written by Zeb Wells
penciled by John Romita, Jr.
inked by Scott Hanna
colored by Marcio Menyz
Finally, after nearly a year of patiently waiting for Marvel to explain their in media res start to this series reboot, which basically tore out a huge chunk of narrative between the end of the "Beyond" era and the beginning of this one, we readers are finally getting some real answers...or at least, the hint of some answers.
The issue starts with Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson living out their separate lives, with one about to go to work and the other trying to get her husband and kids out the door, when something cataclysmic happens, something both Peter and Mary Jane recognize, and they realize that someone terrible has returned to their lives. At this point the story flashes back to the epilogue at the tail end of the "Beyond" saga in which Peter and Mary Jane were about to move in together, only for their momentary bliss to be interrupted by a ray of light. We now found out what the source of that light was.
To make a long story short, it's not looking good for our favorite wall-crawler.
I am generally not a fan of the whole in media res concept; sometimes it feels like a cheap way to generate tension and drama in a story without really earning it yet, by placing the character in a bad situation straightaway. Fortunately, in this instance, Zeb Wells has told strong enough stories over the last year or so to more or less keep me engaged long enough to find out what happened. It's gratifying that in this issue, he picks up exactly where he left off at the end of the "Beyond" saga; it's nice to know that answers are forthcoming.
The only problem I foresee, and I hope I'm wrong, is that by setting this story up as the reason that MJ no longer wants anything to do with Peter, Wells may have us scratching our heads and saying "that's it?" or worse, may have Peter do something grossly out of character just to justify his shocking story twist. It's a tightrope he and editorial have chosen to walk, so I wish him luck with it.
I am also genuinely intrigued in Wells' villains of choice: the Mayan deity Wayep/Wayeb and his disciple Benjamin Rabin, both of whom Wells co-created, but neither of whom I have seen in the pages of a Spider-Man comic since the earliest days of "Brand New Day" back in 2008. I'll readily admit that the characters, who looked pretty fearsome until the story was abruptly ended, felt distinctly underused way back then, so it should be interesting to see what Wells has in store.
I'm glad to see John Romita, Jr. back on art chores for this issue. This really is some of his strongest work on a Spidey book since the JMS days.
8.5/10
No comments:
Post a Comment