★★★★★ 4
Spidey SMASHES Hulk
Format: Paperback
This book presents nearly 500 pages of Spidey Comics from 1989-90, Collecting Amazing Spider-man 326-333 and Annual #24, Spectacular Spider-man 158-160 and Annual #10, and Web of Spider-man 59-61 and Annual #6.
The big event of this comic ties into the much larger Acts of Vengeance story arc. Several supervillains team together, realizing that they've been losing to the same people for 25-30 years. They come up with the idea of trading and going after each other's enemies, thinking that the heroes will not know how to react. (Apparently, it never occurs to them that they will also not really be able to respond to the heroes techniques.) Because Spidey at that point had three magazines a month, that met he'd be hit with three times the rivals.
But after serving the first attack of Graviton, Spidey has an accident that ramps up his powers and makes all attacks on him go very badly for the villain with one villain even getting accidentally killed in the process.
I have to admit that there was something wonderfully pleasing about Spidey knocking around the likes of Magneto and the Hulk like they were rag dolls. Seriously, the first nine issues in this book, are Spidey kicking one threat after another as he has power on par with the Silver Surfer.
We don't learn until the last issue the real reason for the power and longtime readers had to be scared that this was another alien costume, and in a way it was, but if this was like the symbiote, it was a good force that bestowed the uni-power when it was needed. The whole thing has a pretty satisfying ending.
Probably my chief complaint with this book is that the true core of the Cosmic Power ends on page 210, really, AS #329-333 have nothing to do with the Cosmic Powers story and the Annuals are very vaguely related.
AS #329 and 330 is a somewhat violent (but not overly so by today's standards) crossover with the Punisher battling drug cartels and a US government plot to smuggle drugs. The story has some serious moments but ends with one of the goofiest concepts in comics ("Cocaine Standard" 'nuff said). Issues #331-333 is solid story of Eddie Brock/Venom escaping prison and it's interesting in its own right.
There's a three part story spread across all three annuals in which Spider-man is shrinking. At first in the Amazing Spider-man Annual, it looks like it's because of inhaling Ant Man's shrinking gas but it's not that at all as we find out in the other two annuals. The story is decent enough, though Marvel's decision to make people buy all three annuals back in 1990 was somewhat chintzy, though defensible since the story runs 70 pages. For 70 pages, it was good but not great.
However, Marvel actually reprinted everything in the annuals which is a bit of a mixed bag for readers. On one hand, you get the full Annuals with all the extras. On the other, it breaks up the "Spidey's Totally Tiny Adventure Story" and you get a very mixed bag of extras. My thoughts:
"The Mercy Bomb"-A story told in part by Spider-man co-creator Steve Ditko. Seemed to have an anti-war message but didn't tie into anything and was just blah. Grade: D
"A Time to Choose/The Choice":Whatever can be said for spreading the 70 page Spider-man story across three annuals. There was really no reason to break this story of a reformed Sandman facing a tough choice when he's offered a chance to go back to the old life of crime by the Trapster and the Wizard. It's an okay story but seems a little forced. Grade: C+
"Pete and MJ's New Pad"-After the loss of their condo to an unethical real estate developer, Pete and MJ moved into a new apartment. This special feature took a look at the apartment revealing that it's an average apartment with nothing interesting in it. Grade: D
"Amazing Fantasy"- A not so Amazing dream sequence filler. Grade: F
"Pale Reflection"- Former Spider-man villain Hobie Brown goes on a job and learns that he can get beat up. Really? Grade: D-
"What I Did on My Summer Vacation"-A ten page story featuring juvenile delinquent turned crimefighter Rocket Racer, who'd appear in Spider-man: TAS. An okay but not great story. Grade: B
"Sales Day for a Shootout:" Aunt May helps the Punisher kill terrorists. Actually surprised at how positively the Punisher was portrayed in this. Grade: B+
"Eleven Angry Men and One Angry Woman:" This take on Twelve Angry men as Mary Jane as the only hold out on a jury ready to acquit a defendant who claims Spider-man was a thief. There's some humor and a little bit of poignancy. Of course, the wife of Spider-man shouldn't be on this jury but it was a fun story. Grade: A-
"Child Star"-One of the weirder stories in here involves a two year old getting the unipower that Spidey had because a couple summoned demons to help play the stock market. Grade: D
The book ends with material from the first Trade Paperback printing of the main 9 issue Cosmic story which means that you get to find out the background of the book after it's over.
In addition, there's a lot of ongoing plots in this book that were dropped into the middle of because of comic continuity. Joe Robinson is in jail and we really don't know why. Aunt May's friend Nathan is dying but we don't know when she met him or how deep their friendship is. The Black Cat begins to get, well catty, about Peter having married Mary Jane and threatens to break Flash Thompson's (now Peter's best friend) heart out of spite. However, this is just the nature of jumping into an ongoing comic book story.
That said, with all the things I've mentioned, I can't bring myself to rate this less than 4 stars. The core material is awesome and so are most of the actual Spidey stories outside of it, despite the uneven nature of the non-Spidey stories. What's particularly pleasing is seeing the Parker-Watson marriage for fans of that relationship that was abandoned with One More Day. It's not a perfect marriage, but it's clear that it's a positive in Peter's life and it's written way that's not glamorized but is appealing.
If you can take the book's hiccups, this is a good book for teenagers and adults.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2014
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