Review: Vault of Spiders No. 2, a heroic trio is needed

When things are looking bad for all the Spider-Men from every universe, it’s time to recruit three new brave and bizarre warriors to join the fight. Read our spoiler-free for Vault of Spiders No. 2 below!

Vault of Spiders No. 2 introduces readers all around the world to the stories of three new Spider-Men. Each one of them is pretty different from anything you’ve seen so far in the Spider-Man universe (believe us). But even in the middle of completely weird ideas, there’s some enjoyment to be found, and that’s the greatest strength of this issue. Because if you stop to think about the concept behind these heroes, you’d realize it would be pretty easy to make them feel really off, or straight up bizarre (but without any of the fun).

However, the first two heroes manage to work on their own terms, even with some flaws on the way (which is impressing considering one is made of literal spiders and the other one is called “Spider-Ma’am”). But with a lackluster third hero and small narratives, is this issue really worth it?

The good

Let’s start with the art-style from the first two stories. Whether you’re looking at the gothic illustrations of the New York City in which Spiders-Man lives, or at the cartoony design of Spider-Ma’am, it’s hard to deny the drawings are not only great, but also iconic. They feel different from any other Spider-Man issue, and that’s something pretty refreshing to see. Even when the last story doesn’t have any “iconic” art-style, it still looks good.

The dark illustrations of Spiders-Man perfectly capture the personality he has during the issue (more on that later), and the goofy drawings for Spider-Ma’am embrace the idea behind her character, instead of trying to deviate from it (which was the right call, considering it could’ve been a mess if it tried to take itself too seriously).

There are also some interesting concepts in the narrative presented throughout the issue. A city filled with monsters in which men and women need to disguise themselves as horrific creatures to remain safe could make for a great stand-alone story. Also, the idea of teamwork between May, Peter, and Ben to stop criminals is not only fun, but also new, considering Ben almost always dies in every story he appears. Finally, Captain Stacy getting to be Spider-Man instead of Peter is also something not seen before. Whether it works out is another thing, but at least writers did head into new directions while creating this issue.

The bad

However, Captain Stacy barely had any time to shine here… or to tell a story, at the very least. That’s a shame considering Vault of Spiders No. 1 had to fit even more heroes than the second issue, and every one of them got the chance to give a bit of context and explain what was going on, unlike The Spider. This story could’ve been completely scrapped, and it wouldn’t have made any difference whatsoever. Just like the illustrations from this segment of the comic, there wasn’t anything iconic presented here. You don’t get a sense of why he’s doing what he’s doing, what’s his personality or even how he got his powers.

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Spider-Ma’am was the one with most time to shine and tell a proper story with a beginning, middle and end (even if it’s a short one). However, the idea behind aunt May being Spider-Man and its somewhat goofy execution may not be for everyone. If Aun May fighting Vulture while emphasizing many times that teamwork is important sounds like something you’re not interested in reading at all, then most of the issue will not get your attention.

Finally, if you look at the stand-alone story of Spiders-Man, you’d find nothing wrong with it (It was the one I liked the most). But many people felt Spiders-Man was a really fun (and weird) character in Spider-Geddon, with that “fun” being nowhere to be found here. He doesn’t tell any jokes and its story may take itself to seriously for what readers might be expecting. If you dive into this issue without reading Spider-Geddon, or with the idea that Spiders-Man feels really different, then you’ll most likely like it. Otherwise, this experience may not be that enjoyable.

Related Story. Review: Spider-Geddon #3 brings one big team up. light

Overall, this issue isn’t necessarily a step in the right direction compared to the last one. It has an incredible visual design and some really interesting ideas. But the lackluster execution from The Spider and the goofy second story may bring it down sometimes.

C+. . Jed MacKay, Cullen Bunn, Ayan North, Geoffrey Thorne, VC's Travis Lanham. . Valut of Spiders No. 2

Let us know in the comments below what do you think about Vault of Spiders #2! And stick around with Whatever A Spider Can for everything Spider-Man related!

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