A Spider-Man Podcast

Spider-Man 2099 #8 REVIEW

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“Spider-Verse” has been saved! Not by Peter Parker, but by Peter David! In Spider-Man 2099 #8 David, Will Sliney and Antonio Fabela deliver a incredibly entertaining story that’s high on action, rich in character development and, so far, the high water mark of “Spider-Verse.”

spiderman2099ladyspiderRight off the bat, David gives us two pages of great character building that has been sorely missed in other chapters of this event. For the first time, Miguel and Lady Spider take a moment to reflect on just how overwhelming their situation is. Spiders have been dying all over the place, and finally the carnage, fear and hopelessness is beginning to set in. We all know Miguel’s attitude towards women, so, of course, he’s going to act like a jerk and not a comforter.

The real fun begins once the team travels back to Lady Spider’s home of Earth-803, A.D. 1895. This is what “Spider-Verse” should have partly been about: dipping into different worlds and meeting some of those characters. We’ve seen bits and pieces of that in some of the event’s secondary books, but this issue goes a little deeper to define the steampunk world and the people who live there.

With all the recent one-sided battles between spiders and Inheritors, it’s so enjoyable to see a team of spiders manhandle some villains again. The Six of Sinestry are so out of their league against the futuristic, super-powered Spider-Man of 2099. It’s also refreshing to see Miguel pull no punches in the battle, practically killing both that world’s Otto and Norman. It’s a little baffling to me when David writes that Doc Ock is only “out cold,” despite being riddled with automatic gun fire. It doesn’t matter what reality you’re from, no one is just “out cold” with a half dozen bullet holes in you. I only imagine that David didn’t want any of these characters to actually die, because there may be opportunities to revisit this past world in the future.

spiderman2099goblinOne thing that gets on my nerves is the continued lack of communication between the spider teams. Miguel thinks he and Lady Spider are the only two left, but never tries to reach out to anyone. When he finally hears from Peter, he’s relieved, but then refuses to fill him in on their plans. He only lets Peter know that he’s working on a ‘surprise.’ It reminds me that there still hasn’t been a payoff to the Inheritor DNA tease from earlier in the event.

Will Sliney and Antonio Fabela delivered another outstanding performance on artwork. I’ve mentioned Sliney’s facial expressions before, and it remains one of his biggest strengths. My only nitpick is that his vision of a steampunk Manhattan is relatively mild. Harold lives in a typical mansion with typical furnishings and trees in the yard. I’d expect something a little more ominous. I also wanted the Goblin to have billowing clouds of steam or dark coal exhaust coming from the glider. Even the lab they’re working in is pretty plain, except for some random smatterings of giant gears. On the other hand, Sliney’s steampunk Electro and Doc Ock are pretty interesting, especially the giant electromagnet strapped to Electro’s back and Otto’s little control box for his arms.

If all the episodes of “Spider-Verse” had the same combination of action, characterization and fun as Spider-Man 2099 #8, the event may have been remembered as one of the greatest in Spider-Man’s history. It certainly has me interested in the stories David and Sliney have lined up for the future.

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