SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN ‘96 - November 1996

Kraven’s First Hunt!
Credits:  J. M. DeMatteis (writer), Shawn McManus (artist), Atomic Paintbrush (colors), Janice Chiang (letters)

The Plot:  Kraven responds to the Chameleon’s request and heads to America to kill Spider-Man.  Eventually, the Chameleon realizes that he subconsciously sent Kraven to America to be killed by Spider-Man in retaliation for the abuse he endured at Kraven’s hand as a child.  Spider-Man ultimately defeats Kraven and the Chameleon, and the villains are deported.

The Subplots:  Peter Parker works to reconcile his two identities.  He’s initially envious of Kraven’s free spirit, but realizes how power has corrupted him.  Eventually, Peter recognizes his values are Spider-Man’s and that no mask can hide who he truly is.

Web of Continuity: 

• This annual is a retelling of Amazing Spider-Man #15, the first appearance of Kraven, with numerous added scenes.
• For some reason, gas surrounds Chameleon when he switches identities throughout the issue.  I don’t know if this has ever appeared in any other Chameleon story, but I know at this point in continuity Chameleon was merely ripping off masks to change identities with no real mystery attached.
• This story establishes that Kraven gives the Chameleon small doses of the potions that keep him young.
• I believe this is the first story to reveal that Kraven’s fear of spiders is rooted in seeing his mother covered in them after she was institutionalized.
• Aunt May drops hints that she knows Peter’s secret identity.  At this point in continuity, the Aunt May who finally confessed to Peter before dying in Amazing Spider-Man #400 was not an imposter, and even if most people disagreed, J. M. DeMatteis seemed to be convinced that she figured out Peter's secret identity early on.

Review:  The theme of the 1996 Spider-Man annuals was flashback stories, so here we have J. M. DeMatteis fusing his take on Kraven the Hunter with the original Lee/Ditko story that introduced him.  Sometimes it’s an awkward fit, but DeMatteis is able to find a lot of material in the twisted relationships between Spider-Man, Kraven, and Chameleon.  I think the major failing of the issue is Shawn McManus’ art, and not simply because he isn’t Mike Zeck.  McManus’ human figures are often far too caricatured to work with the story.  His Peter Parker, for instance, resembles Clay Aiken after receiving a bad batch of Botox.  I don’t mind his monstrous Kraven, and some of the background extras have a charming look, but overall there’s a mismatch between the story and the art that’s just distracting.

It’s not hard to view this as a prequel to “Kraven’s Last Hunt,” and as a foundation for the themes of that story, it works quite well.  DeMatteis dances around the original comic this is based on by presenting all of the main plot points, but with three levels of narration that add a psychological edge that wasn’t there in the original story.  I’m not personally a fan of Chameleon as the scarred child of abuse that can never grow up, but I think DeMatteis’ take on Kraven and Spider-Man is intriguing.  Spider-Man envies Kraven for bravely living his life without a mask, unaware that Kraven is so deeply repressed that he’s descending into insanity.  While Kraven’s façade begins to crack, Spider-Man begins to reconcile the fact that he truly is Peter Parker and isn’t hiding behind a mask at all.  This is an exploration of identity I can get behind; thankfully DeMatteis isn’t giving us “I AM THE SPIDER” this time.


The Return of Spider-Woman
Credits:  Mark Gruenwald (writer), Pat Broderick (artist), Mark Bernardo w/Malibu (colors), Comicraft (letters)

The Plot:  Jillian Woods casts a spell that allows Spider-Woman II and Lindsay McCabe to travel to a strange dimension and rescue Spider-Woman I.  After Spider-Woman returns to Earth, her replacement wonders if she’ll want her name back.

The Subplots:  None.

Web of Continuity:  Jillian Woods is the secret identity of Sepulchre, a Mark Gruenwald character who occasionally still makes appearances.

*See _________ For Details:  An editor’s note says this story will be resolved in an upcoming issue of Spider-Man Team-Up.  I had no idea Spider-Man Team-Up was still being published at this time.

Review:  I never expected to be reviewing a Mark Gruenwald comic, given that his path rarely intersected with Spider-Man or the X-Men in the ‘90s.  I doubt this story was originally intended for any of the Spider-titles, but hey, it stars someone with “spider” in her name and it’ll eat ten pages just as easily as anything else.  I imagine I would’ve enjoyed this story more if I knew anything about the continuity surrounding it, yet there are no footnotes or helpfully detailed recaps to explain what Spider-Woman I is doing in this black void.  (The last I knew, she was depowered and living in Madripoor as an occasional supporting cast member in Wolverine.)  So, as the resolution to a story I know nothing about, it’s hard to have strong feelings about this one.  However, I guess fans of the original Spider-Woman were happy, assuming they knew she had been sent into limbo in the first place.

SPIDER-MAN AND X-FACTOR: SHADOWGAMES #3 – July 1994

Shadowfall

Credits: Kurt Busiek (writer), Pat Broderick (penciler), Sam De La Rosa (inker), Joe Rosen (letterer), Tom Smith (colorist)

Summary

Spider-Man and X-Factor stop Mirrorshade from killing Flash Thompson, but fellow Shadowforce member Airborne takes him away. They rejoin the rest of Shadowforce in Washington, taking over their former headquarters and demanding that their criminal sentences be commuted. X-Factor battles Shadowforce while Spider-Man looks for the power core that gives them superpowers. Unbeknownst to Spider-Man, Shadowforce are now powered with battery packs and have wired the core to explode. Spider-Man talks their leader, Hardtime, into surrendering. Hardtime saves everyone from the explosion, and Spider-Man gives a disc with incriminating evidence against the government to a reporter. General Sharpe, the man in charge of the project, is soon dishonorably discharged and faces criminal charges.

