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Neighborhood Spider-Man #12
Writer: Peter David
Pencils: David Nauck
Inks: Robert Campanella
Colours: Lee Loughridge
Letters: VC’s Cory Petit
Plot:
Second issue of a fast-paced three-parter, and yet another Mysterio enters
the mix; Daniel Berkhart, we soon learn, successor to the original Mysterio
as longtime fans will recall. Berkhart turns up at the police blockade
around the black-gas-covered school. Startling a police captain and his
gung-ho female sergeant, Daniel seems to know exactly what is going on, and
after a short talk explaining that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”,
walks into the building. The plot, like the smoke, thickens….
Meanwhile, Spidey notes a green mist approaching him—despite
his suit’s filtering equipment, our hero makes the most of this new
development and pretends to be poisoned by the cloud. Unfortunately, there
is no poison, as Roger the principle stands calmly over our hero and remarks
on his poor acting ability. Undeterred, Pete saves Roger from a swarm of
bats (while musing over the theme of a certain bat-themed hero), only to be
startled by a screaming MJ being carried off by the creatures. In this
case, Roger is the sensible one, asking Spidey how he knew what they saw was
real. Pete says he can’t take that chance, and the two follow the swarm
into a corridor.
Regarding the creator of these sights, Francis Klum, he
is talking to the red Mysterio from last issue, who calmly lights the
disgruntled Mysterio wannabe on fire when he tries to teleport within him.
After this effective threat, Klum asks the red villain his identity, but is
only told that Berkhart has just entered the building, and that “my new
associates are very interested in the outcome”.
Back in the main school building, and we are brought to
the group of kids led by Flash and Miss Arrow. Flash sprints down a
deserted corridor to prove it contains no danger. The first time, he just
appears behind the group he just left, and the second he nearly falls into a
pit with a giant tentacled eyeball in it and has to be saved by one of the
students.
Spidey has troubles of his own, but realizes the MJ held by
Dracula isn’t his wife, as she has no wedding ring. Phoning her just to
make sure, Pete casually saves Roger from one of those clichéd falling
anvils, and enters the auditorium wherein Klum resides. A classic
confrontational speech ensues, but is quickly interrupted by Berkhart’s
appearance—a three-way battle seems imminent.
Meanwhile, Arrow has been lost within a locker, and finds herself
alone with the enigmatic red Mysterio. This villain claims to be Quentin
Beck, the original Master of Illusion, and when Arrow expects him to deny
his suicide, the fishbowl is calmly removed to reveal a dead Beck with half
of his head missing.
Likes:
- Though a very action-orientated issue, which in many titles would indicate padding, so much has nevertheless been put into this comic that it comes of so well.
- David also throws in lots of witty dialogue, and the mystery and intricacy of the plot keeps the tale moving (particularly the mix of classic and modern villains being used).
Dislikes:
- My only real gripe is the art, which though effective in the Mysterio portrayals, particularly the red one, is somewhat lacking in the cases of Spidey and the normal human characters. Beck’s face looked pretty cool though.
Favorite Quote:
Spidey: Huh. Maybe I should’ve dressed up like a bat instead of a spider. Strike fear into my enemies……Nah. Dumb idea.”
Rating:
4 out of 5 webs. Though not especially deep, this is classic Spidey fun, with all the elements a perfectly decent webhead story needs.
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Neighborhood Spider-Man # 11
Title: “I Hate A Mystery” Part 1 of 3
Writer: Peter David
Penciler: Todd Nauck
Inkers: Robert Campanella and Rodney
Ramos
Colorist: Lee Loughridge
Letters: V.C.’s Cory Petit
PLOT:
A new story arc,
a new art team, as FNSM passes its 10 issue mark and moves into Civil-War
related territory. As most modern Spidey fans will know, our Mr. Parker has
recently revealed his identity to the world at the behest of Tony Stark, in
order to demonstrate his support of the superhuman registration. Rather
than looking at Pete’s possible regrets of this choice (as in “Amazing…”),
Peter David decides to examine the effects on Spidey’s personal life.
This issue begins with a longtime Spidey villain, Mysterio, musing over
these recent events. However, we are soon told this is in fact Francis Klum,
brother of Garrison Klum, as seen in Kevin Smith’s recent miniseries with
the Black Cat. It seems Klum plans a revenge on Parker, but is being
watched on a screen by an unseen figure.
