Spider-Girl (Vol. 1) #19

Background

An offbeat look into the minds of May Parker and some of her supporting cast, including Jimmy Yama and Normie Osborn.

Story 'Fantasies'

Spider-Girl finds herself battling some green and gold armored characters calling themselves "The Soldiers of the Serpent," who are doing their best to torch a low-income neighborhood. Don't look for plot exposition, as there isn't any. Instead we see May musing about how she always must resort to violence to make the world a better place.

Jimmy Yama, meanwhile, is fantasizing about what he would do with super powers. Vowing to track down criminals and spy on their evil schemes (eavesdropping on Brad and May), using his super strength to punish the guilty (decking Brad), finding a way to persevere "until I scored another win for truth, justice, and. . . uhh, whatever!" (by clobbering Moose Mansfield). And of course, the hero he would be would never exploit his fame or uses his powers for personal gain (as he sweeps a completely smitten May Parker into his arms.) After all, that would be "totally and irredeemably wrong!"

Courtney Duran, on the other hand, is picturing how she would handle the whole Spider-Girl thing. In addition to putting a cape on the costume, she would seek out corporate sponsors, alliances with computer companies (for her very own Spider Cave) and allegiances with other superheroes.

Moose Mansfield. . . ? Let's just say that deep thoughts aren't his strong suit.

And finally, Normie Osborn. Normie is undergoing a psychiatric evaluation at whatever facility he happens to be incarcerated in. Playing with a toy of Spider-Girl that he made in the "hospital workshop" (I guess old habits die hard) he begins to regale his doctor with another story about the same dream he has every night. This dream is basically a retelling of the Goblin story, skewed to fit his version of reality. Norman Osborn is a "benevolent king," whereas Spider-Man is cast in a less than flattering light. But just as the doctor and the observing guards are lulled into a stupor, Normie flips the head off the Spider-Girl trinket and mashes down a hidden button. Two seconds later the goblin glider crashes through the window with enough pumpkin bombs to cover his escape. Hurtling off into the night sky, he declares his destiny: "to destroy both Spider-Man and Spider-Girl!"

General Comments

Four words: amusing but generally pointless. While I enjoyed almost all of the stories in this issue - with the exception of May's heavy-handed homily - I would think they'd be better used as back-up stories in the next Spider-Girl Annual. Do these stories advance the overall plot in any way? No, with one obvious exception. And even Normie's story spends most of its time retelling the origins of the Green Goblins. It was fun to see May's friends pretended to be superheroes, but for a full issue of the regular Spider-Girl monthly series it was just a waste of time. One important thing happens in this issue: Normie Osborn escapes. That's it. And if that's the main point of this issue, then it should have been handled in a better fashion.

I will admit to being thrown by one thing, though, and I wonder if I'm the only one: did anyone else expect the Green Goblin to return this soon? I would have bet the non-existant ranch on a comeback in issue #25 (which would, of course, be double-sized with a gatefold, foil-wrapped cover and cost three times as much. Maybe I'm just cynical...)

Overall Rating

A different issue, to be sure. But if it ain't broke... Two webs.