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Silk Comics Reading Order, the adventures of Cindy Moon in the Spider-verse

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Silk, whose real name is Cindy Moon, was created by writer Dan Slott and artist Humberto Ramos, first appearing in The Amazing Spider-Man #1 (Vol. 3) in 2014. Like Peter Parker, Cindy gained her powers from the same radioactive spider bite during the infamous demonstration at a science exhibit. While Peter quickly took up the mantle of Spider-Man, Cindy’s journey led her to a dark place.

Unlike Peter, Cindy had difficulty controlling her powers when they first emerged—her enhanced senses, agility, and the ability to spin organic webbing from her fingertips made her dangerous without proper training. Recognizing this, the mysterious Ezekiel Sims—a secretive man deeply involved in the mystical “Spider-Totem” mythology—approached Cindy’s family. He offered to help her harness her abilities and shield her from a far greater threat.

That threat was Morlun and his family, the Inheritors—interdimensional predators who hunt and consume beings connected to the Spider-Totem across the multiverse. To protect her, Ezekiel placed Cindy in a secure, isolated bunker where she remained hidden for six years, cut off from the outside world but honing her abilities.

Cindy is eventually freed by Peter Parker himself after he learns of her existence. Upon emerging, she adopts the superhero identity Silk. Her release, however, alerts Morlun to her presence once again, drawing her directly into the events of the Spider-verse crossover. Eventually, Cindy got to live a normal life for a superhero. She found a job, working with J.J. Jameson, and started to seek her family, who mysteriously disappeared, all the while fighting criminals in New York City.

Silk Reading Order

There are basically two solid entry points for getting into Silk’s story. The first is chronological: start with her debut in The Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 3) #1 by Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos, follow her through the events of the Original Sin and Spider-Verse crossovers, and then move into her first solo series. This approach gives the full picture of how Cindy Moon fits into the larger Spider-Man mythos, but it also means she spends a lot of time as a supporting character in Peter Parker’s world.

The second option is to dive straight into her solo series, which might actually be a better choice for readers who want to get to know Cindy on her own terms. These titles give her room to become a fully realized character, exploring her personality, struggles, and cultural identity in a way the earlier stories only hint at.

First steps in the Spider-Verse

Silk first appeared in issue #1 (April 2014) as a faceless cameo and made her full debut in issue #4 (July 2014). Issues #1–6 were a story arc called ‘Lucky to be Alive’, taking place immediately after ‘Goblin Nation’, with issues #4 and #5 being a crossover with the Original Sin storyline.

The most influential Spider-Man-centric event of this century, Spider-Verse saw all the Spider-Men attacked by Morlun and his family, the Inheritors. As a result, an interdimensional spider-army gathers to them, but as the Prophecy comes to fruition, none of them are safe! Silk is considered a vital “Spider-Totem” known as the Bride, one of three prophesied spider-beings (alongside the Scion and the Other) central to the Inheritors’ plans to end all spider-heroes.

  • Spider-Verse
    Collects Amazing Spider-Man (2014) #7-15, Superior Spider-Man #32-33, Spider-Verse #1-2, Spider-Verse Team-Up #1-3, Scarlet Spiders #1-3, Spider-Woman (2014) #1-4, Spider-Man 2099 (2014) #6-8 and material from Free Comic Book Day 2014 (Guardians Of The Galaxy) #1. Here is the full reading order of the event.

All the Spider-Verse-related stories are also collected in the Spider-Verse/Spider-Geddon Omnibus

Silk’s First Solo Comics (Second Entry Point)

As I mentioned, if you want to learn to know Cindy Moon, you can start with her first solo series, written by Robbie Thompson with art by Stacey Lee and later Tana Ford. This is where Silk’s story starts to be developed with her search for her missing family, her attempts to adjust to life after six years in isolation, and her struggles with anxiety and identity. That’s when she stopped being just another spider-variant and became Silk, a hero with a distinct voice and her own story to tell.

Silk: Out Of The Spider-verse

First, in 2021, Marvel Comics reprinted this era of Silk’s series in a three-volume collection titled “Silk: Out Of The Spider-verse.”

Silk’s First Solo Series: The Original Collected Editions

Bigger collected editions are fine, but it’s harder to build a clearer reading order around them, so here are the original collected editions with the correct placement of the different events Cindy took part in.

After this first short run, the Marvel Comics Universe went through a global reboot with the 2015 Secret Wars event. Silk was not really affected by that, except for the 8-month time jump. It’s not required reading to follow Cindy Moon’s story.

Before the end of her solo series, Silk was part of the spider-event Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy. The Jackal has returned, more driven and determined than ever, and with more clones to torment Peter Parker.

The whole event has been collected in the following book, including issues from Silk’s series. That said, you can skip this book. Silk’s involvement is mostly contained in her series, and those issues are also in the last TPBs with more stories.

  • Amazing Spider-Man: The Clone Conspiracy
    Collects Amazing Spider-Man 19-24; The Clone Conspiracy 1-5; The Clone Conspiracy: Omega; Silk 14-17; Prowler 1-5; Material from Free Comic Book Day 2016 (Captain America) 1.

As a result, it’s better to go with the next trade paperback, which collects Silk’s issues from the Clone Conspiracy Event and the last two comics of her solo series.

Beyond Silk’s Solo Adventures: Cindy Moon in the Marvel Universe

Following the end of her solo comic book series, Cindy Moon didn’t completely vanish from the Marvel Universe, but almost. She popped up in some Spider-Titled series and with Hulk before The War of Realms.

  • Ghost Rider: Four on the Floor
    Collects Ghost Rider (2017) #1-6. A bit optional. Silk teams up with Amadeus Cho and X-23 against/with Ghost Rider in issues #3-5.

Silk joins several other Asian American Heroes from the Marvel Universe, and after an attack, they formed a team known as “The Protectors.” As a result, Silk became a recurring character in the Amadeus Cho/Hulk series.

Spider-Man/Deadpool (Vol. 1)
Written by Robbie Thompson, this series is a classic team-up between Spidey and Deadpool. At one point, Silk became a secondary character, sometimes just a background player. You’ll find her in:

Page from Spider-ManDeadpool (Vol. 1) #50

This is when the Spider-Geddon event happened. In this sequel to Spider-verse, Silk joined her spider-friends but mostly stays in the background. Really optional for Cindy Moon’s fans.

Next comes a follow-up to The Protectors. During the massive comic book crossover The War of Realms, the same characters teamed up in Asia and formed The New Agents of Atlas. This iteration of the team came back for more adventures soon after.

 

Silk made her comeback in The Amazing Spider-Man comics with other spider-heroes for Nick Spencer’s storyline called “Last Remains“.

Silk’s Second Solo Series

Cindy Moon is getting a new solo comic book. Or to be precise, for a time, she came back with an annual solo limited series. Silk is back on the front page. By day, Cindy Moon is an intrepid reporter for the upstart new media empire Threats & Menaces, under her old boss J. Jonah Jameson. By night, she’s Silk, the crime-fighting superhero! But Cindy’s worlds are about to collide when her latest investigation puts Silk and everyone she loves in danger! 

Like many (all?) of the Spider-People, even some new ones, Silk joined the End of the Spider-Verse storyline, which marked Spidey’s 60th Anniversary. Morlun is back, but also Shathra. Peter, Cindy, and the others have a lot to do! This is not a Silk-centric story, but she is in every issue and had a part to play in the plot.

Silk is only one of the numerous Spider-themed heroes of the Marvel Comics Universe: Explore the Spider-Verse: Your Guide to Marvel’s Spider Family

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