Meanwhile, our protagonist pushes through a crowd of media people in order to get to the school he (still) teaches at (if anyone still remembers?). Understandably annoyed, Pete is distracted by the black eye of a student very similar to himself at high-school age, and once again goes to confront still-amnesiac Flash Thompson, the school’s new P.E. teacher, about violence in dodgeball. Flash acts in typical Flash manner, and soon challenges Peter to a one-on-one, as he still doesn’t believe his one-time friend is really Spider-Man (yeah, despite the public revelation…). Flash gets taken out with relative ease, and ends up with two black eyes. Score one for science geeks J.
After a call from MJ, Pete has a talk with the principle, and decides to resign due to the pressure and danger of his revealed identity. This is actually pretty funny, as although Roger supports Spidey, he nevertheless obviously wants Peter to go, but without forcing or offending him.
As Pete takes his last class (of the day and of his career at Midtown High), an after-school ecology club, the kids are evidently annoyed and disappointed by their favourite teacher’s decision to leave. Flash, meanwhile, is coming onto ‘Arrow’, the new school nurse; both groups are interrupted by a sudden darkness outside.
The crowd of media are seen collapsing as a result of this blackness, and an eerie voice is heard throughout the school. This is the creator of the dark cloud, and tells the building’s occupants that the building is now “haunted”, and their only way out is the door. For once, Peter is free to change into his Spider-Man identity freely, and lead the kids out of the classroom. They are soon separated b y a holographic projection, however, and the kids run into Flash and Arrow after being suddenly surprised by Mysterio.
The issue ends with Klum musing on how well his diabolical plot is unfolding, when the figure watching him at the start appears, criticising his lack of “Style! Panache! And most of all---timing.” This individual is another Mysterio, but in a red-and-dark blue restyled costume, complete with menacing red smoke.
LIKES:
- For once, a classic Spidey villain is the main enemy in the story, and both Mysterios are both compelling and, well, mysterious. The mystery regarding the identity of the red Mysterio is particularly interesting (I’m guessing Maguire Beck or Danny Berkhart, but could the original be still alive?).
- Pete’s personal life is carried off very well here, and for once a supporting cast of sorts is used.
- The art from new penciller Todd Nauck is very clear and clean, and very impressive, particularly the Mysterio costumes.
DISLIKES:
- Main gripe is the fact that Pete is being forced out of his teaching job—this may be necessary for later Civil War related plots, but I always thought is was one of Straczynski’s better additions to Spider-Man.
RATING:
4.5 out of 5 webs. Really good—a great balance of personal and super-heroism, and a great set-up for next issue.
Reviewed by Matt Harris.
Friendly
Neighborhood Spider-Man # 10
Title: “Jumping The Tracks” Part 3 of 3
Writer: Peter David
Penciler: Mike Wieringo
Inker: Mike Manley
Colorist: Paul Mounts
Letters: V.C.’s Cory Petit
PLOT:
The final issue of Spidey’s latest time travelling adventure sees him waking
up, being forced to watch Gwen Stacey (AGAIN) falling to her
death. Hobgoblin 2211, however, freezes the scene, and tells Spidey it is an
intersection point in realities for him—and he can still choose to undo what
happened and save her. She offers Spidey the abilities allowed her by the
goblin suit, and the power to rewrite his own mistakes.
We then see how Ben fares with May; apparently, in his universe, May was the
one who died, so both parties are in a similar position. May attacks her
husband(?) however, believing him to be an imposter, and Ben is
understandably very shocked by this. Jarvis soon arrives and also attacks,
but Ben fights back and explains all the suffering he has had to go through.
He has clearly lost everything, and morosely walks away as May and Jarvis
look on.
Meanwhile, we see Spidey has refused Hobby’s offers, and is
now being attacked by the futuristic female baddie. Hobgoblin 2211 believes
she will kill him as she has various other Spider-Men throughout different
realities, but is stopped by the arrival of her father, Spider-Man 2211.
The two fight and argue as father and daughter are wont to do, eventually
ending up in the
river.
Ben Parker is wandering in an alleyway, bitter about his feelings of loss,
when he is offered a gun and the option to get even by an old tramp—who
claims that whenever you make a big decision, you decide the opposite way in
another reality, so right and wrong no longer mean anything.
While Ben looks at the gun undecidedly, our Spider-Man joins the Spidey and
Hobgoblin 2211 by hanging onto her goblin glider, and using his new
costume’s built in air supply. Hobby, nearly beaten, prepares to flee on
the glider, and traps the future Spidey in green energy when he breaks the
surface. She then removes her mask, ranting about deleting him from reality
like she did her fried Lar last issue, and therefore erasing herself—she
hates being trapped in her own insanity. As she throws the bomb, however,
modern Spidey emerges from the water and flings it back to her with his
webbing, thinking she will just be knocked out. Horrified at her
disappearance, he is comforted by Spider-Man 2211, who tells him she now
never existed, and thus he didn’t kill her. The futuristic hero vows to fix
the situation regarding Uncle Ben, and make it so none of these events ever
happened.The final scene shows him talking to Ben in a graveyard, and
telling him he
can make a real difference in his own reality. Ben then shoots Spider-Man
2211 in the chest, killing him, and thanks the dead hero for making him
realise one man can make a world of difference.
