Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #73

Background

In post-Onslaught new York, evil things are afoot. All of the key figures in the underworld have combined efforts against the one man who could rule the mob; Fortunato. Peter, using his newly-regained powers, eavesdrops on a meeting of a lot of Spidey' old foes. Hammerhead, Tombstone, the Rose, Caesar Cicero, the Slug, Silvermane (I thought he was dead), a many others are all plotting to kill Fortunato... tonight!!!

Story 'Legacy'

Peter goes running to Ben's house, who is currently having company over... Jimmy Six, the mobster on the run from Fortunato that Ben has been helping. Peter starts to tell Ben about what's happening, but Jimmy overhears about the hit on Fortunato, and pulls a gun on the boys to get the details. Afterwards, Jimmy gets dressed (thank goodness), and goes to inform Fortunato about what's happening. Obviously, he owes the man something. Ben slips a tracer on him and follows, while Peter goes to Lamaze class.

Jimmy slips into Fortunato's fortress, goes directly to the man himself, only to find that Fortunato already knows about the oncoming hit. Spider-Man arrives at Fortunato's about the same time the hit squad does. A huge fire-fight erupts, ending with Tombstone and the boys shooting up the old man's study. While Spidey and Tombstone tussle, Fortunato gets Jimmy Six in the middle of the room. In the midst of the conversation between Spider-Man and Jimmy, we learn that Jimmy is Fortunato's son.

Spider-Ben is wiping the floor with Tombstone, when Fortunato engages an electrical matrix, shocking everyone in the room except Jimmy and Fortunato. Once all the goons (and Spider-Man) have been taken out, Fortunato tells Jimmy to gather all of his enemies up to witness the death of Spider-Man. Those who want to join under Fortunato can, but those who don't will have to face the wrath of Fortunato's allies... Hydra!

General Comments

I was not really impressed with this issue. The pencils were good (as always), but the inking left a lot to be desired. There was no real shading, no contours to the people, just traced out and black where the shadows should be. It seems like the art of inking has suffered at the hands of color separation, and now the colorists are the ones who are supposed to provide shading, darkness, and mood.

Story wise, everything was kind of predictable. Peter really wastes a lot of time telling Ben all the good things, when he could just go out there and kick some ass himself! Soon enough... I've never really been impressed with Fortunato, and now involving Hydra just confuses things even more. It's all building up - but to what conclusion, I don't know.

Overall Rating

The story was passable, the art okay, but there was no real quality about this book that made it stand out. Three average webs.