Marvel
Team-Up # 2
Spider-Man & Wolverine
Title: Golden Child-Part 2
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Pencils/Inks: Scott Kolins
Colors: Studio F
Letters: VC’s Rus Wooton
PLOT: We pick up with Wolverine hot on the trail of Spider-Man and Paul Patterson by…riding on the cross-town bus?!? Meanwhile, Spidey confronts Paul on the death of the boy’s father. Through Paul’s confession we learn that he had killed his father by accident while trying to show him his abilities. He wanted to call and tell someone what happened afterwards, but didn’t know what to do. To Spider-Man’s horror, Paul admits to him that although he had never killed anyone before, he started to enjoy committing the act and wanted to try again and so he did…several times. And with a vicious smile, he tells Spidey that he’s never killed a super-hero before and, just then, the web-slinger’s spider-sense goes off!
Outside, Wolverine just makes it off his humiliating bus ride and down the street to Paul’s house, in time for Spider-Man to be blown outside, crashing into the mutant and a parked car! As the heroes recover, they make quick amends just before Paul unleashes his fury, destroying his home before them. The boy, quite coldly and surely, admits that he’s been mastering his powers slowly, but could use some target practice and wants to kill them both. The heroes make a few attempts at slowing Paul down, to no effect, while trying to hobble together a game plan.
CUT TO: A one page breakaway taking place on the outer edge of Latveria as a small crackle of energy builds and builds and finally unleashes what seems to be the form of Dr. Doom, calling out the name of his most hated enemy… “Richards!”
Back to Wolvie & Spidey dodging blasts as Logan tells the wall-crawler to distract Paul long enough for him to stab him (a flesh wound, scout’s honor) with his adamantium claws, with the hope that the metal will disrupt the current within him long enough to be taken out. Paul ups the ante by firing upon his neighbors’ home, forcing the heroes to save them first, making them easy targets. Wolverine gets blasted badly but refuses to stay down. Spider-Man gets back into the fray to distract him, only to be hit dead-on with a full blast, incapacitating him. But, it’s just long enough for Wolvie to pop a claw into the kid as he then explodes in a fiery ball of light!
A stunned Spider-Man asks Logan if Paul had truly blown up and expresses his inability to wrap his mind around this whole affair and then asks if it would be possible for the mutant and his X-Crew to pick up the pieces so he could call it a night. Instead, Wolvie calls in S.H.I.E.L.D. While the call is being made, a mysterious floating orb is shown recording the two and then quickly flys off into the night.
Epilogue: Logan returns to the mansion to a departing Jubilee, heading for L.A. A bandaged Peter tries to stay awake during lunch, while Kyle and Miss Bradley discuss Paul Patterson and…elsewhere, one (of many) orbs return to the remnants of a starship lodged in a mountain where we find an armored individual downloading and processing the images of the previous night’s fight, making a solemn oath to the comatose(?) body of his beloved that he will find the ones who will suit their needs…hers and that of the one known as…Titannus! To Be Continued.
LIKES:
- This is a title where Kirkman & Kolins just want to have fun playing in the Marvel sandbox and it shows! It’s growing to be a title that will have a balance of action, intrique, some creepy elements and even a good dose of humor, which is not unwelcome.
- Instead of Paul being played out as a typical clichéd teen, he’s portrayed as being one up on the heroes’ expectations, very purposeful, and shows absolutely no remorse for what he’s done or will do. Had he not received powers, Paul still might have taken a dark path solely based on his disposition.
- This issue we get a cool fly-by from the man called NOVA.
DISLIKES:
- Other than Wolverine having to chase after Spidey and Paul by bus, which seemed a bit silly (although I realize he was trying to heal from his self-inflicted head wounds) and Spider-Man acting slightly naïve at times, I didn’t have any problems with it.
FAVORITE QUOTE: (Gosh, there’s a few in this one, but if I have to choose…)
Spider-Man: “Um…you see the kid? He was just in the house…and now I don’t…”
THAAKKA-BOOM!
Wolverine: “Yeah…He’s right over there.”
Spider-Man: “Wow…how observant. No wonder you’re on so many teams.”
RATING: 3 out of 5 Webheads. A fun read all around.
REVIEWED BY: BMK!