LIKES:
• Very surprising and entertaining ending, as things turn out far from what
we expected; Spider-Man and Hobgoblin 2211 both dead, and the alternative
Ben Parker still walking around.
• The art is once more very solid.
DISLIKES:
• The story remains a little on the weird side, but is much better written
than the previous part.
RATING: 4 out of 5 webs—a great ending
with twists and surprises aplenty, much better than the rest of the arc.
Reviewed by Matt Harris.
Friendly
Neighborhood Spider-Man # 9
Title: “Jumping The Tracks” Part 2 of 3
Writer: Peter David
Penciler: Mike Wieringo
Inker: Mike Manley
Colorist: Paul Mounts
Letters: V.C.’s Cory Petit
PLOT:
After last issue’s surprise appearances of both Uncle Ben (?!?!) and the
Hobgoblin of 2211, the second issue of this interesting-yet-extremely-trippy
storyline takes us far into a post apocalyptic future. As in the Mad Max
movies, Earth’s cities are destroyed and abandond. However, we are shown a
high-tech underground city, in which a large number of survivors live in
seeming peace. Running alongside this, we hear a very wordy conversation
between two individuals, Lar (a thirty-something man with glasses) and Robin
(a young woman with pink spiky hair). It seems these two are professors at
the new, underground ESU, and Robin is describing her theory of dangerous
intersection points between theirs and other realities. Just as we see that
Robin and Lar are much more than just work colleagues, the Spider-Man of
2211 turns up (from a Peter David story ages ago—complete with his four
robot arms). Apparently, Robin (or “Hobby”, as he calls her) is his
daughter, but is also under arrest. She is building a suit which will allow
her to jump
between realities, and in the future will cause widespread death and chaos
using it. All this the future Spidey’s agency/team has forseen, and so he
must imprison her for the duration of the “window of temporal
opportunity".Predictably, Robin doesn’t want this to happen, screaming that
she only ever wanted her father to be proud of her. Lar attempts to block
Spidey2211’s
path and let “Hobby” escape, but he is easily overpowered and Robin is
captured in the hero’s guided webbing.
The scene suddenly shifts to a happy Robin in an old-fashioned dress in
the countryside, not a care in the world. Lar soon turns up, however, and
tells her this is merely a virtual prison for her mind (like the Matrix).
He has figured out a way to get her out, but something goes horribly wrong.
Robin and other prisoners burst out of their pods, completely insane, and
attack the guards.
Meanwhile, Spidey 2211 threatens Lar and tells him of the stupidity of what
he did, while Lar goes on about Spidey being too proud and selfish to truly
care about his daughter. A scary, distorted voice is suddenly heard, and a
futuristic pumpkin bomb thrown at Spidey 2211. He dodges, but the bomb hits
Lar, who is vanished out of existence (this worries Spidey, as if Lar never
existed, he couldn’t have freed Robin—an uncontrolled paradox). Robin (or
“Hobby”) is then seen as the Hobgoblin 2211, and vanishes as Spidey attempts
to bring her in.We shift scenes again to see Spider-Man 2211 with his team
at their headquarters. Apparently, they monitor and control breaches in the
timelines of various realities. They lock onto Robin’s position as she
fights our Spidey, and learn that Uncle Ben is a “de-railed” Ben from a
different reality—one which will be doomed if he is not returned to it.
The last pages of the issue show Hobby attacking today’s Spider-Man and
pulling him away after deactivating his armour with futuristic biospores.
Ben and May are thus left with one another to try and make sense of what is
happening.
LIKES:
• Mike Wieringo’s art is improving, and is very solid throughout this issue.
• Peter David manages to create a complex, time-travel-related story which
makes sense, and maintain character consistency.
DISLIKES:
• Not much Spidey, which is a disappointment in one of his own series.
• An offbeat tone which doesn’t altogether fit with the wall-crawler, at
least in my view.
RATING: 3 out of 5 webs—very offbeat and
not the best Spidey story, but solid, consistent and fun to read.
Reviewed by Matt Harris.
