pull out a gun and shoot him on the spot.
Over time, Ultimate Spider-Man faced the Chameleon, was transformed into a pig by Loki and hunted by Asgardian warriors, turned into a child by the Destroyer, traveled to K'un-Lun with Iron Fist to learn martial arts, swapped bodies with both the Hulk and Wolverine, broke the fourth wall alongside Deadpool, fought the Collector, and even pursued the Green Goblin across parallel universes. His experiences were so vast that they would make many superheroes break out in a cold sweat.
One such crisis arose from the collaboration between Doctor Octopus and Arnim Zola, a surviving remnant of Hydra.
In the Ultimate universe, Doctor Octopus is an ambitious and highly talented mad scientist. He used Spider-Man's DNA to create the Venom symbiote, combined the DNA of the Lizard, Vulture, Scorpion, and Rhino to create the Sinister Six, built octobot drones, and even cloned Venom Spider Soldiers from the fusion of Venom and his own DNA.
His mastery of both biology and mechanics reached unparalleled heights.
Peter once considered recruiting him upon arriving in this world but abandoned the idea after evaluating his mental state.
After all, with so many options across parallel universes, there was no need to constantly engage in mind games with someone so difficult to control.
Even if Peter only selected Doctor Octopuses with both high talent and sound minds, he would still have enough to form an entire army!
As for Arnim Zola, he was originally a Hydra scientist during World War II. Using his technological genius, he transferred his consciousness from his dying organic body into a powerful robotic shell, achieving mechanical ascension.
Though defeated by Captain America, Zola's body appeared dead, but his consciousness was preserved for over 70 years.
Amadeus Cho accidentally reactivated him, awakening Zola and allowing him to enter a world almost entirely controlled by computers.
In this digital domain, Arnim Zola was stronger than ever before!
Together, Doctor Octopus and Arnim Zola used Earth-12041 Spider-Man's genes to clone a squad of spider clones named the "Spider Killer Squad."
This clone army consisted of five members.
Only Ben Reilly was the "perfect clone," while the other four—Kaine, Tarantula, Goliath Spider, and Ghost Spider—were defective.
In the original "history," Tarantula, Goliath Spider, and Ghost Spider would eventually be absorbed by Kaine, serving as the nourishment for Kaine's evolution into the "complete form"—similar to Tiga Ultraman absorbing the Dark Giants to become the Composite Type or Cell absorbing Android 17 and 18 in Dragon Ball.
Kaine possessed an ability known as [Life Absorption], which allowed him to drain life force from other beings, especially other spider-powered individuals, to strengthen himself.
As for the other three, they each have their own unique abilities.
Among them, Bone Spider has numerous sharp spikes growing on his body, which he can actively extend as an attack method. However, these spikes are not poisonous; they merely enhance his offensive capabilities.
Goliath Spider, true to his name, is a fusion of Goliath Giant and spider genes. He possesses strength several times greater than that of a conventional Spider-Man and has astonishing defensive capabilities, allowing him to temporarily transform his entire body into an organic material as hard as steel.
As for Ghost Spider, his abilities are rather bizarre.
He possesses bioelectricity, generating electrical currents within his body that he can release through attacks, delivering bioelectric shocks to his enemies.
He can also distort the space around him, enabling himself or his teammates to teleport instantly.
In addition, he has abilities similar to those of Ghost, allowing him to phase through solid matter or become transparent and blend into his surroundings.
Peter speculated that part of his abilities might have originated from Black Spider Miles, as a version of Miles from an unknown universe had once traveled to Earth-12041 and stayed there for an extended period.
All three of them had formidable abilities and should have shone brightly, but unfortunately, in the original timeline, they were all killed.
Peter happened to encounter them in another world and saved them. He then had Doctor Octopus and Lizard Doctor examine their bodies and successfully rescued them.
Afterward, he traveled to the Earth-12041 universe and took Kaine, who was not having a good time there, along with him.
That world already had an animated Ultimate Spider-Man and a Scarlet Spider, Ben Reilly. As a failed clone, Kaine had no real place in that universe.
Peter's actions, in fact, granted him a sense of liberation.
Following this, Peter simply formed them into a combat squad.
He still called them the Spider Slayer Squad.
But this time, they weren't assassins sent to kill Spider-Man—they were assassins who possessed Spider-Man's abilities!
If the Spider Slayer Squad consists of four members, why did Spider-Man 2099 and his team only capture three?
Where did their leader, Kaine, go?
Swoosh—
Peter's communicator received an incoming transmission request.
Raising his wrist, he saw the caller's name—it was Kaine.
With a tap, he immediately received Kaine's message.
Then, he casually looked up at Spider-Man 2099 on the screen and said, "So, Mr. O'Hara, if you can't give me a reasonable explanation, should I assume that you are declaring war on the Interdimensional Task Force?"
(End of Chapter)
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