Spidey and Kamala swap genders and lives in Marvel Team-Up No. 2

Image by Marvel Comics

Could’ve Been Great, but It Ain’t! At Least… Not Yet!

The art and colors by Joey Vazquez and Felipe Sobreiro (respectively) is great. It captures just what readers should expect for clean, brightly colored, expressive, and dynamic superhero art. The biggest shame is the generic story that the artists are working with, even to the point of a visually boring villain like the Jackal. Perhaps some hay could have made with some of Ms. Marvel’s enemies, who could use the exposure.

Maybe Spidey stumbles into a larger-than-average plot by Chuck Worthy and Dr. Faustus? Maybe Hijinx teams up with the Hand? Maybe the mingling of two generational heroes could have been done through metaphor and not blunt plot contrivances?

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Marvel Team-Up in theory could be a great gateway comic. A book for fans of the characters who are nervous about diving into an ongoing series which has been going on for years (if not generations) who just want a quick and fun adventure. And while this opening arc provides that, it only does so for those who may either like standard plot devices or are just eager for one or both of the stars.

For in a market where Marvel publishes 99 comics a month (33 percent more than DC Comics) and every series needs a genuine reason to exist on a pull list, this relaunch is struggling to find its way. Both Spidey and Kamala can be seen 3-5 times a month in better books than this, and Marvel Team-Up may not have much more time to get over some freshman jitters.