Spider-Man: City at War #3 Review

“What if we teamed up? Started working these cases together for real. Spider-Man and his…amazing friend.”

The spotlight shines on Mary Jane Watson as she gets closer to uncovering the secret behind “Devil’s Breath”. Will her curiosity prove to be her undoing?

WRITER: Dennis “Hopeless” Hallum

ARTIST: Michele Bandini

COLORIST: David Curiel

LETTERER: VC’s Travis Lanham

COVER ARTIST: Clayton Crain

VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Gang Hyuk Lim; David Nakayama (Sinister Six-Vulture variant)

PRODUCTION DESIGN: Nick Russell

ASSISTANT EDITOR: Martin Biro

EDITOR: Mark Basso

SPIDER-MAN created by STAN LEE & STEVE DITKO

STORY: Mary Jane finds a connection between Martin Li and Mr. Negative and lets Peter know. The Demons break into Oscorp and Spidey thwarts them, but gets stopped himself by Silver Sable and her security team. MJ follows the Demons who escape and overhears that the Devil’s Breath is with Sable International at Central Park. She heads over there, meeting a scientist who explains everything, but she gets captured by Mr. Negative. He takes her to Grand Central, grabs other hostages, and threatens Mayor Osborn into meeting him, who’s unaware a bomb will be waiting for him.

THOUGHTS: Crain provides another solid cover, highlighting one of the game’s set pieces. Granted, the issue ends right before this scene would happen, but it’s still a great piece of art and I can’t complain when Mary Jane gets featured in such a vital way.

I appreciate how Hallum once again takes events in the game, but puts them through the filter of a particular character, in this case, Marvel’s best redhead (Yeah, I said it Medusa). I thought Bandini put in some nice character touches with the opening panels. Observant readers will notice the Osborn autobiography, seemingly autographed, a picture of her, Peter, & Harry, and a tiger mug. Oh, and she’s already got a plush of Spidey’s new advanced suit! Man, merchandise gets slapped together fast!

Hallum does a fantastic job establishing another strong, independent Mary Jane. She’s full of ambition and a real go-getter, even if it gets her into trouble. The game, and this comic, add a new dimension to her-reporter. Granted, it’s not entirely new as the Ultimate series, both comic and cartoon, had her dabble in journalism, but it’s not something most would think of when they think of the character. Despite her being MANY other things, I think most just think of her as super model. Hallum explains that MJ loves a good mystery and puzzle, which gives her character the motivation to pursue journalism. It’s still a bit of a risky move as it’s kind of a comic book cliche (Lois Lane, Vicky Vale, Linda Park), but I think it works. It definitely leads to MJ being pro-active in the story and helps Peter out with all that he’s got going on.

Bandini once again provides consistency to the art, but I was starting to feel that some of his characters were a little stiff. Faces, too, can be on the simplistic side, but everyone is still easily identifiable as themselves. Having said that, his Spidey continues to be awesome and is the exception to the above. He is always in some dynamic pose and the panels where we do get some action carry a good deal of energy. I just wish the rest of the book could have just a little bit more of that.

I find myself at a bit of a loss for words with this issue. It’s certainly enjoyable with some pretty decent art and I loved the focus on MJ. On the other hand, it’s a very Cliff Notes version of the game and feels very truncated. This issue still feels more cohesive then the first, though. If you love the game, this comic is definitely worth checking out if you want to get more in-depth with certain characters.

MY GRADE: B-

JAVI’S HUH?: How did the Demons NOT notice that Peter was on the ceiling, when his cell phone was glowing in the dark room and MJ kept asking if he was there on the speaker?