I don't own any particularly ground-breaking or bad comics, so I figured I would just pick out ones that peaked my interest while reading them. I've already covered the third issue of "Original Sin," and I also feel that outside of the potential eighth issue coming up tomorrow, September 3, it's probably the main one of note. I'll get around to my thoughts as a whole on the series later on.
So to kick off my official reviewing of single-issue comics, why not start with one of the most popular super-heroes ever, Spider-Man? More specifically, the revamped Spider-Man.
To jump right into things, I'll admit that I haven't read any Spider-Man comics before coming on board to the relaunch of "The Amazing Spider-Man." I was up to date on the events going on in the life of Peter Parker, with the whole mind-swap thing, but was not aware of the specifics, such as Anna Maria, his whole PhD thing, or Flash Thompson being Venom and on the Guardians of the Galaxy.
The little things.
I felt very welcomed, thus, as a new reader to this series. It jumps off right where Superior Spider-Man #31 left off, with Peter back in his old body. From there it shows us the consequences of Doc Ock as Spider-Man, almost like a little mini-arc to get everyone up to speed. The biggest thing to happen was the introduction of Electro, as well as his remodeling to match that of The Amazing Spider-Man 2's Jamie Foxx-Electro. But hey, Black Cat.
This issue, in my opinion, is where the true story arc of where this series will go begins. Several seeds are planted for potential issues, and it is really the first seed of Spider-Verse we get. But I'll get into that in just a second.
This issue was heavily built up as the one in which we would find out who the second person was that got bitten by the same spider Peter did so long ago. For a while, some people thought it could be Mary Jane, Gwen Stacy, the typical Spider-Man women. As a noob to Spider-Man, I figured that's who it would be. I was, at first, slightly disappointed at the reveal since it was a brand new character, but my thoughts changed for the same reason, that it was a new character with no former history that could have her own start.
This issue was also an "Original Sin" tie-in, one of the closest outside of the Iron Man vs. Hulk storyline that was pretty...meh. It was an okay mini-series, maybe I'll get around to it. I feel that this tie-in, as well as the Nova tie-in, is the biggest one, particularly in how this one sets up Spider-Verse so well, even though barely anything of it is mentioned.
Like all issues, this one begins with an opening page to debrief us on why there's a relaunch in the first place, which is good for new readers. It gives us easy accessibility to the current events of Spider-Man without having to take straight to Wikipedia, like any comic should do following a relaunch. The issue really begins with Peter Parker trying out an experiment to counteract the electrical attacks by Electro, as Peter Parker is trying to double as a scientist and as Spider-Man. Pretty obvious, yet I think it's so obvious that it works. Electro is a super-villain, so the company would benefit immensely from taking him down, as well as make great strides in the field of science.
Peter gets a message from the Avengers, getting all ecstatic that he's getting a call from them at all. Again, an insight into the events of "Superior Spider-Man" without explicitly telling us what happened. It's clear that the Avengers had a fall-out with Spider-Man while he was, well, mind-swiped and now he has a chance to get back into the fold. He discusses it with Anna Maria, the woman Doc Ock-Peter Parker fell in love with (who is still faithful to helping him out as Spider-Man/ scientist Peter Parker, which I find to be an amazing dynamic) and then webs off. Anna Maria, though, is disappointed that he is neglecting his duties--though if she knew what he was about to get into, she would understand. This does bring up a good point, though.
Peter has become the CEO of a major corporation, yet he doesn't act like it at all, even when around his people. It's both good and bad. A CEO could indeed be friendly and welcoming to his employers and co-workers, but at the same time should show some level of integrity and power that most others wouldn't have. Skipping out on his responsibilities as Spider-Man is something he's just used to doing, and the fact that the Avengers are calling him up is a huge step forward, as well as a relief. But you can't help but partly agree with Anna Maria, that he runs a company and needs to show some shred of responsibility.
Still, when asked by another coworker, Sajani, about his whereabouts, Anna Maria manages to brush her off. Sajani nags about Peter being gone, but hey, that's irrelevant, as we get to see our first action sequence of the issue, sending us straight into the action of Original Sin #2, where the Avengers and some X-Men did battle with the Mindless Ones and Exterminatrix. While in the main "Original Sin" storyline we saw the heroes seriously doing battle with them, it's quite a relief to see some comedy thrown in, as Spider-Man is bouncing around happy to see all of his former allies, telling them all about how his mind got swiped. Really it reminds me of a little kid coming back to see all of his friends after being away on a trip, trying to tell them everything while they're playing a game. It's a brief moment that lasts only two panels but I found it to resemble the typical Spider-Man comedy that was missing from "Superior Spider-Man."
We get a literal tie-in to "Original Sin" as the Orb, a villain from the series, decides to drop a truth bomb on the heroes. Don't believe me?
