Spider-Gwen (Vol. 2) #32 Review

“If the venom gives me back ten times what I put in…maybe it’s time I think more about what it is that I give.”

This is it! Spider-Gwen stands revealed to the world and now it’s time to take Murdock down! Will The Mary Janes be her key to victory?

WRITER: Jason Latour

ARTIST: Robbi Rodriguez

COLOR ARTIST: Rico Renzi

LETTERER: VC’s Clayton Cowles

COVER: Robbi Rodriguez

TITLE PAGE ART: Rico Renzi, Robbi Rodriguez, & Anthony Gambino

PRODUCTION DESIGNER: Carlos Lao

ASSISTANT EDITOR: Kathleen Wisneski

EDITOR: Devin Lewis

GWEN STACY created by STAN LEE & STEVE DITKO

STORY: Finally back on Earth-65, Gwen visits her comatose dad in the hospital. Mary Jane and Glory wake up to news about Gwen. The Hand voice their displeasure with Murdock via conference call. Ben is upset that Gwen outed herself in the press. Gwen calls The Mary Janes together to not only fill them in as to what’s been going on, but with the help of Reed Richards, to record a killer track. Murdock defeats a wave of Hand ninjas sent to eliminate him. Venom appears in the aftermath of the battle, revealing how Gwen is much more in control than when last they met. She plays The Mary Janes latest song, rendering Murdock defenseless against its auditory attack. She has the venom switch her look back to her traditional Spider-Woman suit and takes the web-watch back, leaving Murdock alive to fend off the assumed next incoming wave of Hand assassins. Gwen then turns herself in to DeWolff at Mr. Albi’s.

THOUGHTS: Today’s cover of Spider-Gwen is brought to you by the Daily Bugle! Utilizing a tabloid style layout was a clever way to kick things off given how the last issue concluded. I love the blurry watercolor effect on the cityscape behind Gwen, indicating that Gwen is back on her earth at long last. Having “excelsior” above the banner is a nice touch. Whomever came up with that deserves a raise!

Latour creates an immediate parallel to last issue by opening things the same way. In fact, the first panel seems identical! However, this version has a more creepy and somber bent as Gwen silently enters…and spiders emerge from her fingers! Cowles, unsung hero that he is, utilizes lettering to great effect, with the chirp of George’s cardiac monitor building over each panel, lending to a perfect transition into the next scene as the onomatopoeia of “bip” becomes that of Em Jay’s phone. The sound has a very mechanical, rhythmic font in the hospital, morphing into something a lot more cartoony, emanating from Em Jay’s phone, growing louder as the sound rises up to the ceiling. It’s clever and well done, like this book normally is!

Murdock sitting in front of relatively blank screens, only filled with the name of its caller’s location, recalled to mind Nick Fury talking with the World Security Council in the first Avengers movie. I guess there’s no point in seeing whom you’re talking to on a video call if you’re blind , especially when the people you’re conversing with pride themselves on disappearing anyways. The Hand try to point out to Murdock that he is nothing without them, but the problem with Daredevil, no matter the universe, is that he’s at his most dangerous when he has “nothing to lose. Nothing to fear”. It’s a very “game on” moment for this kingpin.

Brawny Uncle Ben is angry with how Gwen is handling things. It’s still weird to me to see him this way, but that’s in part to his normally being dead in most versions of the legend. I am genuinely curious how Latour plans to utilize this aspect of his story as we’re in uncharted territory here.

Meeting up with her band once again, Gwen’s interaction with them is 180 degrees from the last time they were all in the same space. We can clearly see the impact meeting Gwen-617 has had on her as there is a calm focus and certainty that she hasn’t possessed before as she reunites with her friends. She still has the creepy gummy spiders, but they seem more benevolent in this scene.

Latour really dives into the themes of the series here-responsibility, truth, power, and family. Gwen sees the dark path she could go down, the path that could make her the next Murdock, but the light of her father, the light she was so afraid to lose, is what’s inspiring her to overcome that fear of loss, knowing that what she does, who she is, matters. Not just to herself, but people she doesn’t even know.

Latour also raises some interesting ideas about the nature of the symbiote. On this world, it’s more open to magnifying whatever is channeled into it, not just the darker side of emotions, giving a clue to how the future Gwen-617 is able to work alongside her symbiote. It serves as a metaphor for an outlook on life, too. See misery everywhere and that’s what will be. Gwen’s learning how to manifest her own happiness and sense of self and goes to her loved ones and allies to do it. You’ve got to love the Three Musketeers mentality of The Mary Janes, too. What chance do they have against thwarting the Kingpin of Crime who also happens to be trained by ancient assassins? It doesn’t daunt them from stepping up to the challenge though. Seeing Reed, even for a panel, was a welcome surprise.

When we finally get to the main event, it doesn’t play out in a way that I expected, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it any less. Appearing initially as Venom, Gwen ominously materializes behind Murdock like they’re in a John Carpenter Halloween movie. In fact, so much of Rodriguez in this issue just reeks of the cinematic. It’s always been a strength of his on this title. Let’s not leave Renzi out either. As Gwen transitions into this new being, it’s worth noting that the Venom color balloons are still intact, but with the usage of “me” instead of “we”, as Murdock catches on to. I love seeing the shift back to Spider-Gwen from Gwenom in this scene.

Rodriguez really crushes it on art here. From the sound waves of Gwen’s voice forming the shape of her outline for Murdock to hear, to the sonic assault she lays on him,  it’s all top notch stuff that only this team is doing. The colors and art are in such a delightful chorus as Gwen takes Murdock down with only the sound of The Mary Janes doing what they do best-rock n’ roll.

Latour points out the shared weakness in both Murdock and the traditional symbiote -overwhelming sound. He cleverly makes it as something Murdock himself planted into Gwen’s head, hiding his own weakness out in the open. Gwen’s defeated him, but not in the way he wanted. I was a little surprised that Gwen would leave him and not turn him over, too, but perhaps more of this will be played out next issue. As this issue ended with Gwen enjoying one last corn dog before turning herself in, maybe we just weren’t shown the part where the police apprehended Murdock first.

So, here we are. Two issues of Spider-Gwen to go. I was a little disappointed that we didn’t get to see Gwen’s confessional to Jonah and how that all played out, but that only served to make room for Gwen to come into her own. While she has cemented her bond with the venom, rooted in her newfound balance, it seems pretty clear to me that her real power isn’t from the suit, but her newfound sense of self and the bond she shares with those closest to her. With her trial up next, the only thing I can expect to happen from this team is the unexpected, but in their own unique way. The action was short lived in this issue, but it was chock full of “the feels”, making for yet another satisfying and exciting read from this team.

MY GRADE: A

JAVI’S HUH?: So, I know Gwen’s Venom isn’t the 616 version, but is the weakness to sound also tied to her emotional state of being, meaning that as she feels more stronger in herself, it too is physically stronger and can withstand the aural onslaught?