Spider-Man/Black Cat: The Evil That Men Do #1

Background

The return of the Black Cat, former lover of Spider-Man. Written by Kevin Smith, pencils by Terry Dodson. Read on!

Story 'What's New Pussy Cat?'

New York. We overhear a phone conversation. A certain Trica is gone missing. We see a body in a dumbster. Switch to LA, the other side of the line. A blond woman by the name of Felicia is getting ready to take a shower. Thinking about why everybody thinks she's their personal super hero. Why track Tricia? Maybe to visit New York, maybe see an old boyfriend too? We then see a black suit with white fur hanging in the closet.

Spider-Man is swinging across town. Thinking about Donald Philips, an honor roll student who died from an heroin overdose. Strange case, for there's no evidence he smoked or shot the stuff. Spidey's going after some pushers, to see if they have some information. The minute they spot him, they open fire. Spidey easily disarms them. One of them gets away in a car. Using a webline and a lid from a garbage can, Spidey is skiing after behind the car. The car stops, Spidey jumps over it, grabs the guy and takes him to a nearby roof.

On the roof, he starts to interrogate the pusher. Since the pusher doesn't want to talk, he scares him by asking him what spiders do to their prey once they've trapped them. The anser is of course, eating them. The pusher is scared to death and spills the beans on a certain actor who likes boys and a man called Mister Brownstone.

Miss Hardy arrives at a high class hotel, acting like some rich broad. Being a shower junkie, she's taking one (sorry gys, no visuals this time). Afterwards she goes out, to find Hunter Todd, the guy who Tricia had been romantically linked to. The Black Cat is back in town! Although not been used for quite some time, her gear still works like a charm. Passing a Daily Bugle billboard, she can help but think about Spider-Man and that they were an item once. Too bad he's a married man right now.

Over at the Soho Grand Hotel. Spider-Man found out who that actor was, it's Hunter Todd. He's staying at the Soho Grand. In his hotel room, he's making a phone call to a Mister Brownstone, telling the later they're ready to dose. Spidey overhears the conversation, sticking to the side of the window. Across the street, the Black Cat sees a dark figure snooping and figures no better entrance than taking a bad guy out. The swings across the street and then she sees it's Peter. Together they crash through the window.

Hunter Todd is annoyed, what are Spider-Man and the Black Cat doing there? Spidey wants to know about Donald, Cat about Tricia. Hunter immediately starts talking. He didn't do it, it was him. Before he can say who 'him' is, he dies of an overdose. The girl that was with him, dies the same way. Then they hear a voice from the phone that fell on the floor. The man on the phone says he's giving them a large enough dose to ensure their silence. The name of this man is Mister Brownstone.

General Comments

What I really liked about this issue, is that the Black Cat confesses she did the nasty with Spider-Man. It's something I've always wondered about. In the old days, when she was his girlfriend, it was never shown (this is a Marvel comic after all), only hinted. Great stuff!

Other than that, it's a fun story. Great sense of humor. All litte (and grown up) boys want to she the Black Cat, in exciting poses if possible. So, why not start with a shower scene to get it over with. If you haven't seen the book yet, go get it now, Terry Dodson really knows how to draw women.

Enough about Felicia, this is a Spider-Man book. Spider-Man is funny, all action and is making the obvious mistakes. After reading it, I had a feeling this is the Spider-Man that made me want to collect Spider-Man comics. I started with Amazing Spider-Man 228-230 and got hooked right away. That same feeling is here right now. I can not wait for the next issue. By the way, the skiing in the lid behind the car scene was hilarious!

Overall Rating

Why? Easy, excellent story and stunning visuals (yep, the Black Cat really looks hot!). Most of the times these team-up limited series are crap. This time, I can't wait for issue 2. Keep it up, guys!