Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #2 – Review

Christopher Yost (Writer), Marco Checchetto (Artist), Rachelle Rosenberg (Colorist)

The Story: Kaine goes to visit his friend Peter, only to discover that he has turned into a colossal jerk. Cue Spider-Ock and his arrogant shenanigans.

The Review: Crossovers aren’t always handled quite well. Sometimes, they are simply single issues where another character or team guest-star in another title, showing just who they are in order to boost their appearances. Other times, they are handled in multiple issues where both writers and titles share their characters in a multiple-part story. Both can be done right, yet they each have their weaknesses and strengths.

This issue is part of the latter and unfortunately show very well one of the main weakness of this type of crossover: the fact that it is not a complete story. Of course, most issues these days are part of a whole considering how many writers are writing for the trade paperbacks these days, yet this one does not accomplish much on its own.

The story here is that Kaine visits Peter, being unaware of the switch-up that made Superior Spider-Man a controversial series to begin with, as Otto reacts very violently to his presence and the fact that Kaine is a clone of the body he inhabits. The confrontation itself is precipitated perhaps a bit too fast, as Otto goes on and tries to kill Kaine almost as soon as he shows up, getting to the action scene rapidly after the introduction to Otto and his life.

This prompt the issue to go toward territory that aren’t particularly pleasant, as a lot of the characters become unlikeable and the plot make way for a lot of action without giving the readers much to latch onto in order to enjoy it. The reasons for Otto’s reaction are believable, yet they are not delved very far as we get some text, a panel and that’s it. It is a bit fast in terms of contextualisation for readers to invest themselves in the conflict show here.

Captain America #36 – Review

By Ed Brubaker (writer), Butch Guice & Mike Perkins (pencils), Frank D’Armata (colors)

Wow at Ed Brubaker. I’m disbelief right now. I honestly thought we had seen the pinnacle of surprises with Brubaker’s run on Captain America, but I was wrong! With Captain America #36, he drops a huge bomb on the last page that may just turn out to be the biggest twist yet. With this writer upping the ante every two to three issues, you’d think something has got to give. Yet, from what I’ve seen, that’s not going to be happening any time soon.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not just the ending that’ll blow you away, this whole issue is solid all around. Its only handicap is Butch Guice and Mike Perkin’s art, which can be a bit confusing at times when the action gets heated. Their art is well adapted to (regular Captain America artist) Steve Epting’s style, and because of this, the continuity between issues is kept consistent (excellent accomplishment, guys). It’s also because of these two artists that the book is on schedule too! But make no mistake, these two just aren’t Steve Epting at the end of the day, and consequently, a few panels left me squinting, trying to figure out what the heck was going on.

Small quibbles aside, the action portrayed in this issue is glorious. We finally get to see Bucky kick some serious butt (and also get his butt kicked, too). He’s definitely not the super human Steve Rogers was, but  here’s where the treat comes in: he makes up for this deficiency with dirty play and un-Captain America-like tactics. For instance, one scene has him throwing his shield at a pack of bad guys and then whipping out his pistol to shoot them while they’re distracted. Brilliant.

On the story side, things continue to move along with Red Skull and company finally getting a tad nervous about a new Captain America floating around, while Sharon Carter’s disappearance compounds their problems even more. And Tony Stark? He’s come a long way since Civil War. Seeing him cover for Bucky will restore a lot of people’s faith in SHIELD’s director. Fantastic issue. (Grade: A+)

– J. Montes