Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #4

Background

Spidey is searching for Aunt May and in his quest ended up battling Electro. As a result Spider is badly injured and ends up in the hospital. His first sickbed visitor is the Vulture.

Story Details

The issue opens with Spidey laying in bed and hallucinating that Aunt May is there at the foot of his bed. He snaps out of it and intead its the Vulture twisting a nurses head. Spidey manages to reach a water jug and smashes the Vulture with it. Some police outside hear the disturbance and enter with guns drawn. They fire at the Vulture who grabs Spidey and uses him as a shield. Spidey cops two bullets before the Vulture grabs him by his hospital gown and flies out the window.

As they fly along the Vulture explains how the money that Spidey caused him and Electro to use was going to save his grandson from a tumour. As result the Vulture feels that he should first rip off Spidey's badages to see who he is and then kill him by dropping him. When he takes off the bandages he doesn't recognise Spidey and is ticked off that Spidey wasn't someone famous in his civilian life. So he drops Spidey.

As Spidey falls he is saved by the Black Cat. The Vulture attacks the Black Cat and they fight it out. During the fight its revealed that the Black Cat was actually hired by the Owl to track down Electro and the Vulture. The Black Cat defeats the Vulture.

Next we see Electro being tortured by the Owl and his goons as punishement for betraying him. The Owl unveils the Vulture who is a mess and missing an eye. The scene ends with a goon holding a scalpel over Electro's eye.

We then see a couple of viginettes. One is MJ flyig home. One is a battered Spidey in a bed with the Black Cat watching over him. One is the unknown baddie who has kidnapped Aunt May watching the news. The final one is of Jonah Jameson and Robbie meeting with the dodgy nurse from the hospital in which Spidey resided. The nurse tells his story and hands over the pics of Spidey unmasked. Jonah looks at the photos and says "I think that's one very familiar face."

General Comments

Different versions of Spidey appear in many different titles and storylines each month. I always have a favourite title, a title in which I feel that stories that really mattered are being told. I used to feel this way about Amazing Spider-Man and about Ultimate Spider-Man. But this series is really starting to win me over. There's an urgency and importance to these this title that really pulls me in. I really like how old villains are used in new and inventive ways. I love how I really feel like Spidey is in danger. Basically this title is turning out to be the best Spidey title on the shelves and with the generally high quality of Spidey books at the moment, that's saying alot.

As for this issue. I really can't pick any faults. It's great. The ending has me wondering what's going to happen next and really anticipating the next issue. I think that Millar has proven in 4 short issues that he's got what it takes to take this ending and Spidey to interesting places that I'm going to love reading.

Overall Rating

Thanks again Mr. Millar and Co!