Symbiote Spider-Man #5 Review

“I strongly suggest that whatever you’ve learned about me–and Spider’s costume–you keep it to yourself.”

Symbiote Spider-Man versus Symbiote Mysterio! Who will get to keep their new costume?!? (Okay, we all know it’s Spidey…for now.)

WRITER: Peter David

PENCILER: Greg Land

INKER: Jay Leisten

COLORIST: Frank D’Armata

LETTERER: VC’s Joe Sabino

COVER ARTISTS: Greg Land & Frank D’Armata

VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Alex Saviuk & Chris Sotomayor

ASSISTANT EDITOR: Danny Khazem

EDITOR: Devin Lewis

SPIDER-MAN created by STAN LEE & STEVE DITKO

STORY: Symbiote Mysterio attacks Symbiote Spider-Man atop the 7 train in Queens. Black Cat intervenes, shorting out his projections. Fire caused by an explosion draws Mysterio’s piece of the symbiote away and back to Symbiote Spider-Man. Now fully whole, the Symbiote Spider-Man starts to beat the life out of Mysterio. Black Cat now intervenes on Mysterio’s half, allowing the villain to shock Spider-Man back to himself as he makes his getaway. Spidey and Black Cat team up and stop the illusionist. Peter tries to make his breakfast date with Aunt May, but she left a long time ago. Peter calls to make amends, but she’ll have none of it.

THOUGHTS: Greg Land sets the stage on this issue’s cover with two of Peter David’s loves-Spider-Man and baseball. Strap in, folks, cuz there’s gonna be a lot of both this outing! Now that we’re at the end of the series, Land’s cover prepares you for the slugfest inside.

It’s been said that action is Spidey’s reward and he gets a lot of rewards in this comic. With four issues of setup behind him, this installment is pretty much all fight. Now empowered with a sliver of symbiote, David depicts a Quentin Beck overflowing with confidence, so much so that he’s even making with bad jokes when he fights! Spider-Man is on the opposite end of the spectrum. The symbiote is in control of Peter’s body, rendering the chatty hero silent. Adorned in his black costume, Land’s Symbiote Spider-Man carries an air of menace in every pose.

Black Cat, after betraying Peter to keep her secret, is fiercely loyal to him this time, doing her best to protect him from Mysterio and eventually himself, or rather, the symbiote’s influence on him. Land makes some…interesting choices in facial expressions and poses in regards to Felicia, particularly at the end where she is presumably staring at the symbiote draped over the chair. She’s not the only character who gives a few odd looks. Aunt May and several bystanders get in on the act, too. However, it’s just Felicia who strikes some poses that feel more on the exploitative side given Land’s known source for artistic inspiration.

With the issue being mostly focused on the big fight, Mysterio’s rationale for never speaking of this again is thrown away in a few lines of dialogue. Basically, after being suggested by Black Cat to keep it to himself, he agrees, stating that if Spidey learns the truth of the costume, he’ll probably ditch it. Why does Mysterio want Spidey to keep it? Well, he’s reasoned that sooner or later it will kill him. Uh…okay. Sounds bad-guyish, I guess.

David has a far easier time keeping in place Aunt May being mad at Peter. On the cusp of a reconciliation, being attacked by Mysterio interferes with Peter’s personal life and he is hours late to breakfast. Typical Parker Luck. I kind of liked the quaintness of her leaving a note for Peter at the restaurant. It sets the story in a past era where she wouldn’t just fire off an angry text or call his cell directly.

The most intriguing part was the last page of the issue, announcing that the Symbiote Spider-Man will return, using an orange font and punctuated by a Hobgoblin emoji! The mind boggles at this! Is there another missing story from the ’80s that David will tell? Is this a present day sequel with the Hobgoblin? The latter would be a far easier tale, not having to worry about the constraints of continuity. Rest assured, as soon as we at the Crawlspace know, we’ll tell ya!

Overall, as a series I enjoyed this title very much. It’s always good to get David’s wry sense of humor on any Spider-Man, be it Peter or Miguel, and he’s quite familiar with the era. The black suit is still my favorite alternate Spider-Costume and I always enjoy seeing it pop up. Felicia has a few good character interactions and even gets to take down the bad guy in the finale! Pretty fitting given how Mysterio manipulated her. At least David didn’t have her bat to Mysterio’s head give him amnesia to forget ever having part of the symbiote! The art overall looks very clean with some interesting layouts, but the aforementioned expressions leave something to be desired. If you’re looking for an entertaining book, this one is worth a shot!

MY GRADE: B-

JAVI’S HUH?: Why exactly is Felicia swearing and what is she looking at when Mysterio and Symbiote Spidey leave her atop the train? I was expecting to turn the page to see a car flying at her or something and instead was treated to a server trying to refill Aunt May’s coffee! Felt like I missed a page!