Spider-Girl (Vol. 1) #17

Background

I'd been kind of wondering when we might see some real action in Spider-Girl #17. Looks like I might get what I asked for. This double-sized issue promises to be worth the wait.

Story 'Once A Web-Swinger...'

The cover shows Peter Parker back in costume, with the caption "Once a Web-Swinger...". Inside we get up to speed quickly. The Kingpin is up for retrial, but Kaine is hot on his tail. Foggy Nelson is defending him.

Confused yet? Let's just re-cap. In this alternate world, Kaine returned May Parker back to Peter and Mary-Jane. (That's a good idea, and still not too late!) Matt Murdock died (although his spirit, or his ghost, seems to live on as DarkDevil). Daredevil saved Kaine at some time, and Kaine holds Kingpin responsible for destroying Daredevil. Hence Spider-Man owes Kaine a favour, and Kaine wants to kill Kingpin. For some reason, Darkdevil wants to stop Kaine. Spider-Girl just doesn't want anybody killed.

Now are you confused? Well, if you pay careful attention, Spider-Girl #17 will lead you through a great tale. The story is built around Kingpin, but essentially he's the centre of a battle where Spider-Man, Spider-Girl and DarkDevil want to stop Kaine. JJJ and Phil get tangled up in it all, but the heart of it all is Spider-Girl's determination to find her own independence.

Read the story yourself, if you want to know what happens. All I'll say is, it's a doozy.

General Comments

Some plot, some action, some triumph of the human spirit, and a little bit of Parker Luck running true to form, as May's fledgling relationship with hearthrob Brad stumbles at the first hurdle, thanks to the ever-conflicting responsibilites of Spider-dom. Heh, at least her dad can sympathize with that!

Overall Rating

All-in-all, a very satisfying read. Four webs.