When I started reading Spider-Boy (which is one of the all-time great series of books in the Spider-Man family), I never imagined that Spider-Boy would end up not only partnering with Daredevil, but also competing with him. at a “Enter the Dragon” style tournament held in Madripoor, Wolverine’s home base.
The tournament officially begins with Spider-Boy #14, written by Dan Slott, with art and colors by Paco Medina, Humberto Ramos, and Eric Arciega. It features a wide variety of fighters representing different cultures from around the world. The variety of combatants makes this issue so interesting that you could easily create a separate mini-series for each combatant, even if they don’t do very well. Bullseye and his sidekick Spider-Girl also compete in the tournament. All for a prize that will impact the world no matter who wins.
Daredevil desperately wants to win the tournament and keep the “prize” out of Bullseye’s hands. He’s all work and Spider-Boy is just enjoying it. What boy wouldn’t want to eat tons of ramen in Madripoor, play with ninjas, and never have to go to school? This boy is perfectly happy, even though death could come at any moment for any of his tournament opponents.
This book is awesome! From the Gaping Maw (a faction of world-class assassins who run tournaments) to leaders like Harket (a young girl who looks like a smaller version of She-Hulk) and the Blob. Full of exotic locations and characters. Enormo. With a dizzying menagerie of personalities, power sets, and character styles, it’s impossible not to find someone you like.
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I think Spider-Girl is the most attractive character. She is a mutant girl who can copy someone’s powers and skills just by looking into their eyes for a few seconds. This obviously makes her quite powerful, since those who fight her are almost fighting themselves. She has a great flashback midway through the issue where she’s fighting Spider-Boy and Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan), with Old Stegron in the face of a stegosaurus mixed in as well. Spider-Girl (called by another name at that point) replicates Ms. Marvel’s stretching powers and Stegron’s ability to become extremely formidable. The battle turns out to be much tougher for Spider-Boy and Ms. Marvel than they originally thought.
In this flashback, there is a sense of malice towards Spider-Girl, and a joy in inflicting pain and toying with the powers of others. And now she’s with Bullseye, but Bullseye is cultivating her dark side, which makes her seem even more evil. I hope Dan Slott and Marvel keep her this way for a while and don’t succumb to watering her down and turning her into a hero at some point, like DC eventually did with Harley Quinn.
The art by Paco Medina, Humberto Ramos, and Eric Arciega is vibrant and makes you feel like you’re watching a really great episode of an animated show. This issue is packed with action and fight scenes, all of which are thrilling. They also expertly convey some very creepy moments. Spider-Boy, who uses his fangs to inject sleeping poison into his enemies, has rarely looked more creepy than the way he’s portrayed here, and this issue has some other great and horrifyingly unsettling moments. .
I love the dynamic between Daredevil and Spider-Boy. It was very similar to the relationship between Daredevil and Peter Parker, where Daredevil was a quiet Zen-like warrior while Peter was louder and more colorful. Spider-Boy is the same, with a youthful enthusiasm for everything he lost in the veteran Daredevil.
The first page of the book provides a nice summary of everything we’ve covered so far, making it perfect for catching up on what happened in previous issues. So there are no excuses. Pick up this issue and dive into this series. It’s all great, as this issue packs an incredible amount of story, and Spider-Girl and Halkett are given time to shine in the book’s wall-to-wall action.
“Spider-Boy” #14 is an action-packed and thrilling tournament
Spider Boy #14
It’s all great, as this issue packs an incredible amount of story, and Spider-Girl and Halkett are given time to shine in the book’s wall-to-wall action.
The art by Paco Medina, Humberto Ramos, and Eric Arciega is bold and vibrant, giving the book the feel of a great episode of an animated series.
Spider-Girl is a fascinating character with far more power and malevolence than her name suggests, and one that I hope will be further explored in future issues.
The dynamic between Daredevil and Spider-Boy is reminiscent of the early Daredevil/Spider-Man (Peter Parker) team-up. They each have different personalities, so it’s fun to read about their differences.