Friendly
Neighborhood Spider-Man # 6
Title: “Masks” Part 1 of 2
Writer: Peter David
Penciler: Roger Cruz
Inkers: Oclair Albert & Victor Olazaba
Colorist: Chris Sotomayor
Letters: V.C.’s Cory Petit
PLOT:
New storyline and artist for FNSM, as Peter David seemingly returns to form after an oddly-placed previous issue (well, I didn’t like it at least). This issue, we join our hero (new Tony Stark-designed costume and all) as he wrestles a big, masked Mexican wrestler. This seems to take place in a wrestling ring, and while JJJ eggs the wrestler on, his more likeable son (who we last saw in Marvel Knights Spidey) encourages the wall-crawler. Spider-Man breaks his opponent’s hold, before the mysterious fighter pulls off some impressive acrobatics of his own.
Flashback to JJJ’s house, where he and John are tied up and about to be shot by some henchman (one of who’s dad was executed for killing a cop, due to Jameson’s editorials—or so the main baddy believes). Jonah tells John to “do something” (remember, in one of the more questionable parts of Mark Millar’s otherwise brilliant MK Spidey saga, Jonah was convinced his son is Spider-Man). John, of course, has no idea what his old man is talking about, and Jonah realizes he can’t be the webbed hero. Just before the thugs shoot Jonah, the masked wrestler burst in and takes them apart. It seems this “Luchador”, as he calls himself, comes from a line of masked wrestlers, and was following Jonah to ask him a favor; to organise a wrestling match against Spider-Man.
Back to the fight, and the webbed one mocks his adversary by pretending his hits were the hardest he’d felt in his life. Jonah meanwhile explains to Robbie why his attitude to Spidey had gone from bad to good to bad again in such a short space of time. He knows John can’t be Spider-Man, and isn’t “done with Parker yet” (for tricking him to believe otherwise).
Another change of scene, this time to Pete’s school (remember, he IS a teacher, even though the other titles fail to acknowledge the fact right now). Mr. Parker is disciplining a kid for pushing another (slightly nerdy-looking kid) out of his way, but is met with opposition from Flash Thompson, who, due to his brain-damage, acts like he did in his high-school days with Pete (he’s also the gym teacher here since two issues ago). Pete takes it up with the school principle, and later talks to Flash about how the latter’s admiration of Spider-Man remains intact. Ol’ Flasheroo proceeds to fill us in on the details of the luchador’s challenge: a million dollars for charity as the prize should Spidey win in a fight against the masked wrestler.
In the ring again, said wrestler gets some good licks in on Spidey, before we see his origin played out. It seems he is latest in a line of masked wrestlers, given the mask and powers of “El Muerto” (which means “The Dead”, as he told JJJ earlier) by a shadowy figure in a black cloak. Juan-Carlos, son of the previous El Muerto, is however too scared to fight the dark figure, and is refused the power. As he is about to be killed, his father steps in and gets his head ripped off (obviously, we don’t see this—it’s an all-ages book, for crying out loud!). The cloaked figure gives Juan-Carlos ten years to train, fight and unmask a “true champion of the people”, or his life is forfeit.
A large billboard is thus erected on the Daily Bugle building, which the Parkers can see from Stark Tower. Pete mulls the idea over, and Aunt May warns that if he gets into a fight for no cause other than ego, he’ll lose. Peter, however, decides to accept the challenge, while May scores a dinner date with Jarvis.
A quick cut to a nervous MJ watching the fight on TV with Logan, realising that the loser will be unmasked, and we see Spidey in a tight spot before fighting back with his newly-evolved wrist stingers (since “The Other”). El Muerto collapses, and the dark, cloaked provider of his abilities watches from above—Muerto’s time has come to have his mask and life taken from him!
LIKES:
As you can probably tell from the length of my review, excellent amount of content within the book—David really is an amazing writer when he gets going.
Despite a slightly cheesy subject for the story, David makes it mysterious and interesting—and doesn’t stretch it out too long, as next issue is the conclusion.
Excellent to see the supporting cast back to doing things—Flash, Jonah, Robbie and John have been rare participants in the last few years, and it’s good to see them back in regular roles.
DISLIKES:
My only major gripe here is the art, which, though it works in the fight scenes, makes close-up character shots look flat and blocky in many panels.
FAVORITE QUOTE:
Spidey: “Never been…hit so hard…in my…entire life…”
El Muerto: “Truly?”
Spidey: “Can…barely breathe…ribs cracked…don’t…stop…Thinking about Tomorrrrrrrrow…!”
JJJ: “Blasted show-boating, wall-crawling freak.”
RATING:
4.5 out of 5 webs. Minus one web for art, but otherwise as good a Spidey comic as they come. Massive improvement on last issue, and indicates a promising future for this title.
