Reading the first issue of Predator vs. Spider-Man, I couldn’t help but feel that Benjamin Percy was reading my mind. My favorite superhero is Spider-Man, and as someone whose favorite movie “As someone whose monsters are predators, I’ve always wondered what would happen when the two of them met. Predator vs. Spider-Man #2 thankfully keeps the momentum of the first issue, blending heroic and horror.
New York City captures the victims by grasping the record heat wave and the relentless Yautzha known as the “Skinner,” while Peter Parker competes to solve the mystery of an insane predator. But he has other issues to deal with. Not only does NYPD detective LaPère get hot with his tail to film the crime scene, but his girlfriend Mary Jane Watson is trapped underground with Skinner – and Yautsya is unwittingly targeted by Hunter Craven!
I have to juggle all of these plot threads and give Percy a big credit to showcase how each person handles the Skinner threat. Like other classic Spider-Man stories, Peter uses his brain to track the history of Skinner’s murderers in a public library. Kraven takes a more practical approach and studies murder scenes with predator accuracy. It is MJ who has the most amazing story as she was able to keep others safe. Before the power of symbiosis or luck, what makes her a great character is reminded of the fact that even important others in the superhero are capable of helping others.
Amazing
Predator vs. Spider-Man #2 sings thanks to Marcelo Ferreria’s artwork. Ferrelia has some tips for drawing a spider swaying through the air. Fires the web after it and he moves with grace and speed that feels like a bunch of spiders soaring through the air. I also love the way Ferrelia draws her expressions. When Peter finds out that LaPère is at the door and wants to take him with him for questions, his dialogue reads as “the wise attack of classic Spidey,” but his face reads as “jewel, crap, crap.” Ferrelia even portrays the moments of the classic J. Jonah Jameson screaming.
But if Spidey action is great, Ferrelia will raise it with all the horror elements. There’s a reason why Skinner won his name. He tears the skin from the victim and uses it as a disguise to surprise and lock the victim up. That leads to some ominous images, such as the subway door opening a subway door for spilling gallons of blood, or literally peeling off your face. More emphasis on the horror is Jay Reisten’s coloured work. This casts shadows everywhere except for Spidey’s red and blue suit and Kraven’s golden vest.
However, when MJ stumbles over Skinner’s hideaway, a truly ominous image comes. Without the exaggeration, it is only some of the most frightening moments I’ve seen in the Spider-Man comics, and it only shows how dangerous Spidey, MJ, and other parts of New York are.
‘Predator vs. Spider-Man’ #2 raises tension and gore
Predator vs. Spiderman #2
However, when MJ stumbles over Skinner’s hideaway, a truly ominous image comes. Without the exaggeration, it is only some of the most frightening moments I’ve seen in the Spider-Man comics, and it only shows how dangerous Spidey, MJ, and other parts of New York are.
Percy knows how to balance the elements of superhero and horror while maintaining momentum in the first issue.
Ferrelia depicts superhero moments like Spidey rocking the air, completely terrifying moments.
Spidey, MJ, and Kraven all get great moments, with the final page promises hell of the next issue.
Colour work and lettering that emphasizes fear.
It ends where the story is built on Fever Pitch.
