Superior Foes of Spider-Man #1 Review
July 31, 2013 8:01 pm | Leave your thoughts
Superior Foes of Spiderman Issue #1 – Spoiler Alert
In the Superior Foes of Spiderman Issue One by writer Nick Spencer and artist Steve Lieber, we are introduced to the new Sinister Six. If you are skeptical about villain books like I was, imagine a perfect combination of Gail Simone’s Secret Six with Matt Fraction’s Hawkeye. I know what you’re saying. Dave, the last thing I need is another Spiderman book on my pull list. That is exactly what I thought when Brian told me to check this book out, but I am so glad he did.
The series opens with the origin of Boomerang. Being a long time fan of the Flash, I had never given this character a chance. Told from his perspective, we are introduced to his real name, his motivations, his love of his pet bird, and his new team: the pretty boy Overdrive, a new pretty girl version of the Beetle, pain in the ass Speed Demon, and the cowardly Shocker. If you are waiting for the last member of the new Sinister Six, Boomerang acknowledges the fact that they are only up to five members so far. This is just one example of how this book is not taking itself terribly seriously.
So Boomerang ends up in jail again, thanks to the wall-crawler, and we are treated to a jailhouse visit by his teammates Speed Demon and Shocker. Boomerang convinces the boys to go to his pet shop and get a very specific kind of bird food. Speed Demon gets into an argument with a little girl who has just bought a new puppy about what she intends to name him. He settles the argument by robbing the pet store and stealing the little girl’s puppy just to teach her a lesson. When Shocker and Speed Demon arrive at Boomerang’s apartment, they realize that they dropped the house keys at the pet food store. After retrieving the keys, they discover that the door is unlocked, and Hammerhead is waiting for them inside. Hammerhead informs them that the bird food was hiding some diamonds that were being smuggled in, and they were supposed to have more than one bag. Speed Demon jets away, and Shocker gets beaten to a pulp.
From the hospital room of his injured teammate, Speed Demon calls Boomerang in jail and finds out why they were set up by their fearless leader. I won’t ruin what is really going on because I really want you to read this book. I sincerely hope that the revealed character behind this scam is the future sixth member of the team but only time will tell. There is also a phenomenal scene in this book of Beetle and Overdrive robbing a local comic book store. The book ends with Boomerang being bailed out by his teammates and trying to figure out how he is going to stay one step ahead of the scam he pulled to get the rest of his crew to bail him out.
Not only is this book my strongest Tupperware to date, it is probably one of the best single issues I have read all year. I love that it is humorous yet gritty. Spencer’s snarky dialogue is smart without being annoying. Lieber’s page layouts are classic with very strong line. It’s like the porridge Goldilocks ate. It’s not too hot; it’s not too cold. It’s just right.
Check out the Superior Foes of Spiderman even if you don’t like the direction Spiderman has taken since it renumbered. You have something in common with this team. You hate the new Spiderman as much as they do.
Review by: David Griffin
email me at domesticateddave@gmail.com
Tags: Boomerang, Marvel Comics, Nick Spencer, Shocker, Speed Demon, Steve Lieber, Superior Foes of Spider-man
Categorised in: Comic Reviews, Random Reviews & News
This post was written by David Griffin
Leave a Reply