Web Warriors #4 Review

“What kind of heroes are you?!”

The stakes ramp up as ‘Electroverse’ reaches its penultimate chapter. How will the Warriors cope when stranded in the Steampunk Universe? Will Gwen and Ben take the fight to the Electros? Will my Mayday/ Ham fanfiction come true? Some of these questions will be answered as we delve into Web Warriors #4.

Writer: Mike Costa

Art: David Baldeon

Inker: Walden Wong

Colorist: Jason Keith, Matt Yackey, Wil Quintana & Antonio Fabela 

Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna

Editor: Devin Lewis

Plot: The Warriors have taken refuge in the home of Lady Spider after fleeing Loomworld. Their steampunk friend helps them locate and take down Black Cat, an associate of the Battery. Meanwhile Gwen and Ben travel to Earth-112255 to liberate the Doc Ocks (Someone forgot to tell Gwen that Otto isn’t usually a friendly guy). Paviitr finds a way of communicating with Gwen, who tells them that she has a way of stopping their enemy once and for all. However, their plan does involve fending off a horde of very angry Electros…

Spider-Thoughts: Well done.Yet again, Web Warriors proves to be one of the stronger, more enjoyable Spider-Comics out there (which, thinking about it, is a bit worrying for 616 Spidey). As always, I have a couple of issues with it but, ultimately, this is a comic that never fails to put a smile on my face.

Let’s begin with my obligatory praise for Baldeon’s artwork. His work is unbelievably expressive, even when the characters in question are wearing masks. In a story spanning the multiverse, all the characters could easily have been copies of one another. Yet Baldeon manages to give each hero their own unique personality purely through his illustrations. Another brilliant aspect of Baldeon’s work is his backgrounds – each one is distinctly different, clearly showing the shift in dimensions. It is especially in this story that his skill stands out through the reintroduction of Lady Spider’s universe. The towering mansions, the floating blimps, the smoke filled skies all truly captures a beautiful world I am dying to see more of. This Victorian-esque world  is used in sharp contrast to Mayday’s vibrant home and Octavius’s techno base, showing Baldeon’s incredible variety as an artist. I would go as far as to say he is consistently the best Spider-artist on the shelves today (take that Spider-Gwen!).

But art isn’t all that makes a comic. The plot takes a calmer approach in this issue, succeeding in building up the tension for the Warriors’ final confrontation with the Battery. Don’t get me wrong, there is still a lot set up for the final issue but I still felt that this issue shone through with the characters more than others. 

I enjoyed seeing Lady Spider again – out of all the heroes introduced in Spider-Verse, she was the one that captured my attention the most. This makes it all the better to see her pop up again. Her world serves as the perfect stop-off for the Warriors in their continued crusade against the Electros.  With hints of a Spider-death next issue, is it too much to ask that Miss Reilly stays on full-time?

Subplots resurface in this issue. Once again we see that Spider-Ham is an outsider in the team, not quite fitting in with his human companions. This is illustrated well through his comedic bickering with Spider-Man Noir and his futile attempts to befriend Spider-Man India. I never expected characters to have arcs in this series – with a premise such as this, it could have just been full of funny characters and cool action scenes. To see Spider-Ham get an arc is a welcome surprise. 

Another character to flourish in this issue is Spider-UK, a character who is proving to be an interesting, multi-layered leader for the team. In this issue we see that he is capable of taking charge, even in such dire circumstances. He commands his team well and does not stop in his fight against the enemy. Also, the theme of loneliness resurfaces, making the character more fragile whilst also giving him a connection with Lady Spider. 

However this issue does have a problem – unnecessary characters. Uncle Ben doesn’t really have a function in this issue and could easily be replaced by literally any other Spider-Hero. He just kind of tags along with Spider-Gwen, not contributing much. Octavia was another character that felt forced, just adding to a roster that is already hard to keep track off. Maybe she’ll have a function in the next issue but for now I remain skeptical. But when I see characters being wasted, I can’t help but think that this is time that could be spent fleshing out more deserving characters such as Anya or Karn. Fortunately Electro-449 has been left lying around in the Doc Ock’s lair, so there is a chance we’ve seen the last of him.

In the end, Web Warriors #4 is yet another strong entry in the series – potentially the strongest to date. Despite there being a few too many characters, the fun factor, art and continual development of characters entitles this issue to 8 WEBS OUT OF 10.

Best line: “I’m a cartoon! Are you saying I’m not real? Because that’s racist. 

Spider-Points of Spider-Interest

• A Doctor Octopus that is literally an Octopus. Kudos, kudos.
• Why is there a ‘bug-sized Electro’ in Black Cat’s pendant? Did the Electros put him in there? What sort of person would imprison a version of themselves and gift them to a crook? 
• I really love that hero-shot when the Warriors capture Black Cat! So cool!
• After being prompted at the end of the issue, is anyone sending in requests for future guest stars? If so, who?