Stillanerd Reviews: Spider-Men II #4 review
By Mike McNulty
Spider-Man Peter Parker tells Spider-Man Miles Morales not to get his hopes up about the other Miles. He might as well have been talking about this comic.
Spider-Men II #4
“Spider-Men II, Part 4”
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Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Sara Pichelli
Inking Assistant: Elisabetta D’Amico
Color Artist: Justin Ponsor
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
Cover Artists: Sara Pichelli and Morry Hollowell; and Jesús Saiz
Authors Note: After a two-week delay, Spider-Men II #4 came out on November 15, 2017. Ironic then that the review for this issue also had a two-week delay.
If you stayed for the after-credits sequence of Spider-Man: Homecoming (and we all know you did) you probably laughed at that last Captain America PSA. You, having watched end-credits sequences from other Marvel Studios films before, expected another here. Instead, you had Chris Evans as Steve Rogers essentially telling you it wasn’t going to happen, that your “patience” would only lead to being disappointment. It defied your expectations, and it was hilarious.
Credit: Sara Pichelli, Elisabetta D’Amico, and Justin Ponsor (Marvel Comics); from Spider-Men II #4
[Bendis is] essentially telling his readers, “If you still think there’s something more between Miles Morales and this other Miles, there isn’t. If you did, then you’ve just wasted your time and money.”
Contrast this with a different Spider-Man story, Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli’s Spider-Men II. The entire premise behind the series is that there was another Miles Morales, potentially his 616 parallel self. Instead, issue #3 showed this other Miles was a mob enforcer and friend to the Kingpin, with no similarities or connections to the original Miles at all. This, too, was disappointing, and issue #4 tells us that’s the point.
“Be prepared for it,” Peter tells Miles after they track down the other Miles’ location. “Maybe it’s just a guy with the same name as you.” He then proceeds to wax philosophic about how, because they’re superheroes, they assume their lives are less coincidental than normal. In reality, they, like everyone else, have less control over their lives than they think. “We have to be responsible for ourselves and each other,” Peter adds.
This is fine for real life, except comics aren’t real life. They are stories about fictional people in fictional situations as predetermined by the author. Even if the story is written off-the-cuff, there’s a still pattern, logic, and order to the events and relationships involved. There are deliberate choices a writer makes, like having two different characters with the same name in the same story. For this same writer to then say, “It’s just a coincidence” after making such a fuss about it is just a cop-out.
Credit: Sara Pichelli, Elisabetta D’Amico, and Justin Ponsor (Marvel Comics); from Spider-Men II #4
Spider-Men II #4 feels empty as well as dull. It also proves just how poorly Bendis paced this miniseries from the start.
That’s essentially what Bendis has done. With this scene between Peter and Miles, he’s essentially telling his readers, “If you still think there’s something more between Miles Morales and this other Miles, there isn’t. If you did, then you’ve just wasted your time and money.” No Bendis, you wasted ours.
I’d probably feel less cheated if this other Miles proved interesting, but unfortunately he isn’t. At least, thanks a flashback prologue, we finally understand his motivation. Barbara, the woman the other Miles gave up a life of crime for, died. The Kingpin, however, puts the idea in the other Miles’ head that there are parallel dimensions, ones in which a version of Barbara is still alive. Hence why he had Taskmaster look into the dimensional tear during the first issue. Still, this comes off too little, too late.
Likewise, the events of the story finally catch-up with the flash-forward from issue #1. Too bad by this point you’ve stopped caring about what happens. The only scene of any narrative interest at all is the developing relationship between Miles and newcomer Barbara Rodriguez. Yes, the fact this new potential love interest shares the same first name as the other Miles’ deceased wife is supposed to mean something, I guess. Even so, the dialogue between them is pretty cute.
Credit: Sara Pichelli, Elisabetta D’Amico, and Justin Ponsor (Marvel Comics); from Spider-Men II #4
Sara Pichelli also continues doing quality work when it comes to the art. That said, much of her talents feel wasted with the script she’s working with. For example, the prologue has multiple panels of the same scene shown at the same angle with the same characters changing positions and postures. Since the issue is heavy on dialogue, many of the figures on panel appear far too static. There’s one well-composed sequence of silent panels with Miles, as Spider-Man, secretly following Taskmaster, and another scene involving an explosion.
Nevertheless, Spider-Men II #4 feels empty as well as dull. It also proves just how poorly Bendis paced this miniseries from the start. Now with just one issue left, it’s more than likely than ever we’ll have a rushed climax and resolution. Not that this is anything worth looking forward to. We already know the other Miles Morales–the reason this sequel to Spider-Men even exists– is just some random dude. Where’s a Chris Evans after-credits scene when you need one?
Stillanerd’s Score: 1.5 out of 5
Next: Stillanerd Reviews: Spider-Men II #3 review
Stillanerd’s Nerdy Nitpicks (possible spoilers)
Credit: Sara Pichelli, Elisabetta D’Amico, and Justin Ponsor (Marvel Comics); from Spider-Men II #4
Fisk certainly seems to take things in stride over the idea that there’s potentially other versions of Vanessa in parallel worlds. Compare this to how he reacted when the Jackal (a.k.a. Ben Reilly) brought her back as a clone during Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy.
Honestly, I completely forgot about the whole robot head landing at Miles’s school. Guess that shows how really vital and important that moment really was.
“You pulled me out-of-the-way of that flaming robot wreckage.” Okay, first, when did this happen? Because I certainly didn’t see Miles do this during issue #1. Second, why is Barbara only thanking Miles about this now instead of the last time they talked during issue #2?
Look, I know about the “don’t tell the love interest your secret identity so you can protect her from your enemies” is a common trope. Problem is, not telling the love interest will more than likely get her killed than telling her will. Just ask Gwen Stacy.
“And it was that building there where the–” Where the what, Miles? Where the dimensional rift was? If so, why does it look like a different building all of a sudden?
Also, who are those guys Taskmaster killed? And why did Miles just let it happen?
Also, if the other Miles ordered Taskmaster to kill Peter and Miles, what about taking the other Miles to see “Barbara?”
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What are your thoughts about Spider-Men II after four issues? Do you think the series can be saved with the concluding issue, or do you think it’s a lost cause?