Marvel’s Spider-Boy #1 Review

Marvel’s Spider-Boy #1 Review

I was in Houston, TX, for my wife’s travel convention this past weekend and found myself at the Third Planet Science Fiction and Fantasy Comic Superstore. It’s the oldest comics and collectibles storefront in Houston, and while I was there, I went comic hunting. I was unable to find Night Thrasher issue one, but I did grab this awesome variant cover edition of Spider-Boy #1.

I always say duality is my favorite topic of discussion, and I think Humberto Ramos and Edgar Delgado did a fantastic job with the cover. I love the characters in full color while the perspective is black and white. It speaks to where Spider Boy as a character is in his own arc compared to how far he has to go.

So let’s break it down. Spider Boy, aka Bailey Briggs, wasn’t bitten by a radioactive spider; he was mutated into a human/animal hybrid using spider DNA. Madam Monstrosity created Spider Boy, who again struggles to earn the public’s support as a superhero. Despite being a recognizable hero before (see The Edge of Spiderverse #3), Peter Parker had Doctor Strange wish for everyone’s memory to be erased of him.

That’s at least what I’m picking up. As someone who does not religiously read all of the Spider-Man canon or non-canon material, take that with a spoon of sugar. We open with Spider-Boy and Spider-Man taking out Gutterball, who’s debuting for the first time. Gutterball’s only power is that instead of a head, he has an indestructo ball for a melon.

We’re not sure if the change in anatomy makes him a criminal, but he sure felt compelled to open fire inside a bowling alley for some reason.

After they subdued Gutterball, Spider-Man heads over to the Daily Bugle to put his neck on the line for Spider-Boy. The owner of the bowling alley present decides to give him a key to the bowling alley with a lifetime bowling pass. Unfortunately, it does not come with free nachos—lame. After hearing the good news from Pete, Bailey invites Christina Xu, his best friend and somewhat of a big sister.

I’m not sure about some of the dialogue choices in a few of these interactions. In one panel, Pete says, “How do you do, fellow kids?” which feels so out of character for Pete. Known for his snarky quips and quickie comebacks, he’s never been the type to blubber creepy “stranger-like” rhetoric. It was very odd to read from Peter’s perspective.

I could be biased, but as a writer myself, you’re trained to use empathy to assimilate the tone from one character piece to the next, capturing the essence of the personality of that character so it carries over into that story.

Madam M. plots against Spider Boy at the Farm, curious to know if she’s one of hers. Her strange supercomputer informs her of the ceremony to honor his deeds at the bowling alley, where her opportunity reveals itself.

What do you get when you cross a Gutterball with a Helios? Huh? Any takers? No? Hellifino makes its debut, appearing to rival that of Rhino, an animal-themed baddie from Spider-Man’s past. I won’t reveal the connection between Hellifino and Spider-Boy; you’ll have to pick up Spider-Boy #1 at one of your local comic shops, but the fight was pretty underwhelming.

I don’t know if it’s to intentionally hold back his potential for character development, but—Hellifino, I’m just going to have fun with this new pun power. With the way some of these villains are going Pun Power, they might be the next villain fighting heroes with deadlier puns. I’m trying hard to focus on this being more for a teenage audience, but the whole Gutterball head joke at the ceremony before Hellifino crashes the party was a little morbid.

If Bailey wants to earn the respect of the public, why would he think the public would be so barbaric as to offer the villains heads on a silver platter?

The anti-climactic fight ended when Spider Boy diffused the situation with words after realizing who Hellifino was. Madam M. learns that Spider-Boy is, in fact, one of her creations. With this knowledge, will she find a way to force lightning to strike twice? Are we shooting for a better Ben Riely clone story?

These weird creations Madam M. creates are called Humanimals…so original because the word chimera doesn’t mean the same thing? The solo issue ends there, but not before a little Thanksgiving parade heist story called Balloonancy. Spider Boy takes Christina to the top of a building, where they run into Squirrel Girl, Tippy Toe, and Captain Squirrel.

I’ll have to admit, the ridiculousness of these villains did create some “I can’t believe this is so funny” moments out of sheer surprise and then pure shock. Spider Boy shows the difference in editorial acceptance, which seems like an ever-changing environment. 

Balloonancy does reveal more of Spider-Boy’s powers, explaining that when Spider-Boy gets spidey sense, it’s more of a psychic revelation where if someone is in trouble and Spider-Boy touches an object, he unlocks this ability to be able to track this sense to the source of the issue.

When Spider Boy grabs this balloon, he senses a kid is in trouble, and I’ll be damned if I didn’t tell myself it couldn’t get any stranger than this, but—I was wrong. Straight out of the 1930s or 40s, what appears to be a failed carnival owner turned hot dog cart server with a balloon head appears to be the source of a threat filled with so much helium that even Godzilla would swim around this city confused.

I will extend my applause to Dan Slott for giving us a threat I didn’t know was possible, and that’s gas-filled balloon animals.

To see Squirrel Girl and her squirrel pals fight gassy balloons was hilarious, and all this happened because Squirrel Girl made fun of this balloon guy’s head. So Helios, the balloon mastermind, is so insecure about his head that he devises a plot to use balloon guys from the sewers to spread a polymer x, hardening the parade balloons so he can control them.

So we went from balloon animal army to indestructible helium-filled balloon Kaiju’s. The silliness of this is very fun and entertaining. Now, I’m wondering what kind of damage a villainous team like Madam M., Gutterball, Hellifino, and Helios could do if they teamed up. I want to see Spider Boy in his element, and away from Spider-Man or Squirrel Girl.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this new spider character is so young, and of course, Marvel needs to capitalize on the next generation of comic readers. With Miles Morales doing a lot of more mature titles and What if’s? Someone has to pick up the PG-rated chains.

We’re definitely in a new age of heroes, voices, art, and editorial acceptances. As a fan of comics, I’m open to the prospects it brings, but as a writer, I have to ask what this means for writers like me who grew up dreaming of working on these characters.

That’s the job of the writer, though, to take something so absurd and make it memorable. So if you’re looking for something weird, phresh, unique, and surprisingly funny, then Spider-Boy #1 might be your thing, and if you’re like me and it’s not, then at least it’s kid-appropriate.

Don’t forget to support your local comic store or visit your favorite artists and creators at cons. As always, stay geeky, share the network, and don’t forget to catch me on the latest episode of Comics’N’Poptarts.