Spider-Man Family (Vol. 2) #3 (Story 1)

Story 'Electrical Problems'

A giant mummy, Gomdulla, is running loose in the city and the Fantastic Four are on the job. However, each of their attacks prove ineffectual against the ancient threat. Of course, Sue tries to get the team to follow her strategies with little compliance. Spider-Man decides to lend a hand and brings Ben up to Gomdulla's face, allowing him to clobber the creature down for the count. The Fantastic Four, minus Johnny, appreciate the assist and the heroes go their separate ways.

Later on, Peter is selling Jonah pictures of the fight Upon Jonah's admission of love for them, Peter tries to get a bit more money out of ol' skinflint to pay for his Aunt May's electric bill. But, of course, it's a futile attempt and Jonah sends him on his way to photograph more of the Spider- Menace. The next day, Sue is upset over the Bugle's depiction of Spider-Man's role in the battle, that of Gomdulla's accomplice. Ben and Reed are too busy to care, and Johnny fluffs it off saying they've no way to know what Spidey's intentions really are. Irritated at the glib way their colleague is being treated, Sue decides to hit Johnny where it hurts; by canceling the check he wrote for $26,000 worth of customizations for his car.

Coincidentally, both Peter and Sue wind up at the same back at the same time that Electro decides to rob it. Peter ducks away to change while Sue goes invisible to try and clobber him with a brick from the floor after putting in a call to the team. She sneaks up on Electro just as Spidey makes his move and accidentally clobbers her. That's about when the rest of the FF shows up, and Sue's last conscious words are about Spidey hitting her.

Spidey finds himself on the receiving end of a full-out FF attack, with some behind the scenes instigation from Electro to make them madder at him. During the fight, Thing accidentally causes a wall to collapse, which Spidey helps him stop, making him stop to question if Spidey's the bad guy they think he is. Electro zaps the Torch, restarting the fight. Spidey manages to get the upper hand and uses a hydrant to douse the Torch. Now, mad, he fails to realize Thing is merely coming to talk to him and whacks him with a piece of a car. Thing is ready to strike back, but his blow is stopped by an invisible force field.

Sue has come-to and tells them the real situation, that they should be focused on Electro. They search for the villain and eventually find him. Sue protects them all with force fields as Electro tries to blast them to get away, allowing them to get close enough for Spidey to deliver the finishing punch. Spidey takes his leave, the FF (minus Johnny) having a new appreciation for their friend. Sue even goes so far as to promise a press release highlighting Spidey as the hero he is.

Peter returns home, happy he was able to make the Torch look dumb and has the FF backing his standing as a hero. However, he finds that because of Electro, he didn't have time to pay the electric bill and the electricity is off in his house. Irony abounds.

General Comments

The artwork in this one was of the stylized variety, reminiscent almost of the style seen on Disney's Kim Possible cartoon. That did help accent the eventual goofy nature the story would take, which didn't come until well into the second act where Spidey tangled with the FF. The fight was hilariously done. Characterizations were a bit off all around, especially with Electro, but that's forgivable considering the nature of the tale. However, the cause for the fight is a major point of contention. How could Spidey, even in the heat of the moment, not notice an obviously visible brick flying in the middle of nothing? Also, Electro gave the five heroes just a bit too much trouble when they finally focused on him. Also, considering the era when this story most likely took place, it was unusual to see Sue as the leader while Reed was around. Overall, though, a cute story.

Overall Rating

Footnote

3.5 Webs. Some flubs along the way, but otherwise enjoyable and funny.