Stillanerd Reviews: Spider-Men II #1 review

Peter Parker and Miles Morales reunite in Bendis’ long-awaited sequel to Spider-Men, as they set out on a path to learn about the other Miles Morales.

Spider-Men II #1

“Spider-Men II, Part One”

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Writer: Brian Michael Bendis

Artist: Sara Pichelli

Color Artist: Justin Ponsor

Letterer: VC’s Chris Eliopoulos

Covers: Sara Pichelli and Justin Ponsor; Julian Totino Tedesco; Daniel Acuña; Kadir Nelson; David Marquez and Rain Beredo; and Jesús Saiz

In 2012, Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli created Spider-Men, a five-part miniseries where Peter Parker and Miles Morales teamed up for the first time. It was a fun story, allowing Peter to see how his life and legacy might have turned out, while Miles was finally able to meet his idol since his world’s Peter is presumed dead. Naturally, the fans ate it up. This was, after all, the first crossover between characters from the original Marvel Universe and those from the Ultimate Universe.

The series also ended on a cliffhanger. Once Peter arrives back home in his dimension, he looks up Miles Morales on the internet out of curiosity. What he finds shocks him, only we never see what those search results uncovered. It’s a blatant, but brilliant sequel-hook, as readers began speculating on just who the 616 Miles Morales was.

Credit: Sara Pichelli and Justin Ponsor (Marvel Comics); from Spider-Men II #1

Certainly, we don’t expect Bendis to give us all the answers in one go. What we do expect, however, is more story, which Spider-Man II #1 significantly lacks.

However, once Jonathan Hickman’s Secret Wars happened, and Miles and his cast became merged with the 616, the mystery seemed like a moot point. After all, if Miles Morales from Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man was now part of the 616, didn’t this make him the 616 Miles Morales by default? Not quite, as it turns out. Not only has Bendis hinted that Miles still remembers the Ultimate Universe, but also Miles didn’t replace the 616 Miles at all.

Therein lies the basic premise behind Spider-Men II, which not only has Peter and Miles teaming up again, but also shows the 616 Miles Morales. If you’re thinking he turns out to be a character we’ve seen in the 616 before, no such luck. If anything, the 616 Miles Morales winds up being more cryptic now than if we never saw him in the first place. Then again, this is only the first issue. Certainly, we don’t expect Bendis to give us all the answers in one go.

What we do expect, however, is more story, which Spider-Man II #1 significantly lacks. There’s a flash-forward prologue showing Peter and Miles tied up. After freeing themselves, Miles chases down a private jet which he fails to catch, and the scene ends with Peter telling Miles he made a mistake letting him be Spider-Man. We then cut to a week later to see what Peter and Miles are up to — and that’s when they both see a pillar of purple light, similar to the dimensional rift Mysterio used in the first Spider-Men. The Taskmaster (or a version of him) appears, and that’s really about it.

Credit: Sara Pichelli and Justin Ponsor (Marvel Comics); from Spider-Men II #1

True, there is a lengthy interlude where Miles meets an attractive new student (or not so new according to Ganke) named Barbara Rodriguez. Miles is smitten by Barbara, but too shy to talk to her. Much to Miles’ embarrassment, Ganke calls her. Eventually, Miles and Barbara hit it off, but duty called, requiring Miles as Spider-Man. Just your typical, yet competently-written “meet cute” scene, but little else. It also typifies Bendis’ particular writing style: lots of people talk and talk and talk — doing little else.

One thing obvious from the outset is despite having Spider-Men in the title, this is definitely more Miles’ story than it is Peter’s. Seeing as how Peter had most of the spotlight during Spider-Men, it seems only fair to focus on Miles in the sequel. An appearance by Goldballs also makes it easier in discerning when Spider-Men II takes place during Miles’ own solo series.

By contrast, it’s not clear if Peter is even still CEO of Parker Industries, since the costume he wears is his classic suit. Moreover, Peter narrates about how he’s opting to fight super villains instead of dealing with his “real-life problems.” However, Bendis never informs us what those problems are. Then again, perhaps it’s best for Peter’s status quo to stay vague. Like Spider-Men, it’s obvious Bendis wrote this miniseries for those with only a passing familiarity of Spider-Man in mind.

Credit: Sara Pichelli and Justin Ponsor (Marvel Comics); from Spider-Men II #1

Spider-Men II #1 is passable, with a good enough opening hook, but it still feels like a tough sell.

The real highlight of this issue, however, is the work of Sara Pichelli. For those who’ve been missing her art in Bendis’ Spider-Man, they will most welcome her return. Aside from her panel composition, there’s a naturalism and fluidity to her illustrations. It’s also a very expressive comic, but never exaggerated. Miles’ expressions in particular seem almost photo-realistic, conveying volumes with just a slight raise in his brow or curl in his lips.

If I have misgivings about Pichelli’s art, it’s that while she depicts both Spider-Men appropriately lanky, they also look awkward all the time. For instance, in Peter’s fight with the Armadillo, his movement seems more clumsy than they do graceful. Miles, too, comes off looking a bit stiff at times when he’s in costume. Her line work doesn’t look as clean as it did in the past. Even so, it’s still a very well-drawn comic.

Spider-Men II #1 is passable, with a good enough opening hook, but it still feels like a tough sell. Perhaps if the Ultimate Universe still existed, and we hadn’t seen Peter and Miles team up in other stories like “Spider-Verse,” this might feel a lot more significant than it does. After all, when Spider-Men first came out, it was in celebration of Spidey’s 50th Anniversary. What’s the occasion we’re celebrating with Spider-Men II — other than clearing up a few lingering continuity questions?

Stillanerd’s Score: 3 out of 5

Next: Stillanerd Reviews: Amazing Spider-Man vol. 4 #30 review

Stillanerd’s Nerdy Nitpicks (possible spoilers)

Credit: Sara Pichelli and Justin Ponsor (Marvel Comics); from Spider-Men II #1

“We call it a ‘mega venom blast.'” How about calling it “deus ex machina lightning,” Miles, since that’s basically what it is?

Sheesh, Miles, I would’ve thought you’d have perfected your web-shooting skills long before now.

“Proportial strength … Precongitive awareness of danger … crimefighting super hero …” You mean “proportional,” “precognitive,” and “crime fighting superhero,” right? Looks like the three editors working on this comic needed some “spider-sense” of their own.

Here’s a question: why does Miles have his hoodie down when he arrives at class, only to put it up after sitting down at his desk?

I know the Armadillo isn’t the most articulate of super villains, but really? The same curse word over and over is all he can manage?

Nice of Spider-Man not to tease the Armadillo out of pity, but not a single joke? After all, Peter has ridiculed much more pathetic villains than the Armadillo.

How come Miles and Ganke are wearing completely different clothes during lunch hour than what they wore earlier in class? Was there a time-lapse we didn’t know about?

Even when Iron Man isn’t even in the comic, he’s still getting a shout-out in a Spider-Man comic. Thanks, Spider-Man: Homecoming!

You forgot to close off your parenthetical aside when recapping Miles’ situation post-Secret Wars, Pete.

Okay, Taskmaster looks awesome, but how does Peter recognize him? Because the Taskmaster coming out of that rift doesn’t look at all like the 616 version, or even the Ultimate one for that matter.

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