Spider-Man: Hostile Takeover-Book Review

“MJ, I know you don’t want to hear this, but I really think you should back off. Even going to this fundraiser is a bad idea. Things happen to people near Fisk, and they definitely happen to people who are trying to uncover his secrets.”

Want more of the world shown in Insomniac Games’ PS4 Spider-Man? Curious what led up to the game’s intro? This book has got you covered! Check your web-shooters because Spidey is gonna have his hands full between Fisk, Blood Spider, relationship troubles, and work woes. Oh, yeah, and Echo is waiting in the wings to kill the Wall-Crawler, too!

AUTHOR: David Liss

PUBLISHER: Titan Books

COVER SYNOPSIS: Wilson Fisk–the so-called Kingpin of Crime–has returned to New York, establishing himself publicly as an altruistic entrepreneur and philanthropist. Spider-Man knows better, but he can’t uncover Fisk’s scheme that, if executed, will make the crime lord “too big to fail.”

When a new threat–a deadly doppelganger with Spider-Man’s suit and abilities–wreaks havoc in the streets, can the real wall-crawler prove his innocence? With the clock ticking and lives on the line, can Spider-Man stop the brutal rampage of the Blood Spider? Will Spider-Man fall to his fears and foes, or will he rise and be greater?

THOUGHTS: Tie-ins can be very tricky things, especially when you’re translating across several mediums, in this case, a comic that became a game that is now a book. How do you capture that experience and translate it in a new style for the audience? It’s a daunting task, one that David Liss rises to the challenge of, but not without some bumps and bruises along the way.

Clocking in at 398 pages, I found Spider-Man: Hostile Takeover to be a surprisingly fast read. It flows very well, but at the same time it took my mind a few chapters to adjust to Liss’ style of writing and to be honest, it’s been far too long since I’ve read a proper book, making the opening seem a tad on the Young Adult reader side. However, once Liss gets going, he begins to weave a complex web, with characters both familiar and those maybe not as entrenched in the Spider-Verse. For example, I don’t think anyone was expecting Amazing Spider-Man #367’s Blood Spider to be a major player in this, but he sure is, providing one of the physical threats Spidey has to overcome!

It’s not all just action, though. Keeping true to Spidey’s roots, Peter has plenty of personal problems to deal with, too. He’s chronically late for work and is having relationship woes with Mary Jane, thanks to all his constant worrying about her well-being, especially when she starts working on a story that involves The Kingpin. Liss does a great job getting into Peter’s head and showing both sides of their relationship.

Much like the game, we spend time with Mary Jane solo. While I can certainly understand comparisons to Lois Lane and “straying” from the “core” mythology, this isn’t the first universe that MJ has dabbled in reporting, with the Ultimate comics and cartoon expanding on her desire to contribute to society at large. There’s more to her than aspiring actress, with even the 616 version going back to school to study psychology, so personally I didn’t have a problem with the novel (or game) giving her a role to play that makes her more integral to the story. This new job also places her in jeopardy, which causes a personal dilemma for Peter, especially when it clouds his judgement.

The book does a really good job layering the personal conflicts Peter deals with and having that collide with his life as Spidey, something all good Spidey stories should strive for. We also get a potential love interest as well, Anika Adhikari, who not only adds to the Peter side of the drama, but causes problems for Spidey when she’s at the site of a villain attack. It’s a little weird to see Peter hem and haw about revealing he’s with MJ when he first meets her. At that point, his and Mary Jane’s relationship troubles don’t seem anywhere near being dire and it feels a bit on the slimy side. There’s more I could get into regarding it, but I wouldn’t want to spoil it too much.

Here’s where the book faltered a bit for me-the amount of time spent fleshing out Blood Spider and Echo’s origins. Eschewing Blood Spider’s comic book origins of being trained by Task Master for being enhanced with “medicine” from Oscorp, Liss spends a lot of time with his back story when only a chapter would’ve sufficed for my tastes. I don’t wanna know about his poor upbringing, I’d rather spend the time with Peter.

Similarly, we also get a lot of Echo’s modified beginnings. Swapping out her belief that Daredevil killed her father to the Web-Slinger makes her more involved with the plot and adds to the mystery that Spidey is trying to unravel. Their first battle together is very well told and allows one to picture the upcoming action from the game. Her ties to The Kingpin also add another layer to the drama and I’ve got no problem taking an antagonist from Daredevil given how Ol’ Horn-Head has co-opted Fisk from the Wall-Crawler. It also serves to add a layer to how expansive this version of the Marvel Universe is, hinting at the world of heroes beyond Spider-Man.

Liss’ characterization of Peter really shines (minus not shutting down Anika’s feelings immediately), especially as he feels torn between his two lives, seeing how one negatively impacts the other. The experience this Peter has is constantly stressed, adding to the fact that he feels he either needs a break or to stop his web-slinging duties altogether, noting how he can have a positive impact in the world through science. It’s not the first time we’ve seen Peter pondering quitting, but Liss provides enough motivation in the novel that I don’t mind it being tackled again in this format, particularly at the end of the second act when things come to their apex.

The Kingpin feels like an intractable threat, one that feels insurmountable given how entrenched he is within the corrupted government. Liss makes it very clear how major a player he is and why Spidey thinks if he could just bring him down it would close the circle. Obviously, we won’t get a permanent solution here if you’ve seen any of the game’s publicity, but rest assured, by the end of the novel you’ll be ready for the game as the epilogue places you in the exciting opening minutes of it, adding new context to the importance of the struggle you are about to endure.

So, is it essential to read this before the game? No. However, you’ll get wonderful layers as to why taking down Fisk is so meaningful, why his absence would cause such problems, and what Peter’s headspace is, not to mention more insight into why he and MJ aren’t together. Be prepared for teases as to who is Peter’s boss at the lab, but with no real answers. It’s a quick read, and easy read, and most importantly, a fun read, especially if you want more of Insomniac’s Spider-Man and how his world differs.

MY GRADE: B-