The masked melee continues to multiply in Sinister War #3! Facing down the barrel of nearly 40 villains, Spider-Man continues to try and break free of this volume’s finale. Written by Nick Spencer and Ed Brisson. Drawn by Mark Bagley, Carlos Gómez, and Zé Carlos. Inked by Andrew Hennessy, Andy Owens, John Dell, Carlos Gómez, and Zé Carlos. Colored by Brian Reber and Andrew Crossley.
I continue to be really frustrated with now NOT fun Sinister War is in its third issue.
It has all the makings of what SHOULD BE a pretty dumb but fun event.
You’ve got a really game set of artists. All of whom are pretty familiar with the visual timbre and action blocking of a Spider-Man story.
You have, literally, DOZENS of characters. All of whom are SOMEBODY’S favorites somewhere (where are my LIVING LASER fans?!). All of whom are also functioning as great representatives of their respective “Sinister” squads. Well, save for the newest arrivals, but we will get there later. But you get it! All the trappings are there for a fun, if a bit disposable, Spidey experience. And yet, like the Amazing Spider-Man run that spawned it, Sinister War #3 still reads like a lead balloon and I can’t really put my finger on why.
That’s not entirely true. I totally can.
A lot of this comes from Nick Spencer’s obsession with rehashing some of his favorite Spidey stories but with little to no interesting narrative takes on said stories. Pulling liberally from both One Day More and The Death of Jean DeWolff, just with a heavy dose of Osborns on top of it all, Spencer’s Amazing Spider-Man run never really felt like anything new. It just felt rotely safe.
Unfortunately now, even with the extra grit of Ed Brisson, that feeling has extended here into Sinister War #3. We’ve seen Peter in plenty of “no-win” scenarios throughout the years just like we have seen him fighting against a steady current of bad guys to get to Mary Jane again. So seeing it again doesn’t carry the same narrative water as it used to. Hell, even the “collection of Sinister Six Teams” idea is a GAG sequence played through in Superior Foes of Spider-Man! So this event just keeps playing like a greatest hits CD with way too many scratches in it. Skipping through your favorite songs and transforming them into recognizable nonsense.
That stuff starts to stand up even worse now that Kindred and Sin Eater are back on the scene. That’s right, now he’s even starting to pull badly from his OWN run. Which never really sold Kindred as well as it should have as a major antagonist. So the reveal that Ol’ S.E. is back, and supported by a brand new Lethal Legion, I guess? Since he mentioned this line-up kinda with Nefaria in ASM#41? One consisting of Whirlwind (a Wasp villain), The Living Laser (an Iron Man villain who has cameoed a few times), Grey Gargoyle (at least CLOSER to a Spidey rogue), Morlun, and The Juggernaut just…feels exhausting. When it should feel goofy as hell and therefore fun.
I will say, the continued drive of Peter on the back foot and having to play defense the entire issue IS dangerously close to something fun. As is the continued visual synergy between the multiple art teams. I would really love it if one of them other than Bagley started to “show out” a bit more. If only just to distinguish themselves from the baseline tone of Bagley. But I feel like their naturally similar styles and tones are probably something editorial is wanting more, if only just to keep it looking smooth.
Maybe Sinister War will get fun eventually. Sinister War #3 gets close, but its continued retelling and barely remixed retakes on “classic” (at least in Spencer’s mind) Spider-Man stories keep it frustratingly unappealing. Even to someone like me, who loves Spider-Man AND the Sinister Six.
Zachary Jenkins co-hosts the podcast Battle of the Atom and is the former editor-in-chief of ComicsXF. Shocking everyone, he has a full and vibrant life outside all this.
