Credits: Written by Howard Mackie, guest pencils by Pat Broderick, inks by Chris Ivy with Tom Palmer and edited by Danny Fingeroth with Bob Budiansky.
Cast: Ben ‘Scarlet Spider’ Reilly, Peter ‘Spider-Man’ Parker, Mary Jane Watson-Parker, Doctor Seward Trainor and Adrian ‘the Vulture’ Tooms.
Plot: Ben (in his Scarlet Spider outfit) is suspended in the air being questioned about Seward’s work, he blacks out and we flash back to 4 years ago, when Seward helped him when feverish and destitute. This snaps Ben back and he realises that he is in a room and guards come in and show that Seward is at risk of being drowned, but he can be saved if Ben tells the disembodied voice what they want to know, problem is Ben has no clue what all this is about.
Subplot time, Peter and MJ are on the roof, Peter is still on edge from the previous night’s sleep. Nearby the rejuvenated Vulture is rapidly aging and he attacks a random man in the street to restore his artificially gained youth. 4 Years ago, Ben helps Seward set up his lab but a problem with the power core forces Ben to reveal just how strong he is before Seward has to save him, reminded of his debt, Ben comes to again and frees himself.
Despite the disembodied voice’s attempt to demoralise, Ben punches through the wall of the room he’s in to learn that he hasn’t gone anywhere and he is still in Seward’s lab complex. He destroys a floating camera, to blind his captor and battles through the drones to get to the pit that the power core was in years ago and he retrieves Seward, just as his air ran out. Ben and Seward then discuss the matter and Seward claims that he doesn’t know who captured him. Ben takes this at face value and then agrees to go with Seward to help retrieve the rest of his work and keep it safe.
Notes: We continue with the story of Seward’s predicament and it’s….okay. After a strong start we get a formulaic action story with an ending that leads to the next story and even some subplotty goodness. It’s an average 90’s Spider-Man comics and that’s okay. The flashbacks are an attempt to flesh out Ben’s history and I am glad to see how well that’s done here. Seward saved Ben and brought him back to humanity, one of Spider-Man’s many substitute fathers (JJJ, George Stacy, Ezekiel and Tony Stark) proving how much Peter and Ben really are the same person. It said Amazing Spider-Man, but it was one of the better showcases for Scarlet Spider and I feel better is coming.
Verdict: Writing 3 out of 5 – Solid scripting, fleshed out by a good plot and some moments of character in between, whilst unimaginative, it’s still what needs to be done, character moments, subplots and an A&B plot that serves one another, it deserves to sit in the top half here.
Art: 4 out of 5 – Pat Broderick is one of those artists who is never as appreciated as he deserves to. He can do long underwear stuff, but his character work shows he can do any sort of scene and adds real personality to faces and he’s consistent from page to page. Many of the fill in guys have been less than stellar, but here we get the second unsung hero in a row.
Overall: 7 out of 10 – A good comic that tells the next part of a solid story and after crappy art and meandering stories, it’s nice to see a little return to form.
Next Time: Weapon-X comes to an end as the Age of Apocalypse starts it’s final act.
My Marvel Life 