In the Marvel Universe, the superpowers and all sorts of wondrous settings on Earth could, more or less, be traced back to events that occurred at the dawn of creation.
More precisely, the Spider Totem was a system of Living Totems.
After conceptualizing itself, the Spider-God chose the concept of a "Web," the "Web of Life and Destiny" that connected countless worlds.
The ancient gods themselves had already become conceptualized and no longer possessed physical forms. Many of their descendants and followers had likewise become concepts subordinate to the "Web," leaving behind only various Totems as their links to the worlds.
Becoming Spider-Man also meant becoming one of the Living Spider Totems. Spider-Men from other worlds could even travel directly to one another through the "Web."
Under the Spider Totem, this system operating across the multiverse also included different Totem incarnations such as Other, Bride, Scion, Great Weaver, Gate Keeper, and so on.
They were merely different positions.
These people were all Spider Totems, all little spiders of the Spider-God. Together, they formed this great web, a system rather like a pyramid scheme.
The "Great Weaver" was equivalent to the ancient god's spokesperson and was also the one currently controlling the Spider Totems. He was responsible for selecting newcomers from across the multiverse, judging who was worthy of the great Totem's attention. Other, for example, had been chosen by him.
The "Gate Keeper," meanwhile, controlled the flow of mysterious power across the Web and distributed power among the Spider Totems. For example, he might give Peter of Earth-1610 a little more power, while giving Peter of Universe 199999 just a tiny bit.
After all, Earth-199999 was a very low-level world. Wouldn't giving it too much power be a waste?
The "Bride" Totem was responsible for weaving hidden clues and destinies,