Reviewed by Matt Harris.
Friendly
Neighborhood Spider-Man # 5
Title: “Web Log”
Writer: Peter David
Penciler: Mike Wieringo
Inker: Karl Kesel
Colorist: Paul Mounts
Letters: V.C.’s Cory Petit
PLOT:
After this title’s disjointed opening four-part contribution to “The Other”,
writer Peter David slows things down with a one-shot story set throughout
(and beyond) our friendly neighborhood wall-crawler’s life.
It begins with the writer of an especially pretentious
internet blog (you know the type), a high school girl named Vanna (the
story’s main character). As she writes, we hear her parents fight outside,
perhaps a reason for her
problems throughout the issue. Anyway, it seems our subject is another one
of those never-mentioned members of Peter Parker’s high school class,
recalling her day in which she ran into Spider-Man for the first time.
Spidey brings down the Vulture (declining ever-faithful
Flash’s offer to help) on the sports field, but Vanna is convinced our hero
is a shameless peeping-tom who endangered her life.Life goes on, but Vanna’s
conviction that Spider-Man is stalking her is strengthened further in her
second encounter, as Spidey fights the Looter in
a meteor museum. As Vanna washes her hands in the bathroom, Spidey gets
smashed through the door by Looter, and is confronted by the frightened girl
about their last meeting (of course, he doesn’t remember her at all). Our
hero leaves and re-enters once more in similar fashion, this time followed
by his purple and white opponent (gotta love the clash between those two
colors). As they fight, our protagonist comes up with the idea that
Spider-Man is working with the villains, and staging the fights to impress
her (her mental state is not helped by Spidey offhandedly calling her
“crazylady” on his way out).
Vanna next sees Spider-Man on the beach fighting
Sandman, and then in Starbucks fighting Rhino. All the while, she posts her
thoughts on her internet blog, saying how sick Spider-Man is to be stalking
her, how her therapist seems skeptical (can’t imagine why…), and how the
police can offer no help due to lack of evidence.
At the end of her tether (or perhaps in need of more attention), Vanna,
now a grown woman, seeks a restraining order to prevent Spider-Man from
going near her. The judge, of course, dismisses her claims of harassment,
but grants the order based on the fact he gave one out previously to a man
who believed martians were tampering with his brain waves, in order to give
him some peace of mind.
Vanna seems content, but unfortunately her blog is spotted by J. Jonah
Jameson, who of course uses this event to add weight to his anti-Spidey
campaign. Peter Parker takes her picture, while responding to her question
by saying they have never met before, and Vanna ends up on the Bugle’s front
page.
Flash forward, and we see a now elderly Vanna (the front page
displayed in her house) go out to the park. Obviously set in the
future, an elderly MJ (recently made Spider-Man’s widow) confront the other
woman. MJ has apparently been monitoring Vanna’s blog, and notes how easy it
was to locate her (not married, no close friends, still living in her
deceased parents’ house). MJ proceeds to tell Vanna how meaningless
her restraining order was, and how all the times Spider-Man came near her
were just coincidences as a result of him trying to protect people. She then
says how useless and insignificant Vanna’s life truly was, and how her bad
childhood has been
used as an excuse for an unfulfilled life (rather than used to propel
herself to greatness, as Spidey did). Vanna then says how she misses
Spider-Man and thinking she was special, and walks slowly home, writing on
her blog “Nothing important happened today”.
LIKES:
• Though not the greatest story ever, Peter David’s writing talents do come
through as ever.
• Great cross-section of Spidey’s life, from high school, through until
after his death.
DISLIKES:
• Seemed rather depressing and pointless as a whole—just a story about one
woman’s wasted life.
• Did Vanna need to be part of Peter Parker’s high school class?
FAVORITE QUOTE:
(After the judge has granted Vanna’s restraining order)
Judge: “Just as an aside, young lady….you may want to consider getting
professional help.”
Vanna: “With respect, your honor…I just did.”
RATING:
2.5 out of 5 webs. An average story, overall. Had its interesting moments,
but this isn’t Peter David at his best—more tangled web-esque, and not the
classic Spidey goodness we all expect from a truly brilliant writer.
Reviewed by Matt Harris.
Friendly
Neighborhood Spider-Man # 4
Title: “The Other” Part Ten—“Pirate
Booty”
Writer: Peter David
Penciler: Mike Wieringo
Inker: Karl Kesel
Colorist: Paul Mounts
Letters: V.C.’s Cory Petit
PLOT:
After our favourite hero’s death last issue, two chapters of “The Other”
have gone by (in Amazing Spider-Man and MK Spider-Man), and Pete Parker is
now back in the land of the living. It seems he has been given a second
chance, from what I can gather from the mystical mumbo-jumbo in last ASM,
and has had to “embrace the spider”. OK.
