The Marvel Comics multiverse is a place of infinite variation, with many heroes sharing names if not powers and backgrounds. The Spider-Man of Japan is a prime example of this. Despite wearing the same costume as Peter Parker, he protected his world from giant monsters while piloting the mecha Leopardon. However, this hero will finally be getting his own distinctive costume as part of the upcoming Spider-Verse Vs. Venomverse event.
CBR revealed the new costume in an interview with artist Luciano Vecchio. The new spider-suit will make its first appearance in Spider-Verse Vs. Venomverse #3. The story will find Takuya Yamashiro, the Spider-Man of Japan, joining other spider-themed heroes in a war across reality with variants of Venom.
The design-sheet variant cover of Spider-Verse Vs. Venomverse #3 may be viewed below.
(Image Source: Marvel / Lucciano Vecchio)
The new costume was specifically designed to visually distinguish Takuya Yamashiro from Peter Parker. However, it was also intended to honor his roots as a Sentai soldier superhero. The original Japanese Spider-Man show, which ran for 41 episodes in 1978-1979, made use of the classic costume and powers, while featuring the mecha and kaiju common to children’s entertainment of the era. This made it a hit with Japanese kids, but greatly confused those few American fans who saw it.
“I rewatched episodes and clips of the Japanese Spider-Man show to tap into that universe’s sensitivity and dramatic body language” explained Vecchio. “(I) also referred to other early ‘80s shows in the Tokusatsu genre for aesthetic cues like the scarf and black lenses.” Vecchio also credited writer Mat Groom with helping him develop the “Spider-Man meets Super Sentai” design.
Spider-Verse Vs. Venomverse #3 arrives in comic shops everywhere on July 23, 2025.