Marvel Adventures Super Heroes #13

Background

This series began life as a giveaway comic on Free Comic Book Day of 2008. At that time (and when it was launched later that year as an on-going series) it seemed as if it was going to be an ongoing venue for teaming up three of Marvel's biggest heroes Spider-Man, The Hulk, and Iron Man. All three of which had high-profile movies, Mainstream Marvel comics, and Marvel Adventure in recent years. Well, after four fun-filled issues, that changed. Issue #5 featured Doctor Strange teamed with Spidey. It also marked the last regular appearance of the Webbed Wonder until now, as he returns with Tigra (who has appeared in Marvel Adventures Avengers) and Hulk's cousin (She-Hulk.

Like the rest of the Marvel Adventures Universe titles, this comic is targeted for kids who are (hopefully) potential readers of Marvel's other books, and (perhaps even) potential views of Marvel's upcoming film projects.

Story 'Life Model Doggie'

The story starts off with a dog that looks suspiciously like Lockjaw (but isn't) who is wandering around some hit-tech corridors, and then leaps out into the heart of Manhattan. Landing smack-dab into the middle of the street, startling the residents of the big apple (including a woman who is apparently the mother of a young lad wearing an FF shirt. It is possible that this could be Sue Storm and her son, Franklin Richards of FF fame, although it is hard to imagine that they wouldn't have leapt to protect bystanders if it were, so it is more likely that they simply resemble the famous family).

Across town at Avengers Tower, Spidey is watching TV and ordering takeout. He is surprised a moment later when the doorbell rings and even more surprised when he discovers that it is She-Hulk, not his Thai food being delivered. As it turns out, She-Hulk is looking for Tigra so the two of them can go speed-shopping. Spidey's food shows up as does Tigra and he agrees to join the gals for a picnic in the park and a round of speed shopping.

It is as the three heroes are walking the streets of Midtown that they cross paths with the dog from the earlier sequence. The rogue pooch has run across a dog walker and his charges, and chases off the trio of new dogs. As they run and he chases, he is hit by a passing cab, knocking it into the air. She-Hulk catches it as the (apparently) super-powered dog doubles back and bowls her over. Spidey attempts to web the roving canine down, but is unable to do so.

As the dog gives them the slip, a squad of SHIELD agents descend on the area, and inform the heroes that the dog is really an LMD (Life Model Decoy) that was re-programmed by the nefarious Leader, and now contains a core dump of SHIELD's tech data. The Agents take off and the heroes agree to help locate the missing dog to retrieve the data. They track the robot dog to the park where they are attacked by a bunch of robot pigeons.

A pair of cops on horseback approach the heroes, but one of the horses turns out to also be an LMD and attacks, only to be destroyed by She-Hulk. Spidey then gets the idea to block the Leader's signal by reprogramming his Avenger's wrist communicator. This disables the pigeons, but forces the Leader's hand. A large attack-bot with the Leader inside bursts out of a nearby truck and engages the heroes.

After a brief battle (that involves the dog, as well as the heroes and villain) The Leader is defeated, and the heroes turn the mechanical pooch over to the returning SHIELD agents, but not before She-Hulk twists a piece of the Leader's robot into a metallic bone for the dog.

General Comments

This is another engaging story that not only manages to take into account all of the various characters established personalities, but simply tells an entertaining tale of three friends off for a day of adventure, and their random encounter with a robot dog, and a nefarious villain. Yeah, yeah, it's a silly kid's comic, but it is cute, fun, and has Spidey in it, so yeah. I was kept amused by the telling of it.

Overall Rating

The Marvel Adventure Universe grows as we are introduced to She-Hulk, and get to see how Spidey interacts with other heroes, including her, his Avenger's Teammate, Tigra, and SHIELD.

Footnote

This comic contains a four-page preview of Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #53.