This issue opens in a lab in Stark Tower, where Tony is running tests on
Peter’s anatomy to determine the nature of his regeneration. Spidey seems
back in wisecracking form, particularly when the even-more serious Reed
Richards and Hank McCoy turn up to conduct their own investigations. As
Pete and Reed talk about whether or not spiders are architects, we see a
swarm of spiders descend from above Peter’s old corpse and the scientists
examining it.
Next scene is particularly enjoyable, as it seems Flash Thompson has come
out of his Green Goblin-induced coma at last. Here, he takes a job as a
sports teacher at the school Peter teaches at—telling the principal how
large chunks of his memory are still holes. When the principal tells him
about Pete, it is clear that Flash remembers only their high school days
together.
Meanwhile, MJ thanks Logan for diverting her grief and rage in MK Spidey’s
last issue, and leaves him wondering whether she also insulted him or not.
Mr. Parker then discovers what seems to be a new (or at least improved)
power, instinctively knocking Tony Stark down as he lays a hand on Pete’s
shoulder. Apparently his spider-sense and reflexes are now greatly
amped-up, as though he was weighed down before.
Any further tests are prevented by May’s appearance—she thinks Pete should
go out to enjoy his second chance at life, squashing any attempt the three
scientists can make to continue testing. Pete goes to fetch MJ from their
apartment, and she replies to Cage and Jessica that Peter is going to give
her a ride. Fortunately, Luke Cage’s mind is right down in the gutter with
ours, but in fact Spidey is taking her out web-swinging on his back!
The story then makes a quick cut to the lab containing Pete’s old corpse,
which is being eaten b the spider swarm as webbed-up scientists look on.
Peter himself and MJ, meanwhile, talk at length about her feelings when Pete
died, amid swinging round, past an enraged JJJ’s office, and saving a woman
from a mugger. MJ it seems felt she would be nothing once Pete died (as her
life was so entwined with his in Avengers Tower), but got over these
feelings when he died—saying it was the best thing that could have happened
to her (pretty confusing, but women generally can be when discussing their
emotions). She tells Pete she’ll always love and support him, but is
interrupted by his spider-sense blaring loudly in his ears. He knows
something is happening at Stark Tower, and also that it is spider-related.
When they arrive, the tower’s top is covered in webbing, and Pete makes his
way up alone. Within the room where his body was, the swarm of spiders has
just finished eating it, and form into a female-looking body (similar to the
Gatekeeper in an earlier Ezekiel adventure, a fact noted by Peter). Pete
also notices that the spiders are pirate spiders, which eat other
spiders—and wonders how he knows this. Spidey’s stingers, which we saw last
issue, pop out of his arms, and though confused at first, he makes a decent
effort to attack the sinister-looking creature. Our story ends as it flees
through a hole in the wall. The rest of “The Other” pans out in MK
Spider-Man 22 and ASM 528—next issue here begins our hero's new status quo.
LIKES:
• Peter David’s writing and dialogue really shines here—he truly is one of
the best Spider-Man writers ever, and I hope he stays on for the foreseeable
future.
• The art is pretty good, particularly the spider-formed villain.
• Speaking of which, I know it was done briefly with the Gatekeeper and it
is kinda corny, I think the idea of a villain made of spiders is pretty cool
and creepy.
DISLIKES:
• Only real minus point here is Spider-Man’s knew powers, which will
hopefully be explained later, but don’t seem all that necessary in my
opinion.
FAVORITE QUOTE:
MJ: “Peter said he was going to give me a ride!”
Cage: “Yeah. I bet he is.”
Jessica proceeds to chastise Luke for this, but we were all thinking what he
was .
RATING:
A solid 4 out of 5 webs—though the Other connection isn’t great, Peter
David’s writing really is great fun to read, and it really shows here.
Reviewed by:Matt Harris.
Friendly
Neighborhood Spider-Man # 3
Title: “The Other” Part Seven—“Bowing To
The Inevitable”
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Penciler: Mike Wieringo
Inker: Karl Kesel
Colorist: Paul Mounts
Letters: V.C.’s Cory Petit
PLOT:
Hey everyone! After stints reviewing The Pulse and New Avengers, I’ve moved
on to Spidey’s newest title, ‘Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’.
