Empyre is finished, which means we’re back with our classic Marvel Files weekly reviews. And this week is a packed one as Spider-Correspondent Tony Thornley looks at Amazing Spider-Man #48, Goo Crew member Justin Partridge digs into Web of Venom: Wraith #1, and last Matt Lazorwitz gives us his thoughts on Magnificent Ms. Marvel #14!
Amazing Spider-Man #48
Written by: Nick Spencer
Penciled by: Mark Bagley
Inked by: John Dell
Colored by: David Curiel
Lettered by: VC’s Joe Caramagna
It’s stunning when a writer gets the entire foundation of a character wrong.
Peter Parker is a character all about making the tough choices, and the guilt that comes from the wrong choice. That’s the foundation of the idea of “with great power comes great
responsibility” which if you know Spider-Man, well… So of course, Peter will do his best to make the choice that does the least harm, even in extremely morally complex situations. And that’s what Amazing Spider-Man #48 is all about- Peter Parker facing an impossible choice and consulting his closest friends and family for help making it.
So when you find out on the last page that all of Spider-Man’s friends and allies, including Miles and Gwen (who have learned the power and responsibility lessons in their own way), have made the decision for him? And it’s clearly the WRONG decision? It ruins an issue.
The Sin-Eater is taking over New York, and it’s chaos in the streets. His acolytes are perpetuating violence against anyone they see as a sinner. And their next target is Ravencroft Institute, and its director Norman Osborn.
So why is this a debate? Because the Sin Eater “cleanses” his targets of “sin,” seemingly reforming them. So if he comes for Norman, that could reform the villain. The counterpoint to that is that OBVIOUSLY the Sin-Eater is up to no good so who knows what the long term effects are.
So here’s where I’m confused. The Sin-Eater is obviously doing something shady. But the short term effects seem to be kind of positive. So of course the Spider-Family thinks they should let Norman get shot by Sin-Eater’s magic shotgun, and that Peter is wrong for feeling differently… It doesn’t make sense.
In short, this is a story that fundamentally misunderstands the entire concept of Spider-Man. If those opposing him were heroes with more of a shade of grey- say Luke Cage, Jessica Jones and Daredevil- it might work. But it’s the people who are closest to Peter, those who have learned the same lessons he did in their own ways, and that’s where this whole concept shatters to pieces on the last page.
On the plus side? I think this is the best issue Mark Bagley’s done in a very long time. I really enjoyed the art throughout, and hope we get more issues of this quality in the future. So hey, there’s that.
Web of Venom: Wraith #1
Written by: Donny Cates
Penciled and Inked by: Guiu Villanova
Colored by: Dean White
Lettered by: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Another Donny Cates comic, another random Spider-side character that gets to meet his ultra kewl and supes badass OC. That seems to be the drill once again in Web of Venom: Wraith #1. Though handsomely and weirdly penciled and colored by the dynamic team of Guiu Villanova and Dean White, Donny Cates just can’t stop playing with the same toy, can he? Especially since it WAS one he created.
I’m, of course, talkin’ Knull! The super powerful and ready for black light posters strewn across weed smelling basements God of Symbiotes who has been coming to Earth for about a year now. Even as someone who has been largely warm on the main Venom run, both here as a member of the unfortunately named Goo Crew AND at my Day Job, this “random character meets Knull and is forever changed” schtick Cates keeps running with is really starting to wear thin with me. Which brings me to Web of Venom: Wraith #1.
We actually open on a fairly cool set up! Wraith, having been pitched through the galaxy as a side character of Donathan’s Guardians of the Galaxy run, now works as a sort of Symbiote enhanced Man With No Name, chasing down clues toward his own tortured origin as a half Kree, half Goopy Boye. Naturally he runs into some heat, defending another resident of the planet he’s on from a gang of ruffians, gunning him down with his sentient Symbiote weapon in a stunning Cosmic Western set piece, handsomely laid out and colored by Villanova and White.
If anything, Web of Venom: Wraith #1 looks tremendous. I’ve been a fan of Villanova’s since the criminally underrated and under-read Weird Detective miniseries he did with Fred Van Lente, so it’s nice seeing him once again get another neat Marvel showcase.
ANYWHO, from there, Cates just can’t help himself, allowing the clues to lead to none other than the space around Klyntar, seemingly the most visited remote planet in all the cosmos, allowing Knull just enough time to tell Wraith his entire life has been a lie, he has no idea who he is (even though Wraith’s Kree father was obsessed with Knull and the fabled “God Of Light” Knull’s “Shadow” which….just…WHATever, I suppose), and absorb Wraith’s symbiote, which apparently is also Knull’s sentient Goop Sword (since Wraith’s Goop was a weapons Goop).
It’s just…Fine. Honestly, he’s played this same card so many times, it’s weird to think of him writing a comic OTHER than this, but I guess I still have to applaud his sheer committal to making his OOC a Super Big Deal in the overall scheme of what he’s doing with the Venom cast. It’s just starting to get a little old in the scheme of monthly comics. I’m sure it will read Very Important and “forward thinking” in the eventual Venom By Donny Cates omnibus Marvel will churn out in about 8 years, but for now Web of Venom: Wraith #1 stands as nothing more than a different goopy verse, which seems the same as the first goopy verse.
Magnificent Ms. Marvel #14
Written by: Saladin Ahmed
Penciled by: Minkyu Jung
Inked by: Juan Vlasco
Colored by: Ian Herring
Lettered by: VC’s Joe Caramagna
The last time we saw Ms. Marvel, Kamala Khan, it was Outlawed #1, and she was left in a coma by an explosion. Now, six months later in real time, Magnificent Ms. Marvel is back, only a day has passed in the world of the book, and Kamala is still in a coma. Now. she must fight her way back to consciousness while the world changes around her.
This issue follows two parallel narratives. In one, Kamala’s friends and family come to her bedside and talk out their grief, rage, and fear. In the other, Kamala fights her way through a mindscape of her own fears as she tries to wake up. It’s an enjoyable issue, but probably not the best for the uninitiated. Marvel’s recap pages are all well and good, but so much of this issue hinges on the emotional resonance of the characters and of Kamala’s feelings for them. If you don’t know who Bruno, Nakia or Aamir are, their reactions to Kamala’s condition might fall flat.
To be fair, the sequences in Kamala’s head show you how important these people are to her. As each one talks to her, she faces a nightmare of them, whether it’s her parents being killed by the venom of lies she maintains to keep her secret identity, or her friends and teammates dying at the hands of monsters and supervillains. Series colorist Ian Herring uses a slightly surreal palette for these scenes, keeping them dream-like and off-putting. But, by the end of the issue, even if you’re following Outlawed and haven’t been following Ms. Marvel before, you’ll know who Kamala Khan is, how resilient and noble she is.
My concern with this issue is that, while I love a good character piece as much as the next reader, we are six months removed from the beginning of what was supposed to be an event comic, and this issue does some more set-up, it doesn’t move the plot of Outlawed forward. This would have been fine if it came out a couple weeks after the beginning of the story, that would work, and for fans of Ms. Marvel it’s solid, but I wonder if readers who came looking for that event are going to come back for more Outlawed after this.
Tony Thornley is a geek dad, blogger, Spider-Man and Superman aficionado, X-Men guru, autism daddy, amateur novelist, and all around awesome guy. He’s also very humble.
Matt Lazorwitz read his first comic at the age of five. It was Who's Who in the DC Universe #2, featuring characters whose names begin with B, which explains so much about his Batman obsession. He writes about comics he loves, and co-hosts the creator interview podcast WMQ&A with Dan Grote.
