MARCO SPEAKS SPIDEY- MURDERWORLD: SPIDER-MAN #1 REVIEW

Admittedly, I am a sucker for television shows like Alice in Borderland or Squid Game. Anything that has a Battle Royale kind of feel to it will definitely keep me hooked from beginning to finish, whether it be in the books I read, the programs I watch, or the movies I catch on the big screen. And this is no different: reading a comic book about new, normal, everyday, non-superhero contestants fighting it out in a brutal game that defines survival of the fittest makes my heart full. And these very likeable new characters are boosted even more when they run into evil, dangerous, clone versions of superheroes like Spider-Man and the rest of his family.

OFFICIAL MARVEL COMICS DESCRIPTION:

Published:

December 28, 2022

Writer:

Jim Zub, Ray Fawkes

Penciler:

Farid Karami

Cover Artist:

Paco Medina

The Murderworld stream will not be stopped and, as its dwindling contestants grow more desperate, the wall-crawling web of death surrounding them begins to tighten – Thwip, thwip…Murderworld is a chaotic contest filled with treachery and tragedy from the minds of Ray Fawkes (One Soul, Constantine) and Jim Zub (Conan the Barbarian, Avengers: No Surrender) illustrated by Farid Karami. Arcade and his schemes have been a punchline in the past, but this game is no laughing matter. Each issue ups the ante and will keep readers guessing right up until the end. Don’t miss it!

PROS:

• Eden, as a character, is instantly loveable as a strong warrior with lots of dimensions to her personality. She instantly gets on my good side because of her Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) background, but on top of that, she seems like a very strategic and wise competitor. She is tough when she has to be, but she also has a softer side, as shown by her one-night stand with one of her fellow Murderworld entrants.
• For a comic book that is not really focusing too much on actual Spider-Man characters, the art team does an excellent job in portraying a large portion of the different wall-crawlers from all sorts of universes. Arcade may be a lunatic and bloodthirsty psycho, but it is still pretty endearing seeing him have a hard time catching up with who all the Spider-Man characters are… honestly, I feel you, brother. I really do. It felt like a true horror film witnessing all the Murderworld contestants hunted down by these Predator-like versions of our favorite web-slingers.
• I really appreciate that Natasha is getting her time to shine in this book, even though she is being totally rejected and abandoned by her X-Men friends. Well, the mutants have their own problems ongoing, so who can really blame them, right?

CONS:

• Well, for Spider-Man fans, the only downside I see to this issue is that there is no real Spider-Man. Well, no real Spider-Man characters at all, actually, make an appearance in this one. And even their evil versions, created by Arcade himself, don’t comprise much of the entire story.

FINAL GRADE: A

Overall, I think that I will be following the rest of this Murderworld storyline because while it is not as relevant to Spider-Man as I once thought or expected, the creative team is really just making an intense, intriguing thriller that will entertain, even if you do not have any knowledge about Marvel or its characters. I love the twist at the end where Arcade reveals that he has planted a couple of mole assassins in the group, which will naturally cause chaos, distrust, and basically absolute mayhem amongst the remaining survivors.

As I end this review, I just want to say Happy Holidays AND New Year to everybody in the Spider-Man family and fandom! 2022 was definitely a great year for Marvel and for our friendly neighborhood wall-crawler, but 2023 promises to be even bigger and better. We have so much to look forward to… in comics, television shows, and especially movies. And on top of all that, I am honestly still hoping the next Spider-Man game hits the Playstation 5 next year, as currently scheduled. It is going to be a BLAST playing as both Peter and Miles at the same time, in the same game. And, c’mon! Venom. ‘NUFF SAID. So, if you can’t tell by now, I am surely excited and hyped to do more content for the Spider-Man family in the coming months! Cheers to all!