Usually, a typical issue would be written by legendary Spider-scribe Peter
David. However, this issue is placed right in the middle of Spidey’s
biggest crossover in ages, ‘The Other’, and due to the order of this event,
is written instead by JMS, ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ writer.
We begin after the bloody fight in ‘Amazing…’ number 526, where, after
hearing numerous predictions of his death, Spidey was beaten almost to death
by Morlun in one of the best fights since Millar’s third issue of MK Spidey
(involving Electro). Spidey’s left eye was also torn out and eaten by
Morlun last time.
Here, however, Morlun stands over the body of his fallen adversary, knowing
his enemy is beaten, and that it is now time to feed (according to narrative
boxes). Before he can commence said feeding, though, police arrive, and
since he can’t feed and fight at the same time, the vampiric hunter flees
after killing two cops (a pretty gory scene for an all-ages comic, if you
ask me). The narration tells us once more at this point that Morlun knows
he has won.
Meanwhile, al manner of police, paramedics, etc. swarm over Spidey’s beaten
form, and one medic says how critical our hero’s condition looks. A chubby
cop pulls off the webbed one’s mask, and we see how bruised and swollen
Spidey’s face is, making it impossible to identify. He is carted off to a
hospital (still unconscious), and after a lengthy readout of injuries he has
sustained, doctors realize there is no need to contact next of kin. “With
this all over the television…whoever they are…they know” (as we see the
Avengers, MJ, Aunt May and Jarvis mourn what has just happened).
Pretty fast even for them, Iron Man, Cap and Like Cage arrive at the
hospital and try to remove Peter’s body for “his own safety”, but are told
this would be “prematurely fatal” (i.e. Pete will die, though he is
temporarily stabilized). MJ and Spider-Woman, meanwhile, arrive through a
back way, and Spider-Woman (out of costume) tells her to go and find where
Peter is. Mary-Jane arrives to see Morlun standing over Spidey’s bed, about
to finish him by sucking out his strength and power (apparently through
little openings all over his palms—lovely).
Despite the obvious danger in going up against such a being, MJ flings
herself at Morlun, who promptly hits her into a wall. As she puts up a
brave fight against someone about to kill her, we see spines come out of
Spidey’s face—allegedly, Spiders know how to conserve strength for one last
move, even when dying. As Morlun breaks MJ’s arm, Pete jumps onto his back
with an animalistic scream. Taken by surprise, Morlun topples to the floor,
and is killed by stingers from Peter’s arms, and fangs from his mouth. The
vampiric Morlun is killed (it would seem) in a whirl of wind and dust, as an
alert from Pete’s room brings Cap, Iron Man and Cage up in a hurry.
Before they arrive, Peter says goodbye to his wife for the last time before
dying in her arms. The issue ends with her grief-ridden thoughts as Iron
Man flies the body back to Avengers tower.
LIKES:
• The art, not quite as good as Mike Deadato’s, is nevertheless a joy to
look at, slick and polished yet possessed of an old-school feel.
• The emotions within the issue are handled pretty well—not overdone, yet
still feeling dramatic, and interspersed with a healthy dose of action.
• Although we know this will be reversed soon, it’s still pretty cool to see
Spider-Man’s death in one of his main books, even if it is at the hands of
Morlun.
DISLIKES:
• Though the stingers in Pete’s arms will likely be explained, the mysteries
still surrounding Morlun will likely not be; for instance, we still don’t
know how he came back from the dead, or even if this is the same Morlun as
the one early in JMS’s run.
• The issue is a bit too morbid, and some of the narration could have been
better.
FAVORITE QUOTE:
N/A—sorry, no specific lines stand out as memorable; what does stay with you
is the overall feel of the issue.
RATING:
3.5 out of five webs—though the drawn-out nature of “The Other”, unexplained
details, etc. do detract from its impact and quality, this is nevertheless
an above average Spidey comic, and a high point of “The Other” so far.
Reviewed by Matt Harris.
Friendly
Neighborhood Spider-Man #2
Title: The Other – Evolve or Die Part 4:
Bargaining
Writer: Reginald Hudlin
Penciler: Mike Wieringo
Inker: Karl Kesel
Plot:
Aunt May
tells Peter he has to employ his super smart friends to figure out his
disease. So, without further ado or plot development, bring on the guest
stars!
First we have a room with Tony Stark, Reed Richards, and Hank
Pym. They come up with the conclusion it’s radiation. So it’s off to find
Bruce Banner. Of course, he’s hulked out at the time. And how does Spidey
subdue him? A bloody knock-knock joke. And after all that, Banner just sends
him to the Black Panther (plug for another Hudlin book much?). So T’Challa
has Pete eat a root which, surprise surprise, doesn’t do squat.
