Hello. My name is Field. Lyle Field.
The Avenging Spider-Man plays homage to the original Marvel Team-Up from the 1970s & 1980s where the Amazing Spider-Man teams up with a fellow Avenger in every issue. Zeb Wells is the current writer of the series and has experience writing the wall crawler during his writing tours on Amazing Spider-Man during the Brand New Day era (2008-2010). I will be reviewing the first five issues of the Avenging Spider-Man.
Spideys team-up with the Red Hulk would NOT have been my first choice for the first issue, let alone the first three. This is due to my bias and disgust over what Jeph Loeb introduced after the events from World War Hulk. Loeb almost singlehandedly turned the Hulk from being unique to being a patriarch of a Hulk family. I love She-Hulk and barely accept Doc Samson… but having a family of Hulks that includes Betty Banner as the Red She-Hulk and Thunderbolt Ross as the Red Hulk… that was too much to take. I left the Hulk franchise and only recently returned to the Jason Aaron penned series.
However, I digress…
The first three issues of Avenging Spider-Man sees a dark comedic but forgetful arc of JJJ being kidnapped by the new ruler of Subterranea—Ra’ktar (with the FFs Mole Man as his slave). The reason is not important because I canna understand it myself. However, Wells portrayed Spidey very well and he was penned pretty funny where he stole the show and his partner… uh… oh… eeee… Red Hulk… yeah… Red Hulk… got his assed whipped. In essence, the Red Hulk was a useless guest-star and it seems that Wells cannot seem to grasp the character. I think Spidey would of been better off doing this mission all by his lonesome. Joe Madureira’s art has deteriorated since his height in the 1990s, not sure if it is because of age, the inker or he has to rush in order to meet the monthly deadline. In any event, Avenging Spider-Man #1-3… I rate 4 out of 10 cans of beans.
4 out of 10 cans of beans???
Well, the more cans of beans you eat the more you “toot”. Just so you know, beans have a high grade of protein and fibre.
Avenging Spider-Man #4 features the team-up of Spidey and Hawkeye against the return of the Serpent Society. The freakin Serpent Society! Gosh! I love that group when Mark Gruenwald introduced the Serpent Society during his early run on Captain America in the mid 1980s. The teleporting Sidewinder taking back the reins of leadership, which makes me think that Marvel should start reprinting the early Gruenwald Captain America runs. However, if you fans want to see a very early edition of the Serpent Society… the Thing: Serpent Crown HC in a couple of weeks (which I ordered by the way) that introduces the Serpent Squad (where they will be the founding members of the Serpent Society).
Again I digress…
The main thrust of the one issue tale is to feature the unlikely team of Spider-Man and Hawkeye together. I enjoyed the banter between these two characters and they make a pretty good team like Martin Riggs and Roger Murtah from the Lethal Weapon movies. The issue also gives Hawkeye further exposure prior to the Avengers movie and has rekindled my interest in the Avenging Archer (also in part of the recent HC reprints of the 1980s West Coast Avengers series). Meanwhile, Greg Land’s art… still spectacular!
As for my rating of the issue… 7 out of 10 cans of beans! That’s alot of farting if you ask me. Not enough to knock you out but enough have the smell start to bother you. BWAH-HA-HA-HA!!!!
Avenging Spider-Man #5 features a unique hero worship and character piece between Spidey and Captain America. With the Avengers playing the supporting role and the Serpent Society, again, playing the role of the primary villains of the issue, the issue provided a unique banter between Spidey and Cap and that they have more in common than they both realize. It is too bad that this is a one issue matter and I would love to have seen more Captain America and Spider-Man.
Maybe this buddy-buddy relationship can be further developed in Captain America and… series. It would be interesting to see if Marvel could transform Captain America and… to a permanent Captain America and Spider-Man series.
Leinil Francis Yu’s art is still great whose style has not changed since his days on the New Avengers, Secret Invasion and Superman: Birthright.
7.5 of ten cans of beans! The flatulence smell is starting to increase.
The longevity of Avenging Spider-Man to be sustained, it needs good and established rotating writers and artists every month, a decent Avenger to guest-star with Spider-Man, keep the story arcs no longer than 2 issues, keep continuity from other titles of a minimum & most of all… keep it fun. It took until #3 for the title to start having fun but #6 is a crossover with Daredevil and the Punisher… not fun as Avenging Spider-Man should keep away from crossovers.
In totality… I give the first five issues of Avenging Spider-Man… 5.5 out of ten cans of beans.
I’ll smell you later.
