June’s SPIDER-MEN unites Miles Morales (Ultimate Spidey) and Peter Parker (616 Spidey)

“The most likely explanation is most likely the explanation.”

When Marvel first released the teaser for the mysteriously-named project SPIDER-MEN with two different Spider-Man logos joined together – Mark Bagley’s trademark Spidey logo as the left half, and the updated Spider-logo of the new Ultimate Spidey, Miles Morales, as the right half – fans predicted that Ultimate Peter Parker was getting one hell of a resurrection story come June.

A second teaser image was released after a while – this one featuring two slender, acrobatic silhouettes against the words SPIDER-MEN in all caps, and advertising the creative team of Brian Michael Bendis, Sara Pichelli and Justin Ponsor – and Spider-fans became even more eager with anticipation.

An updated version of the second teaser was shown some time afterwards. This one revealed (well, sort of) the identity of one of the two Spider-Men in question – it was definitely someone in a costume that resembled Classic Spidey’s. As a result, more people began to speculate that perhaps, the time has come for the Ultimate universe and the 616 universe to meet.

Today, our questions have been answered.

Here’s Marvel’s official press release:

“This June, it’s time for Peter Parker, better known as the Amazing Spider-Man, to cross worlds and meet Miles Morales…the all-new Spider-Man? Marvel is proud to announce SPIDER-MEN, an all-new five issue landmark story from award-winning author Brian Michael Bendis, Sara Pichelli and cover artist Jim Cheung, which brings Peter Parker and Miles Morales together for the first time. That’s right, the Spider-Men from two different realities—the Marvel Universe and Ultimate Comics Universe—bring their worlds together for a battle no one web-head could win!

When Spider-Man tracks down one of his deadliest villains, he suddenly finds himself thrust into another world where Peter Parker is dead…and there’s a new Spider-Man in town. As these two heroes learn the truth about their identities and their universes, they’ll embark on a journey that’ll leave them forever changed—and reveal a startling truth about a key player in the Spider-Man mythos!

“This year is the 50th anniversary of Spider-Man and we’re so happy that the stars aligned for us to tell a Spider-Man story that nobody has ever seen before,” said Bendis. “It’s an honor and a privilege to present both this story and these characters to fans on such an auspicious occasion. The work Sara has done on SPIDER-MEN is a step above the already high standard that she has set for herself on our ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN series. For me, this is a celebration of the best character in mainstream comics and some of the best art mainstream comics has to offer.”

Each issue of SPIDER-MEN features variants covers by some of the biggest names in comics including Humberto Ramos, Mike Deodato, Marcos Martin, Terry Dodson, Travis Charest and Sara Pichelli.

“Knowing how much Brian loves and respects Spider-Man, there’s no way I wouldn’t want to work on SPIDER-MEN with him,” said Sara Pichelli. “It’s going to be an explosive celebration of Spider-Man’s 50th anniversary—are you ready?”

In 1962’s AMAZING FANTASY #15, the world first met Peter Parker and saw him become the hero Spider-Man in the Marvel Universe. Soon after, Spider-Man became a pop culture sensation, launching multiple television series, blockbuster films and some of the most popular comics of all time. Then in 2011, Marvel introduced Miles Morales, a new character of African American and Hispanic descent, who became Spider-Man in the Ultimate Comics Universe after that world’s Peter Parker perished.

“This is one of the biggest stories in Marvel history,” said Axel Alonso, Editor in Chief, Marvel Entertainment. “Peter Parker and Miles Morales are two of our most popular characters and fans have been clamoring for them to meet—we’ve got quite a few surprises in store for both characters. This is only the beginning of how we’re celebrating Spider-Man’s spectacular 50th Anniversary.”

This June, swing into action with world’s most amazing super heroes in SPIDER-MEN #1!”

Here’s hoping that this lives up to its potential for an epic story, told in the Mighty Marvel Manner, uniting two fandoms under the banner of one of the world’s greatest and best-loved superheroes.