Movies •Books •Music •Food •Tv Shows •Technology •Politics •Video Games •Parenting •Fashion •Green Living •more >

Lunch » Tags » Untagged » Spider-Man Vs. Wolverine

Spider-Man Vs. Wolverine

1 rating: 5.0

Marvel Book

add a wiki

Add tags

1 review about Spider-Man Vs. Wolverine

Showing 1-1 of 1

Sort by:

Among my faves ever.

Feb 12, 2013

by Madpenguin
posted in Speech Bubbles: Comics & Graphic Novels

Rating:

Spider-Man comes across a double homicide where two store owners he liked were murdered. His co-worker at the Daily Bugle, Ned Leeds, deciphers that the murders are some how connected to an ex-KGB by the name of Charlie. He convinces Jameson to send him to Germany to cover the story, and he sends Peter Parker with him. Wolverine heads to Germany as well to confront Charlie. What is in store for the two superheroes? -summary

Spider-Man and Wolverine had crossed paths on a few occasions before this time, and one thing that was clear between the two... They didn't like each other. I'm not sure if there was even a mutual respect. One thing was for sure though, comic fans were waiting for the longest to see the two really fight it out. Spider-Man was already a juggernaut in terms of popularity and Wolverine was well on his way towards the same recognition. Marvel decided to task Jim Owsley with bringing the two together in an epic clash; what he delivered was quite possibly the best confrontation between the two Marvel stars ever written. I give Brian M. Bendis a lot of credit for how he has handled the characters over the last seven years or so, but Owsley's writing was a match up made in comic heaven. Originally written in 1987, this TPB collects the entire story in a single book.

This is a magnificent story that belongs in every comic fans collection. It's very well put together from start to finish. It's rare to see an outstanding beginning capped off with an outstanding finish. Owsley's writing is too good; the inner monologue, character interactions, character development, are about as perfect as you will ever see in a comic. Spider-Man's anguish in having to take pictures of the dead bodies was genuine and not something you saw often in his own books. There's a good amount of depth with the character that brings him and everyone in his world to life; from the hug by Mary Jane in which this story takes place before their marriage, to the friendly bickering in Aunt May's house. Wolverine isn't equally awesome here, but you get a good idea on what makes him such a great character. In one segment, he passes by Peter Parker in the street and from his scent alone he learns right then that's Spider-Man.

The plot follows the two as Wolverine attempts to stop Charlie from killing more people, and Spider-Man is tagging along while Wolverine is telling him to go home because he does not belong in this world. The book has a good amount of action, suspense, drama, and it all comes together delivering a worthwhile experience. There's even a murder that takes place in this story that heavily effected the Spider-Man continuity, to be more specific, it played deep into the ongoing story of the Hobgoblin. This particular story element would be revisited in 2007 during the Hobgoblin Lives storyline, and despite this all beginning in the mid 80's; the conclusion to all of this that took place in 2007 was every bit as hard-hitting as the introduction. In the comic book world that is some serious impact, and the book earns more points for this.

Mark Brights artwork doesn't really shine until the end during Spider-Man and Wolverine's fight. The illustrations at this point feels married to the dialog; there's an artistic rhythm between art and monologue that speaks volumes to me bringing an unreal amount of depth to their struggle. I was able to feel Spider-Man's fear in this battle, as he was forced to resort to closing his eyes and relying on his spider-sense to counter Wolverine's natural killing instinct. This is easily among their best battles against anyone ever. Now I mentioned that Bright's artwork isn't very strong until the end, but I'm not saying its bad though, the narrative is just that strong through out. The character designs, their emotions, action, are done very well and certain moments work nicely towards the dramatic and even comedic effect at times.

There are plenty of comics out there this good and even better. It's just that Spider-Man vs. Wolverine ranks very high as one of my favorites. It's definitely newbie friendly since the two characters are well developed, and the strong narrative holds up even now. It even feels ahead of its time because you don't find many, or any vs. stories with this much depth. It steps all over last years X-Men vs. Avengers and that story was far longer with crossovers included. I highly recommend picking this book up if you have any interest in it at all.

Pros:
-Very strong narrative

Cons:
-None

What did you think of this review?

Helpful

Thought-Provoking

Fun to Read

Well-Organized

Post a Comment

FM_ALEX February 12

Oh yes indeed Sir you know I agree with everything you wrote. I even agree with you that this was ahead of its time. Excellent write up good Sir.

Madpenguin February 12

Thanks. It definitely was ahead of its time, and I just really noticed that after this re-read.

show text editor

reply to this comment

Follow this review

woopak_the_thrill February 12

truly a classic encounter, man. I have to commend you with the comments you made about the artwork. I liked Mark Bright when he did Iron Man (loved that Shellhead vs. Modok and vs. Iron Monger, but I could tell that he had limitations in range but he is pretty good with fight scenes.

Madpenguin February 12

The artwork towards the end was brilliant in every way in how it compliments the narrative. You didn't see that often in comics, and barely at all now. Most artwork hardly tells you anything these days.

Expand 3 more responses

woopak_the_thrill February 13

exactly. Not sure, nowadays, it is all about style and look rather than emotion in an action scene. It is all about splash pages more than more action panels.

Madpenguin February 13

Yeah, some times I think I'm too generous with my ratings for some of these newer books. New 52 Justice League: Origins comes to mind, because in retrospect that book should be in the negatives.

woopak_the_thrill February 13

I think the comic publishers have decided that they want more art to sell more books. Notice how story arc these days seem to read better when they are in a collection. One issue just feels so empty unless it is done with a great writer.

Madpenguin February 13

Most stories are horrible in single issue format which is why I don't usually bother anymore. That little trend right there actually began at some point in the 90's. I remember my interest dwindling around that time and I got deeper into video games and anime which was quite sad, since comics, superheroes, had been a big part of my life ever since I was 5. I still remember the first book to rope me in and it was Marvel Tales #186 starring Spider-Man, it was the reprint of his first encounter with the Shocker. Got off topic there, but yeah, there is a heavy reliance on gimmicks these days; artwork, over the top violence, t&a,. YOu have to pick up the TPB's or else you're just not going to really care for comics much.

show text editor

reply to this comment

Follow this review