SPIDER-MAN/FANTASTIC FOUR #2 Review

Spider-Man/Fantastic Four #2

“Symbiosis”

WRITER: Christos Gage

ARTIST: Mario Alberti

SPOILERS abound, so hide your young sensitive eyes.

WHAT HAPPENED: Very shortly after Reed has pulled the symbiote off of Spider-Man, they are examining it in a lab and having a bonding moment.  Franklin moseys in and stares at the cage, which royally upsets Sue when she walks in and finds him.  She reminds Reed of his promised outing, so the Richards family goes to the park while Spidey goes about his day.  A tiny ship from *batteries not included flies in and zaps the cage, making a minute hole and freeing the symbiote.  The symbiote attacks Reed in the city.  Spidey is still nearby, so he tries to help.  The battle goes to the Baxter Building, where the symbiote bonds with, and is then forced to leave, She-Hulk, Susan, and Franklin Richards in turn.  They contain the symbiote again, and the ship that set him free turns out to belong to the same Dr. Doom-ish figure we saw at the end of the first issue.

WHAT I LIKED: Damn, just about everything.  This issue took the strong parts of the previous book and improved upon them, without bringing along the plot holes.

Again, the direct links to continuity.  Based on the fact that this is immediately after Reed Richards has released the symbiote from Spider-Man, and also upon Spidey’s inner monologue about his friends, we can determine exactly when in Spider-Man’s life this takes place.  I didn’t notice any telltale clues this time about the Fantastic Four, but I don’t really know their continuity from this time, so there may be things that are said that I’m just not noticing.  This *is* when the Thing was still away from the FF following the events of Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars, and She-Hulk is currently filling the position.

The opening scene with Reed and Spider-Man.  Some definite geek-out bonding time that, to my knowledge, was never written into the comics at this time, but needed to be.  Such like-minded men, with such mutual admiration going on, need to be seen on the page to be friends, and I’m glad that got its moment here.

Seeing Sue as both a strong warrior and a strong mother, with in fact those two roles supporting each other.  “Mommy will get rid of the monster.  That’s what mommies do.  They make anyone who tries to hurt their child wish they’d never been born.”  Awesome!  I realize that’s standard fare today, and I don’t know how she was being treated in the comics at this time, but I know how she was treated by Stan Lee, and this was very refreshing to read.

Excepting the Torch (for obvious reasons), each of the Four got enveloped by the Symbiote, even Franklin, and it was awesome seeing both how the alien reacted and how it was fought off.  Franklin fighting it off himself was very cool.  I realize those who suffered through Maximum Carnage and other extensive symbiote usage might feel this is tiresome, but I’m not you.  There was a time when symbiotes attacking people were cool.  I ask that you go with me to find that place.

The taunting with Johnny and She-Hulk, and her complete intimidation of him.  At first, I was trying to figure out if she had gotten pregnant at this time and I just didn’t know, but then it turned out to be a prank, and I got a kick out of that.  The dynamic between her and Johnny was obviously going to be different than his and Ben’s.

Reed reaching out to Franklin as a father.  Maybe it’s my daddy issues, but that really got to me.

And the problems I had with the art before are a lot easier to take here.  That’s probably because I never saw Peter’s face, cuz that would have definitely bothered me.  It’s easier to forgive drawings of characters with whom I’m a bit less familiar.  I was able to enjoy the action and the characters.  The symbiote was gooey and nasty and sinister and ferocious and gross.  I liked it.  🙂

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE: Really?  Only two things.  And those are related, so basically only one aspect of the story bothered me.  When the little ship shoots the symbiote’s cage, it’s right after Franklin has left, so it feels like maybe it’s one of his toys, but we hadn’t seen it when Franklin was there, so it just reads as confusing.  Where is this thing from?  Then the last page shows us it was part of the tie-in to the metaplot.  This connection is tenuous at best.  And the metaplot hints at a symbiote bomb, which I’m not sure I really need.  So the connection to the metaplot and the portents of where the metaplot are going are both strikes.  But they’re really tiny, in my opinion.

CONCLUSION: Okay, folks.  I know I have a reputation with some of you as being easily impressed.  But in my mind, I said I would stick to a 1-4 grading system.  A failure would get a 1.  A success would get a 4.  0 and 5 would be reserved for books that get to me emotionally (whether pissing me off or pulling the heartstrings).  And really, in honesty, this book didn’t fail at all.  It succeeded on all levels as a one-shot, to the extent that I can’t hold its meh-taplot connections against it.  AND the scenes between Spider-Man and Reed, and between Reed and Franklin, those got to me.  I was impressed.

RATING: 5 out of 5 miniwebs