Review

So, in the final chapter, the generic heroes beat the generic villains and the generic evil Army General goes to jail (why are military higher-ups always bad guys in comics?). Spending an entire issue of Spider-Man Unlimited on this would’ve been a stretch, but dedicating an entire miniseries to such a dull story is unforgivable. Out of all of the various team-ups between the X-franchise and Spider-Man Marvel could’ve done, this is the one they chose? X-Factor, in their blandest incarnation yet, teaming up with Spider-Man to stop these losers? They could’ve done a sequel to Spider-Man vs. Wolverine. They could’ve teamed up old-school hero Spider-Man with gun-happy Cable. Spider-Man could have met Deadpool for the first time. Spider-Man could have assisted the Beast on one of his experiments and ran into trouble. Mr. Sinister could have investigated whether or not Spider-Man is a mutant. Spider-Man could have just joined the X-Men for a few “quiet” issues where they discussed their problems. Anything would have been more interesting than this. This is the type of comic I read as a kid, shrugged my shoulders, and promptly forgot about its existence while I played Super Mario Kart.

SPIDER-MAN AND X-FACTOR: SHADOWGAMES #2 – June 1994

Shadowclash

Credits: Kurt Busiek (writer), Pat Broderick (penciler), Patterson/DeLarosa/Williams (inkers), Joe Rosen (letterer), Tom Smith (colorist)

Summary

Spider-Man takes a disc on Project: Homegrown with him as he tracks Mirrorshade. While disguised on a train following Mirrorshade to New York, Spider-Man is once again attacked by Shadowforce. X-Factor arrives to help, but Shadowforce suddenly leaves. On their way to New York, they grew out of the range of the government’s mental commands and are now on their own. Mirrorshade makes it to New York and stalks Flash Thompson.

Review

It’s almost an entire issue dedicated to Spider-Man fighting some generic villains no one could possibly care about. X-Factor’s role is negligible and could have been filled by any other superhero team. Pat Broderick’s art tells the story well enough, but it’s just as bland as every other aspect of the comic. I assume he’s going for a Ditko-style Spider-Man, but having never seen a Ditko comic when I first read this issue, I thought it was just weird looking. Kurt Busiek is a good enough writer to know that the best Spider-Man stories usually involve Peter Parker's supporting cast, so Flash Thompson is used to add some human element to the story. The setup, a villain mimicking and exaggerating Peter’s momentary anger at Flash, is pretty ridiculous, though. There’s also the odd moment when the mind-controlled Shadowforce move out of the government’s range to control them while tracking Spider-Man. Didn’t someone in the military think of this beforehand? Why weren’t they stopped from going on this mission if the government’s control didn’t reach New York? Why didn’t someone send them back before they got this far? And weren’t they fighting Spider-Man in New York in the first issue?

SPIDER-MAN AND X-FACTOR: SHADOWGAMES #1 – May 1994

Shadowgames

Credits: Kurt Busiek (writer), Pat Broderick (penciler), Bruce Patterson (inker), Joe Rosen (letterer), Tom Smith (colorist)

Summary

Spider-Man fights a new super-group called Shadowforce. Flash Thompson brings along kids from a Boy’s Club to watch the fight, angering Spider-Man. Distracted by the mimic Mirrorshade, Spider-Man is attacked from behind and kidnapped by Shadowforce. Flash Thompson calls the Fantastic Four and Avengers for help, but can’t reach them. He finally calls X-Factor, claiming that Spider-Man’s abductors were mutants. X-Factor examines hair follicles found at the scene and determines that they belong to six convicted criminals. Forge investigates why the convicts aren’t in prison, and tracks the address of a federal agency that won’t give him answers. Spider-Man wakes up and logs into a computer terminal to learn that Project: Homegrown is a government project designed to create superheroes. Shadowforce are criminals the government experimented on and brainwashed into service. The Shadowforce member Mirrorshade mimics Spider-Man’s anger at Flash Thompson and goes off to kill him. X-Factor arrives and confronts Shadowforce at their base. Spider-Man tries to leave and stop Mirrorshade, but is drawn into the fight.

Continuity Note

There’s a note that says that this limited series takes place before X-Factor #100. There’s really no easy way to fit it into continuity, but this is where I decided it should go as a teenager.

Review

Kurt Busiek would rather everyone forget about this mini, and I think he got his wish. Danny Fingeroth is the editor, meaning that this actually didn’t come out of the X-office, and it does have the same generic blandness that a lot of the early ‘90s Spider-Man titles had. It’s not offensively bad, and the plot mostly holds together, but nothing about the story is interesting in any way, either. It’s an entire miniseries dedicated to X-Factor and Spider-Man fighting goons from a cliché shadowy government conspiracy. Even though Spider-Man and the X-books are Marvel’s two largest franchises, it’s surprising that the two rarely meet. It’s more surprising that one of the few times Spider-Man starred in a miniseries with a mutant team, it was in this forgettable mini with X-Factor, going through its post-Peter David awkward phase. I guess the idea was that wisecracking Spider-Man would mesh well with the more lighthearted X-Factor, but that doesn’t come across at all. On top of that, Marvel had already decided to move X-Factor into a darker direction at this point (Madrox is dying of an AIDS allegory when this story is supposedly taking place!), so you’ve really got to wonder what they were thinking on this one.