Sensational Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #34

Story 'Nothing Can Stop The Rhino'

May, MJ and Black Cat are in the back parking lot of the motel Peter's family have been staying at. Cat asks where Peter has gone, before telling them that she's going after Rhino. She hops on her all-new Black Cat motorbike. We find out it was bought for her by Puma, who's found a drunk Rhino in Battery Park.

Cat says that, although May, MJ and Puma might not understand why she has a bond with Peter, she remembers when he stood up to Octavius for her.

In the park, Rhino's about to take down some men from the navy who are harassing him before Cat leaps into action. Just before any fight begins, though, she tells him she wants to talk.

She tells him to go home and forget about the money Chameleon owes him for taking down Peter. She says she'll let it all go and they don't have to fight and says that she doesn't have to be a psycho ex-girlfriend any longer.

They go their separate ways. Back at the motel, Felicia has told MJ she let the Rhino go but hints she may have left a tracker on him that The Punisher can trace. MJ asks if she wants to leave a message. Cat says no – through Peter taking off his mask it has let her learn it's never too late to figure out who you are.

General Comments

For me, this is the best issue of Aguirre-Sacasa's run. The Cat is such a great character and I hope she's not forgotten in Peter's post-Civil War world. RAS writes her very well – perhaps better than any of the other supporting cast.

I love RAS' nods to Black Cat and Peter's past. The terrific storyline where Ock and his men nearly killed Felicia as part of the arc in Spectacular v1 #72- 79. The quite ridiculous, yet legendary Spectacular #100 where they break up … and Spidey takes on The Spot. Even down to Cat remembering how she got her bad luck powers from Kingpin. He certainly knows his stuff.

Sean Chen's work here is very nice. Perhaps the only criticism I can make is that the faces on his female characters look very similar. That said, his Rhino looks great.

Clayton Crain's cover is, once again, sensational.

All-in-all a mixed arc for me focussing on the lives of the women in Peter's life. The MJ issue just didn't strike me, while the May one was just OK. This, however, was excellent.

And now … Back In Black and an as-yet unknown major occurrence in Amazing Spider-Man that continues the fallout from Civil War.

Overall Rating

Excellent work. I hope this continues into the new era of Spidey's life.