"Spider-Man No More: Part 5"
Story: Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils/Ink: David Marquez
Colourists: Paul Mounts, Justin Ponsor
Letterer: Cory Petit
Cover: David Marquez, Justin Ponsor
Spider-man, Spider-Woman, and Bombshell are in the clutches of Taskamster! Is this issue an ultimate flop or is it up to the task? Hit the jump to find out!
Summary: As Cloak and Dagger ponder an attack on Roxxon, they notice an explosion in the distance and decide to go check it out. The issue then jumps back a few minutes and continues where last issue left off, with Spider-man, Spider-woman, and Bombshell paralyzed by Taskmaster. Spider-man manages to get himself free and a pretty epic battle ensues between Spider-man, Spider-woman, and Taskmaster. It takes a while for Miles to figure out that Taskmaster can absorb their powers and use them against the heroes, just as Bombshell decides to join the fight and hits Taskmaster with a blast (the explosion Cloak and Dagger saw). Cloak and Dagger arrive on the scene and Cloak is able to take Taskmaster out. Spider-man checks his phone and confirms that Roxxon had put a hit out on Bombshell, and the heroes agree to go after Roxxon together.
The good: To begin with, the cover is simply stunning. Marquez and Ponso deliver an absolutely
gorgeous design here, that is one of the best covers of the year for any book. The interior artwork is also great, with the whole art team really delivering great pages that capture the epic battle between the heroes and Taskmaster. Not to be undone, Bendis delivers a fantastic script here. It might not sound like there is a lot of story here based on the summary, but Bendis manages to include some pretty strong character moments throughout the issue. The conflicting internal monologues of Spider-man and Spider-woman are during the fight are great, with Spider-woman wondering how such a natural like Spider-man could give up being a hero while Spider-man was reminded of why he wanted to quit. This highlights how different they are as people and as heroes, despite the fact that they seem to make a pretty good team. Bendis has such a great handle on these characters, that even their dialogue during the fight are character building. Spider-woman trying to place Taskmaster under arrest is both funny and shows the dedication she has to being a hero and not standing down. There is also a great moment where Taskmaster says Spider-man sounds like a nine year old, then thinks about it and says "are you ACTUALLY nine years old??" It's nice that Bendis never really tries to cover up the fact that Miles is actually just a kid. Aside from Spider-man and Spider-woman, there is also a nice moment with Cloak and Dagger in the beginning, as they stuggle to understand their place in the world and debate over attacking Roxxon. It's a testament to Bendis that he can write an issue that is basically a long brawl and setup for the next issue, and still deliver such a strong book that really focuses on the characters. On top of all of that, the setup for next issue leaves the reader wanting more, with an epic team-up promised in the next issue!The not so good: The only bad thing about this issue, and it's kind of a big deal, is that we have to wait another month until the next issue comes out.
Overall rating: A+ (9.8/10)
Ads:
Popular ads running in the Marvel books right now are this Audi/Iron Man 3 ad, as Iron Man 3 just came out on DVD Tuesday (September 24, 2013). Another popular ad is the Avengers Dr. Pepper ads, this one featuring Black Widow. I'm not sure what it is about the Dr. Pepper ads but I really like these.
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