Review: Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man Annual (2018) #1
The annual for Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man includes two stories, both equally emotional. Read on for a full review.
Writers: Chip Zdarsky and Mike Drucker
Artists: Michael Allred and Chris Bachalo (penciler and colorist)
Color artist: Laura Allred
Inkers: Jamie Mendoza, Victor Olazaba, Wayne Faucher, Livesay and Tim Townsend
Letterer: VC’s Travis Lanham
For a while now, J. Jonah Jameson has know Spider-Man’s secret identity (Peter Parker). The effects of that knowledge have been shown throughout the various issues of Amazing Spider-Man and Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man. In this annual, the focus is once again on that knowledge and how Peter and J. Jonah Jameson interact with each other now that JJJ knows his secret.
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The Jonah Slayer
The main baddie of this comic is an android know as the Jonah Slayer. It is designed to get revenge on J. Jonah Jameson by a newspaper editor who was put out of business by him years earlier. Spider-Man races to stop the Slayer, but in the end, it turns out that JJJ gets along fine now with his once competitor and understands the reason he is upset. The comic also reveals that JJJ knew Peter’s uncle was killed when he first met him. He accepted him to give Peter “a little help.” So, Jonah isn’t as tough as everyone might think he is.
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Next: Review: Spider-Gwen #33 sets up the run’s finale
It’s a wonderful web
The second story in the annual shows Spider-Man reflecting on all of the people he has lost during his crime-fighting career. For most of the story, Spidey feels as if he is not wanted and everything he does is negative and does not help anyone. But, he ends up saving a man from a group of mean teenagers, and he then realizes that he is needed in the city, and will always be, no matter how big or small the crime is.
Chip Zdarsky, Mike Drucker, Michael Allred, Chris Bachallo. . Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #1. A-.
I feel like I actually enjoyed the second, shorter story more than the first one. It really showed me that, even though he has powers, he’s still human. He is still Peter Parker and still faces all of the challenges that humans face each day. I think this is what makes Spidey so relatable. That’s what made that story so good.