Snapshot! Spider-Man: Spider’s Shadow #3

Writer: Chip Zdaraky
Artist: Pasqual Ferry

I suspect many people are trade waiting on this series, or decided to skip it all together with it being an extended What If. That is a shame. This book is making me excited about Marvel comics…I revel in it, it’s great and I need it right now as I’m always aware that another Non-Stop Spider-Man is right around the corner.

Depth of Field: The new Sinister Six (which includes Eddie Brock and J. Jonah Jameson) lure Spider-Man to a remote location with the intention of ending his webbed reign of terror.

Focal Point: The issue opens with Rhino and his “boys” lined up waiting for the night to begin. JJJ and Eddie Brock arrive to help get the party started. Jonah has brought a Spider Slayer and Eddie is wearing Doctor Octopus’ mental arms. He informs the crew the good doctor will not be joining them. I like that the Sinister Six couldn’t care less that a complete stranger arrives, claiming Ock is dead and he’s substituting on to the team. Any suspicion is just pushed aside with a “didn’t like him [Ock] anyway” from Rhino.

The Sinister Six’s plan is to lure Spider-Man out of New York, away from the other heroes and quietly murder him by an old farm house. Unfortunately for them when Spider-Man arrives it’s clear he is the slasher in this scenario and the Sinister Six are the drunk horny teenagers. From the moment JJJ discovers the Beetle’s body Spider-Man shows the Sinister Six they are not in control.

A fight breaks out, leading to the barn catching fire. Kraven instantly notices the symbiote’s aversion to the flames and the villains force Spider-Man into the inferno. While tussling in the fire, the symbiote withdraws from Spider-Man to reveal Peter’s face to Jonah. Realising he’s gone too far Jonah grabs Peter and escapes leaving the symbiote and the tattered remains of the Sinister Six behind. Zdarsky has the emotional relationship between Peter and Jonah down perfectly. That all his rage and bloodlust evaporates when he sees Peter rings true to me. He’s still angry that Peter’s Spider-Man, angry that this was kept from him, but he doesn’t wish Peter dead. I think Peter and Jonah’s relationship is one of the best things to come from Zdarsky’s Spectacular run. I’m sure Nick Spencer has a plan to put the genie back in the bottle so I’ll enjoy it for as long as it lasts.

Jonah takes Peter home, where he finds MJ and Black Cat bickering. The three of them start to panic as they discover the Kingpin outed Peter’s true identify before he was killed and now the Police are surrounding Peter’s apartment. This is another great scene, and I know some fans won’t be happy with me for saying but I’d watch MJ and Black Cat bickering over Peter, instead of MJ and Gwen any day. I’m not sure why the Police are surrounding the apartment as the Avengers are also looking for Peter as well, but I guess they are watching some other location?

When Jonah mentioned Kraven and Eddie survived their encounter at the Cabin in the Woods I wondered if Zdarksky was setting up either Venom’s original status quo (Eddie) or revisiting his Life Story symbiote host (Kraven). Turns out he had another host in mind as the symbiote decides to hunt down the Fantastic Four’s “Smart Man”.

Art is subjective. I know this style hasn’t clicked with everyone but I really like it. The horror elements are dark and brutal while the emotion in the character moments feels real and earned.

Photobombed: Eddie Brock’s inclusion in this story is going to be problematic for some readers. When Eddie appeared in the last issue I was happy to see him and decided to let the story play out. Unfortunately this issue confirms there is an element of cheating to his appearance. The continuity of this story takes place around Amazing Spider-Man #258 (from Nov 1984) as stated in the first issue. This issue confirms Eddie hates Spider-Man for the same reason he does in the main continuity, the Sin-Eater scandal, a Spectacular Spider-Man plot from 1985. I’m happy to call this What If the Sin-Eater story happened earlier, your mileage may vary. For me it was worth it to hear Eddie referred to as “Brock Ock”.

Negative Exposure: I’m still really enjoying the series. If I had a complaint it’s that Zdarsky seems to have given up on “what if Spider-Man kept the suit/became Venom” idea. While not the official title for this story, it was strongly discussed during its promotion. It’s starting to feel like “what if Spider-Man kept the suit a week longer?” which is not as exciting. Though I do expect that Peter and the suit will be together again before the series finishes.

Grade: B+ My complaints are minor. I’m holding back from giving an A as I feel that needs to be reserved for something really special. While not the greatest issue of all time, this series continues to be a fun read.

Zoom In: What did you think of Spider-Man: Spider’s Shadow? Let me know in the comments!

• Adam