Spider-Girl (Vol. 1) #30

Background

Raptor is still on the loose. Last issue's mystery man is lurking in the shadows. And the Avengers just declared war on The Buzz. Should be a piece of cake for everyone's favorite web-stunner. If she can keep from being grounded, of course.

Story 'The Winds of War!'

May Parker, still trying to prove she can fight crime with a goblin glider, has abandoned training with Phil Urich for a sparring session with the Avengers' American Dream and Stinger (think Captain America 2.0 and Wasp 2.0.) The session goes well until a stray pumpkin bomb catches Mainframe (Iron Man 2.0) in the chest. Unfazed, the stodgy avenger informs Spider-Girl that she has a call in the communications center. The caller is none other than Tony Stark, who orders her to stay away from the mystery man she encountered last issue and then grills her on The Buzz.

An angry, confused May Parker later runs into Stark again at the Daily Bugle, where she overhears him talking about Project: Human Fly. (This is, of course, referring to the battle suit now worn by The Buzz, who is accused of murdering the man who was supposed to wear it.) "I have people who are specifically trained and equipped to deal with techno-thieves like The Buzz," Stark says. His meaning becomes abundantly clear to May, who recognizes the man with Stark as the mystery villain, but is interrupted by the appearance of J.J. and Nancy Lu.

More than a little rattled by the days events, May finds herself thinking of Raptor, whom she has sworn to bring to justice before hanging up the webs. Deciding that she didn't give Raptor a fair chance before--disbelieving the other's desire to go straight--May leaves a message for Raptor to meet her at the "usual place." Unfortunately, Raptor isn't the only one who happens to notice, and May comes home to find two angry parents (and Uncle Phil) waiting for her. "You... are... grounded!"

At school the next morning, after watching J.J. sleep through English class, May notices a headline in the Daily Bugle: "Avengers Vow, 'We'll Bust The Buzz!'" Quickly ducking into a back hallway, May pulls out her cell phone and gives Stinger a call. The rumors are true, Tony Stark convinced the Avengers to hunt down The Buzz. May asserts The Buzz's innocence, but Stinger can't promise that the other Avengers will believe her. May quickly comes to a decision, blowing off a possible get-together with J.J. with an excuse about helping a friend ("Who's the friend?" "No one you'd know.") May retreats to her secret hideout, loads up on her cache of goblin weapons, and roars off into the night sky vowing to stand up for The Buzz "even if it means taking on Tony Stark and the Avengers!"

General Comments

"On my signal... unleash hell!"

Consider yourselves signaled, Spider-philes. After dithering around for a bit to give May Parker a chance to get used to a new style of crime fighting, it's time for Spider-Girl to put her money where her mouth is.

Not a bad issue overall, but it suffers from being another setup story. And while next month's storyline promises to be intriguing, this issue loses points for being predictable. It was, after all, just a matter of time before J. Jonah Jameson bent somebody's ear long enough to sic him--or THEM, as the case may be--on dear ol' Buzz. Not only that, but was anyone surprised that May Parker would defy her parents and come to Buzz's aid? Anyone?

I liked the interplay between May and the two female Avengers. We saw her palling around with Stinger back in issue #16 and it's nice to see the continuity. More than that, however, are the juicy possibilities for next month. How will those two react if Mainframe decides that Spider-Girl's death would be an acceptable cost for bringing in Buzz, after all?

Raptor makes her return, and I'll give her credit for genuinely wanting to go straight. But one wonders if she will be half as trusting the next time Spider-Girl leaves her a message. Talk about the ol' Parker luck! Personally, I'd like to see this subplot on the back burner for the next few issues and let Tom DeFalco concentrate on The Buzz. Bringing Raptor into the fray could overly clutter a storyline that already has enough to deal with. Be patient, Tom, don't try to rush everything.

Overall, Spider-Girl #30 left me looking forward to next month. It also left me wishing for more THIS month. Guess you can't have everything.

Overall Rating

This turn of events was coming sooner or later. So why not sooner rather than later? Three webs.