Review – Spider-Man: Spiders Shadow #2
Review – Spider-Man: Spiders Shadow #2
Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Artwork: Pasqual Ferry & Matt Hollingsworth
Cover Artist: Phil Noto
Publisher: MARVEL COMICS
Available: 12th May 2021
Synopsis
WHAT IF PETER PARKER BECAME VENOM? Peter Parker once put on an alien suit that nearly destroyed his life – but what if he’d never taken it off? Ignoring every warning, Spidey embraces the dark symbiote! Haunted by terrible nightmares and exhausted by an endless barrage of bad guys, Peter can’t seem to catch a break these days. So when the Hobgoblin attacks, he finds a hero at the end of his rope…and vulnerable to new dark impulses. Spider-Man is about to change his rules – but is it truly Peter who is in charge? Creative powerhouses Chip Zdarsky, Pasqual Ferry and Matt Hollingsworth bring you a terrifying tale of a Peter Parker possessed and on the edge.
Issue 2: Spider-Man’s vicious new approach to crime has every villain on high alert! No one is safe as Peter succumbs further to his new dark powers. Wilson Fisk wants to put an end to this deadly new Spidey once and for all, but who is really the one coordinating this takedown attempt? And with Peter haunted more by his past each day, will someone be able to save him from his own mind?
Writing – Warning Contains Spoilers!
Oh Chip, what have you done…? After Peter finally succumbed to the voice in his head at the end of this issue he’s turned a corner. The death of Aunt May at the Hobgoblin’s attack pushed him to break his great responsibility rule and there’s no turning back. Isolating himself from friends Peter is left with the one voice he can trust.. VENOM!
Zdarsky is slowing hollowing out Parker and filling the hole with the symbiote. The horror of MJ finding Peter floating in a puddle of black suit and his pluralisation fills her with fear. But let’s get to the carnage…if you pardon my pun! For decades, media mogul J. Jonah Jameson has been spreading lies about Spider-Man. So when Spidey turns evil, he finally gives J. Jonah Jameson what he wants. Will we see Spider-Man finally snap and go after Jameson. Will Jameson finally get what he deserves…HELL YES!!!
With villains getting wiped out like flies (ahem) can the Kingpin of crime Fisk blackmail Spiderman….NOPE! At the end of this issue we’re pouring out one for my homies Scorpion, Shocker, Kingpin and (you’ll gave to buy it to get the answer!)
Artwork
The most disturbing image comes right at the very beginning of the issue, where Peter and the symbiote meet face-to-face in his nightmares. Hollingsworth paints the page in fiery reds and orange, giving it a hellish look. The symbiote itself is a writhing mass of tentacles and soulless white eyes that eventually wraps over Peter and consumes him, but what is left after the soul is eaten? The hentai style fighting reaches a crescendo when Scorpion gets the full tentacle treatment from the inside out!
Parker’s descent into his own personal hell seems to be almost complete, the worst image of the comic is Spider-Man ignoring falling masonry that is about to hit a woman and her child. Ferry, you are a monster for leaving that image in my head!
Final Thoughts
Hopefully, you read my last review here…if not why not? The whole creative team are firing on all cylinders in this issue as there’s more blood and guts on display than an episode of Dexter! If you’ve not added this short four-issue series to your online or print subscription you better hurry as issues of both #1 and #2 are selling out fast. Don’t be the only one not talking about this! I give it another blood-curdling five out of five, particularly for the onomatopoeia used by Joe Caramagna as the violence happens just out of shot.
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