REI AYANAMI
Earth-14512

Real Name: Rei Ayanami

Identity/Class: Alternate reality (Earth-14512) human

Occupation: High school student

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: John Alvarez, Ms. Brown, "Shinji Ikari," "Kei," "Asuka Langley Sohryu," "Kaworu Nagisa," Peni Parker, "Simon," unidentified teacher

Enemies: None known

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: New York, New York City, USA

First Appearance: (unidentified) Edge of Spider-Verse I#5 (December, 2014);
    (identified) Spider-Man: Stories from the Spider-Verse novel - "Picture Day" story (October 1, 2024)

Powers/Abilities: Rei Ayanami appears to be an ordinary human who does not possess any superpowers.

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 4'11")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 94 lbs.)
Eyes: Red
Hair: Blue

History:
(Edge of Spider-Verse I#5) – Rei Ayanami was Peni Parker's classmate. She was present during class when the teacher discussed Oscorp's advances in psychogenetics and later watched as Peni left the classroom after being excused at Daredevil's request.

(Spider-Man: Stories from the Spider-Verse novel - "Picture Day") – In biology class, Ms. Brown informed the students about picture day and told them that they were to leave the room in groups for their turns with the photographer. Since pairs were assigned alphabetically by last name, Rei Ayanami was paired with John Alvarez. Before they left, Ms. Brown reminded them to check the online notes, as they contained information they would miss in class. Upon returning to the classroom, Ayanami handed Miss Brown a note stating that Penny needed to go to the principal's office.

Comments: Created by Gerard Way and Jake Wyatt, based on the character originally created by Paul Verhoeven, Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner.

    Rei Ayanami is an homage to the character of the same name from Neon Genesis Evangelion, which is considered one of the most famous and influential anime of all time and served as the inspiration for SP//dr. Rei was unidentified in her first appearance in Edge of Spider-Verse I#5 but the "Picture Day" story in the anthology novel Spider-Man: Stories from the Spider-Verse confirmed that she shares the same name as her anime counterpart. Besides Rei, other Evangelion characters—Asuka, Shinji and Kaworu—can be seen in Peni's class, as well as Simon and Kei from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann and Dirty Pair, respectively. Since their real names in the Earth-14512 continuity are not officially stated, they are listed in quotation marks. Other Easter egg cameos of anime characters in the story include Motoko Kusanagi, Batou Buttetsu, Saito (Ghost in the Shell), Shotaro Kaneda and Yamagata (Akira).

    It's worth mentioning a little-known fact that reprints of the Neon Genesis Evangelion manga and the artbook series were published by Marvel Italia under their Marvel Manga imprint.

    This profile was completed 08/21/2026 but its publication was delayed, as it was intended for the Appendix's 25th anniversary celebratory event.

Profile by Mike Castle.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Earth-14512's Rei Ayanami should be distinguished from:

images: (without ads)
Edge of Spider-Verse I#5, p12, pan3 (Rei in the classroom, main image)
Neon Genesis Evangelion Artbook (Rei in the anime, costume designs)

Appearances:
Edge of Spider-Verse I#5 (December, 2014) - Gerard Way (writer), Jake Wyatt (pencils, inks), Nick Lowe and Ellie Pyle (editors)
Spider-Man: Stories from the Spider-Verse novel chapter "Picture Day" - Caroline M. Yoachim (editor)

First Posted: 09/17/2026
Last updated: 08/21/2026

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™  and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com

Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!

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