Message Board: What did you think of BMK!'s Review? Discuss it on this thread on the Crawl Space Message board.
Marvel
Team-Up #1
Spider-Man & Wolverine (No Title)
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Pencils/Inks: Scott Kolins
PLOT: The first page starts off with a
splash page of Wolverine completely webbed up, hanging between two back
alleyway walls, his fists webbed to his temples. He thinks to himself
that Spider-Man seems like he’s a know-it-all but this time he’s in
way over his head and once he’s free he is going after the
Wall-Crawler…big time!
Flashback…to earlier in the morning as we
see the Amazing Spider-Man attempt to share breakfast with the pigeons
before heading to work, while across town Logan reports back to Cyclops
on a quarry they’ve been tracking. So far Logan’s behind, the quarry
in question is not at home, but he assures Cyke that it’s only a
matter of time.
Back to Spider-Man who, on his way to work, busts
up an armored car robbery in typical Spidey fashion, but is now late for
work. Peter hopes to slip into his class unnoticed but is caught by the
Principal, who warns Peter about his “scheduling problem”. Later on,
Pete’s in the lunchroom with Kyle and Miss Bradley having a
conversation which soon turns into an attempt by Miss Bradley to flirt
with Peter but, he’s saved by the bell, or in this case the lunchroom
brawl. Before he can get a handle on the situation, the recipient of the
beating, a kid named Paul Patterson, throws off his attackers with a
display of enormous strength, his fists glowing! Peter is speechless.
Once things have settled down and after
school Peter catches up with Paul as Spider-Man, looking to find answers
behind the kid’s power. Paul recognizes Peter’s voice through the
mask and calls him out on it. Spider-Man awkwardly tries to change the
subject and continue questioning the teen when a familiar “SNIKT” is
heard. Paul reacts on reflex as his hands light up and blasts Wolverine
clear to the next rooftop! A startled Spider-Man tries to contain the
misunderstanding but fails as Paul blasts a charging Wolverine again!
By now, it’s far too late as Wolvie loses
his temper and chases after an escaping Spidey, with Paul in tow.
Spider-Man tries to slow Wolvie down by webbing him up in the alley and
takes off. Logan realizes that he might have lost his cool, but the kid
is too dangerous and needs to be contained. With that, the mutant pops
his claws slowly, using his adamantium-laced skull as leverage to push
his hands clear from the webbing and is soon free and back on their
trail.
Spider-Man returns Paul to his home, a place
that is run-down and infested with flies. He asks Paul if his parents
are home, seeing as how he should explain what’s been going on to
them. Paul says that his mother left them a while ago but his father was
in the back bedroom. As Spidey opens the door, he’s started to see the
remains of Paul’s dead father. Shocked, he asks, “Uh…is he dead?”
Paul, in silhouette with eyes aglow responds, “Well…yeah.” To Be
Continued.
LIKES:
- Kirkman & Kolins, in my opinion, are a great team for MTU. Kirkman writes this book in classic Marvel fashion, very plot oriented and he keeps it fun, not heavy-handed. Scott Kolins is very good with facial expressions and pacing; his splash pages are pretty dynamic too.
- The book’s written well enough so that even a new reader can pick it up, read it and the information that’s pertinent to the story only. You don’t have to read 6 other titles to know what’s going on. It’s refreshing.
DISLIKES:
- The obligatory misunderstanding between heroes leading to the obligatory fight. Don’t get me wrong, I liked the story but I feel if two different heroes are going to be at odds with one another the reasons for doing so should be monumental.
- Spider-Man comes across as being a little naïve in the end of the story...he brings this kid home, which is in squalor, and when he finds out that the dad is in the back bedroom, he acts as if the father will get a kick out of meeting a local celebrity such as himself. Now, his Spider-Sense doesn’t even kick off before or after opening the door, and he clearly sees the body but still asks Paul if his father is dead. C’mon!
FAVORITE QUOTE: “Now I’ve got to find them again. Shouldn’t be too hard with Spider-Man involved…I’ll just follow the scent of bad jokes."
RATING: 3 out of 5 Webheads. A very good start to what I hope will be a long-running series, with or without Spider-Man!
Reviewed by: BMK!
Message Board: What did you think of BMK!'s Review? Discuss it on this thread on the Crawl Space Message board.