So it’s back to New York for some good old fashioned moping. In
mid-mope, Spidey sees the Ox and decides it’s time for a beat down. Half way
through the beating of Ox’s life, Spidey sees his face turn to Morlun’s. He
nearly beats Morlun/Ox to death until Daredevil stops him and he sees it’s
just the Ox.
So finally Spidey goes to his last resort: Dr. Strange. Strange
tells him two things: 1. It’s mystical, and 2. He’s screwed.
Likes:
- ‘Ringo continues to do a good job with Spidey, even though he has to draw half the Marvel Universe in this issue.
- Hudlin did add some good humor into this issue. It’s the one thing that makes his Spidey scripts readable.
Dislikes:
- Seems we’re starting the slow month for this event. I mean really, could we not have done this when we had Mark Millar’s talents at our disposal? Hudlin just trots in a bunch of guest stars and abandons all the actual plot and depth we were getting from Peter David.
Favorite Quote: Spider-Man: “Does a guy in a white monkey suit think other people are supposed to quake in his presence?” Black Panther: “I never got it.”
Rating: 2 webs out of 5. The only perk in the writing of this issue simply comes from the fact that it’s part of a bigger event that has so far been better. And of course, a web for ‘Ringo.
Reviewed by: Morbius
Friendly
Neighborhood Spider-Man #1
Title: The Other – Evolve or Die Part 1: Shock
Writer: Peter David
Penciler: Mike Wieringo
Inker: Karl Kesel
Plot:
Peter is telling MJ about a dream he had. In his dream, Morlun was pushing a
body into a morgue, and Peter had the feeling it was him. Then he saw Kraven
the Hunter…in a tutu. Followed by Uncle Ben holding big black fuzzy dice
showing snake eyes. Then it’s only the snake eyes, and a voice saying “You
lose.”
MJ is worried that this means Peter is afraid of death, so she
asks Captain America to train the both of them to fight. He agrees, under
some protest from Peter. He tells Peter that the instinct he operates on can
very well get him killed, and that he needs to learn to focus himself. That
way, he can do things he didn’t know he could do.
There’s also a new villain in town. Spidey tries to stop Tracer
from robbing a bank, but Tracer shoots two bullets at him. This is normally
not a problem for Spidey, except that these bullets avoid everything else
and keep following the person they were aimed at until they get that person.
Spidey web-slings away from them for awhile, but finally he focuses like Cap
told him, and holds out his hands. He opens his right hand to find that he
actually caught a bullet. He opens his left hand to find a hole and a lot of
blood, plus a hole in his left shoulder.
He goes to a Doctor Castillo that Cap recommended. She
apparently went to school with Reed Richards, and fixes up a lot of the
heroes that need injuries not reported to the cops. She patches him up, gets
some blood for tests, and guilts him into telling her his name is Peter.
After an argument with MJ about whether he should go out again
after the injury, Spidey goes to find Tracer with the spider-tracer he
placed on him. And yes, they note the irony in that. He finds the
spider-tracer in a limo, rips open the limo, and finds JJJ to be the
passenger. He then notices the spider-tracer is on the limo.
That night Peter gets a call from Dr. Castillo. She wants him to
come back for more tests, because what she found in his initial blood tests
was somehow bad. Across the street, watching him take this call from a
rooftop, is Morlun. “Snake eyes,” he says, “You lose.”
Likes:
- The writing over all is definitely great. It’s such a treat to have Peter David writing Spider-Man again.
- The art is also good. Wieringo isn’t in my top five or anything, but he’s a solid artist. Definitely much better than what we’ve been seeing in Marvel Knights lately.
- Tracer looks like he’ll be a good new villain. He looks kind of quirky, wearing big red goggles and a blue half-cape, and he is kind of quirky all around. The bullets are quite cool, and he also drew a smiley face on a bank teller’s forehead with the end of his gun. Yeah, strange guy.
- The dream it started out with was creepy, and a good way to introduce us to this huge arc. And the line from the dream Morlun gave at the end of the issue makes for some awesome mystery.
- Spidey caught a bullet! That simply rocks.
- Since we already know that it’s written by Peter David, I really shouldn’t need to even say that all the characterization is perfect. But yes, it is.
Dislikes:
- I think the only thing that could make me even more happy than I am with this comic would be if it was 48 pages long and cost $1, so let’s just forget this section of the review…
Favorite Quote: “Snake eyes. You lose.” Oh so creepy…
Rating: 5 webs out of 5. An excellent beginning to this crossover event and a worthy return for Peter David. Great all around!
Reviewed by: Morbius