Superior Foes Of Spider-Man #2 – Review

Nick Spencer (Writer), Steve Lieber (Artist), Rachelle Rosenberg (Colorist)

The Story: Boomerang is a manipulative scumbag who bites more than he can chew as he tries to keep his partners happy, the deals he have in check and the law off his back.

The Review: I love villains. While this does not mean that I enjoy evil things being done altogether and that am unable to find satisfaction while reading the good guys, there’s something really entertaining about reading those who are usually antagonist in most stories. Titles like Secret Six and Thunderbolts understood that scumbags and unsavoury characters makes for a fun read, allowing for their rather non-civil traits to dominate their beings as they went into trouble.

The Superior Foes Of Spider-Man begin to show a better handle on what makes villains so interesting. While the debut issue was pretty okay, this issue really start to show what it can do in order to interest us readers in the tales of the Sinister Six and their misadventures.

The first of many improvement start with the characters themselves and their interaction, as we get a bit more from all of them. The way each characters have their defining traits and how they are used in the story makes for a rather likable bunch, amplifying on the fact that they are C or D-lister, taking the likeable loser aspect to a certain magnitude. With Shocker being the naive, yet kind one, Overdrive being the self-obsessed and Beetle being the smart but reserved member, everyone gets a bit more focus on them as it makes the team appear more cohesive in their lack of team-spirit and collaboration.

Avenging Spider-Man #21 – Review

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

The Story: Spider-Ock fights some Russians to save the Chameleon in the midst of a battle on a S.H.I.E.L.D helicarrier.

The Review: With this story about Chameleon and the Secret Avengers being the first two-parter that Chris Yost has written on his tenure on this title, I had no idea just what to expect. As he had usually done done-in-one issues with a clear beginning, middle and end, I wasn’t sure if he’d still be able to pull it off in the same way he did those tight stories. Now, with the second and final part of this story being here, does Yost uses all the setup he had built up in the previous issue in an effective way?

Avenging Spider-Man #20 – Review

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

The Story: Spider-Ock gets on a S.H.I.E.L.D helicarrier in order to free the Chameleon from their prison, just as the Russian are getting ready to do the same. What are the odds?

The Review: I do have to say it’s a strange time to be a fan of Spider-Man. It’s even a stranger time to begin reading Spider-Man, like I did, just as a big controversial change had been put in the series. While the change from Peter Parker to Otto Octavius has been a rather weird one for a lot of people, it can’t be said that it hasn’t given us some quality stories in both the main title, Superior Spider-Man and its sister title Avenging Spider-Man. While it has been fun to see just how Otto acclimates to the life of being a webhead, it has been a blast to see just how he interacts with the larger Marvel universe as well. Having seen him with the X-Men, the FF and Thor, it has been fun to read how he sees them all and it has given us some surprisingly fun stories to boot.

Amazing Spider-Man #603 – Review

By Fred Van Lente (writer), Robert Atkins (pencils), Victor Olazaba (inks), Jeremy Cox (colors)

The Story: The Chameleon fully adopts Peter’s identity and attempts to use it as an instrument of mass destruction as he overturns Peter’s life and the lives of those he holds dear.

What’s Good: This comic is easily my sleeper surprise of the year. When I read the solicitations about this being a Chameleon story working off MJ’s return I was completely underwhelmed and considered skipping this arc altogether. I decided to go for it as Fred Van Lente has been one of the best ASM writers in the Brain Trust and that decision has paid off as this is reads an incredible comic.

First off, the Chameleon is awesome. Was he ever this great of a villain? I can’t remember his mythos that much (which is usually a sign that it’s forgettable) and the last time he was used was in that terrible, terrible Obama tribute issue.  We are treated to his personality and motivations as his voice narrates the story. We see how ruthless, cunning and ingenious he is. Most interesting, however, is the warped sense of morality and dedication he has to those who he has murdered and stolen their identity.

The other great thing about this issue is that Van Lente mines the Spider-Man mythos, showing Peter’s life entire, without Peter making an appearance at all. We see the ties that bind the people and events of Peter’s life as the Chameleon systematically deconstructs them.

This is a slow read, which is a nice change to the usual quick reading that most comics are today. There are lots of moments that linger, like the confrontation between “Peter” and Flash Thompson and especially the last scene with Harry. I really can’t imagine how Peter will recover from the damage that Chameleon has done to his life. It is all going to make for some very interesting stories down the road.

I’m not familiar with Robert Atkins’ art, but he does stellar work in this issue. Just all around great work from the character designs to the panel selection. This is one of those comics where you can tell what a character is going through, what dynamics are in play, without having to rely on the script.

What’s Not So Good: The scene with JJ’s new Spider-hunting gear was kind of a throw away moment. Additionally, there was one or two scenes with JJ which were confusing. He is starting to kind of annoy me and I think the Brain Trust is using him and his antics a little too much.

Conclusion: Fantastic story here. Maybe one of the best post-Brand New Day ASM issues. Incredible character work on the Chameleon who fights the fights of his victims in some twisted sense of loyalty to the lives he’s destroyed.  I literally cannot wait for the final installment of this arc in two weeks to see how Peter is going to come out of this one and what effect it will have on his life.

Grade: A-

-Rob G