Written by Dan Slott
Illustrated by Stefano CaselliSPIDER-ISLAND: EPILOGUE
It’s the morning after for New York City. See how everything has changed for Peter Parker and the spider-crew now that he’s once again the world’s only Spider-Man… or is he?
The dust has settled. The raid has been put away. The spiders have left the island!
Dan Slott finished his mini-event in the Spider-Man Universe, and now Peter picks up the pieces left behind and sets up his new status quo. Check the jump for my thoughts on the now-past event.
As a note: HEAVY Spoilers are discussed.
This event was arguably the best Marvel Event of the summer. There were no falling hammers or contrived schisms, but there were a lot of spiders — lots and lots of spiders. In fact, that was my original problem with the event and others like it. The Modern Event is less about telling a story like Civil War, which can satirize real world events and societal ills, and more about giving everyone a specific niche. With Spider-Island, it was Spider-Powers; with Fear Itself, it was Hammers; with Blackest Night, it was Power Rings; with House of M, it was Mutant Powers; etc., etc., etc. That’s where the fatigue sets in – it’s not the fact there are SO MANY BOOKS, it’s the feeling that I’ve read the same story before, but with a few altered details.
But I digress. This particular book boils down to two things: it reflects on what the event accomplished, and it sets up the stories for the foreseeable future. While I thought the book ended well, and there were a lot of good points in this book, it wasn’t perfect, and some of it sat the wrong way.
Let’s start with the positives. Stefano Caselli was a welcome change of pace from the rest of the book recently. While I enjoyed the main story in the book, I have never been a fan of Humberto Ramos’ art, and I’m not sure I ever will be. But where Ramos leaves me unsatisfied, Caselli makes the book look really good while managing to keep Slott’s sense of humor intact. Let’s not even forget that Caselli has a knack for making everyone look amazing. (Even Ol’ Iron ‘Stache himself JJ looked amazing, and that’s incredibly difficult to do.) Caselli’s attention to detail and ability to draw so many characters on one page makes one wonder why he hasn’t been brought on for a team book yet, as I can see him handling a large cast like the Avengers, the X-Men, or (god forbid) the Justice League with his eyes closed, and everyone would still look amazing.
When it comes to Slott’s side (and I know I focus more heavily on the writing) it was more of a mixed bag. This book read more like a “how did THIS end up?” and “so THIS will happen” than a real story. This really isn’t a bad thing, however, as the event needs a bookend of sorts. First off, Dan Slott’s self-aware opening to the epilogue was damn near pitch perfect. All of the former Spider-Men and Men-Spiders woke up nude and with varying degrees of complexity: One civilian had his glasses on; T’Challa didn’t have his beard; Misty Knight’s cybernetic arm was intact. When this was examined, Hawkeye simply dismissed it, saying “guys, we live in a world where Hulk grows ten times his size and his pants stay on. Roll with it.” That’s quite refreshing to see how Slott doesn’t take the book so seriously that he can’t point out some of the ridiculousness involved.
Furthermore, if there’s one thing Slott has excelled at this entire time, it’s the relationship with Mary Jane. It’s a complicated mess with Peter and MJ; especially considering the fact he’s dating (or rather was dating) Carlie Cooper. That is also handled really well, as she was never going to stick around for long. The fight felt organic, like it would actually happen in a world where superheroes existed. Keeping a secret that big drove them apart, and now Peter is a swingin’ single again. Time will only tell if this means he’ll be back with MJ.
Continued belowOne of my favorite moments in the issue was more of a subtle sight gag. We know there’s a Scarlet Spider book coming, and what do we see the newly rehabilitated Kaine wearing as he leaves town? Why, he’s wearing a very familiar blue hoodie, which is a great Easter egg if you ask me.
But then there are things that didn’t work. Personally, the idea that this book was essentially a reset button for the Spider-Man universe, from the return of his Spider-Sense (which was admittedly expected) to the “weakening” of the magic spell that Doctor Strange cast to protect Peter’s identity just smacks of a return to square one… again. It’s disappointing to see it. It’s also disappointing that I can see it happen every time there IS an event. Finally, the Jackal finding his way into this issue alive with the excuse being simply “clones”, I groaned. It’s like a cheaper version of Doombots. While I liked the fact Dan Slott told us to just “go with it,” this was just a cheap explanation.
In the end, if you didn’t read the event, this book isn’t exactly something that will draw you in. If you DID read the event, it’s a nice palate cleanser, but it’s still not necessary at all.
Final Verdict: 7.0 — A buy with a meh…
