Book Review: Spider-Men by B. M. Bendis and S. Pichelli

Spider-Men written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrations by Sara Pichelli

Classic Spider-man villain Mysterio develops an interdimensional portal to dump his nemesis into another universe. His plan works well. He gets Peter Parker from the regular Marvel universe into the Ultimate universe. The Ultimate universe's Peter Parker has died and Miles Morales has risen as the new Spider-Man. Peter and Miles run into each other quickly, though Peter still thinks he's under some hypnotic trick by Mysterio. They have a fun initial fight and ongoing dialog. Miles takes Peter to S.H.I.E.L.D. where Nick Fury buys the alternate universe interpretation of the situation. Can they get Peter back to his own dimension?

The story is clearly the inspiration for Into the Spider-Verse and is a lot fun. The script is witty. Mysterio is a bit of a minor character but is used really well, as is Nick Fury. Usually, crossover stories like this don't work and feel like a cash-in. This one hits all the right notes.

Highly recommended.

Book Review: Miles Morales: Spider-Man by B. M. Bendis et al.

Miles Morales: Spider-Man written by Brian Michael Bendis, art by Sara Pichelli, Chris Samnee, and David Marquez

Norman Osborne makes another spider like the one that bit Peter Parker. The new spider winds up biting Miles Morales through a bit of contrived circumstances. Miles develops Spider-powers just in time because Peter Parker is shot and killed. The city loses Spider-Man just in time to get a new one. But Miles has family problems. Uncle Aaron is estranged from Miles's dad because he's a criminal, though Miles doesn't know. Miles still goes to hang out with Aaron (where he's bit by the spider that Aaron brought home as he robbed Oscorp). Miles's dad hates superheroes which obviously becomes a problem for the new Spider-Man. Miles starts a new boarding school and has to deal with roommates and a new routine. And now he has to figure out his superpowers, hide his identity (especially from his father), and deal with people thinking he's a poser and not the real Spider-Man.

The story has enough new wrinkles and changes to make it entertaining. It is very intelligently written and also has lots of action, which is often a hard combination to pull off. The only big misstep (besides killing Peter Parker) is a reimagining of Scorpion as a Mexican crime boss with some limited superpowers--he's both one-dimensional and a negative stereotype. Otherwise the story is good and well worth reading.

Recommended.