Not even kidding, he weaponized the Watcher's Eye to be a bomb of truth to all exposed to it. But, that's for the "Original Sin" review.
Spider-Man gets hit by the truth (you would think I'm kidding, but that is literally what happens) and he sees that another person, named Cindy Moon, was bitten by the same spider he was, but was taken in by another Spider-Man character, Ezekiel. In this cracked page we learn that Ezekiel decided to train Silk after she couldn't control her power, but when it proved too much, locked her away. Peter knows that he has to find her and get her free, now.
When Peter heads out, we get another useful little insight to the world of Spider-Man before he was mind-swiped, the Spider-Island event. Now, I don't know very much about it besides what the comic has told me, and to be honest, I don't think I need to. This issue tells enough about what happened and its aftermath that I don't really feel the need to check up on it anymore. Peter gets a flash and realizes that Madame Web (she was also in the 90s TV show I think, that's how I think of her) tells him that should he fall, there is another to replace Spider-Man. Kind of feels like a prophecy, don't you think?
Peter arrives at the place and realizes that it was the same place Ezekiel was gonna place him (again, I have no idea, but it's mentioned to briefly that new readers don't have to worry!) and decides to check out the lower levels. There, a pre-recorded image of Ezekiel begins talking to Peter, but before he can tell us why he's kept Cindy Moon's existence from Peter, he smashes the screen. Hooray for mystery!...right?
Anyway, Peter unlocks the cage and unleashes Cindy Moon, who instantly attacks him, claiming that he's doomed the two of them, as Morlun is going to come to kill them. Who's Morlun? Probably the villain from Spider-Island, but who I know is the villain for Spider-Verse. How do I know? Well it's been a while since this issue was released, comics can't hold back spoilers anymore, and there's a single page of a man in a place "far, far away..." who knows it is time to hunt the Spiders down. Putting two and two together, you can assume it's Morlun. Plus he's mentioned a lot. Context helps!
Cindy continues to attack Peter and we see that her spider-sense is way above his and that he can't keep up with her moves. He tells her that he managed to kill Morlun, and Cindy proclaims she is free, jumping around ready to see the city. Peter tells her to calm down, and that to use her web-abilities she'll need a suit. And as such, the scantily-clad Silk is born!
Yeah, that's webbing she used as clothing. I think her costume is going to change when she joins the Ms. Marvel comic to resemble Spider-Man's costume, but instead of red and blue her's will be white and black. I think, don't quote me on it, though.
Silk goes off to see her parents, who have moved away in her time of captivity, as we go back to a single-page in which Black Cat is spying on Parker Industries, looking for bait for her plan for issue 5. She spots Sajani and we are left on a cliffhanger as Black Cat takes her captive. Oooh, mystery again.
Back to the Spiders, Peter finds himself strangely attracted to Cindy, as if the spider-sense is egging him toward her through some connection. Romantic tension, it's building. Anyway, Cindy asks when Morlun died, and Peter tells him that he's actually killed him twice, which reveals to us that Morlun could still be (we know he is, okay?) alive, which brings Cindy straight back into the rage she was in following her release. She attacks him, and Peter's witty charm doesn't seem to work on her.
As she ropes him in Peter finds himself more and more attracted to her. The tension is building man! She prepares to punch him but the two find themselves with racing hearts and as the tension finally builds we see...!
Aaaaaaaand now Peter has Silk as a romantic love-interest, how many is that now? But as my first exposure to a Spider-Man love interest, I kind of like it. From the eyes of Silk she's in a desperate situation with no one to understand her besides Peter, and for Peter it's his first time with someone of the same powers. Oh those young kids with their spider-senses, kissing on rooftops. This is also how the issue ends, with them romantic and passionately making out on a rooftop.
Quite a bit of stuff happened in this comic, and it's one that I really enjoyed. The build-up to Silk was played up nicely and we got a good payoff for it. The tie-in to "Original Sin" was very faithful--the same can't be said for issue 5 but we're not reviewing that, are we?--and we planted seeds for Spider-Verse. Morlun is alive and Silk is unleashed. Beyond the upcoming event, though, we also saw the progression of the ongoing Black Cat story concerning her want to destroy Spider-Man as Doc Ock destroyed her.
Overall, a good read. It almost reads like a second issue would, jumping into the story with big moments that keep the reader interested. It's also great for new readers, like myself. At few moments did I feel lost, and the only reason I could see myself getting lost is because I wouldn't have been reading "Original Sin," which only makes sense given that it's a tie-in. So it's definitely one worth checking out if you're interesting in hoping aboard Spider-Man now, or if you wanna read up on the "Original Sin" companion stories!
Next week, though, we cover one of the trippiest comics I've read so far, Marvel NOW's Moon Knight #5.
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