Spider-Man Family (Vol. 2) #6 (Story 2)

Story 'Endangered'

With Ka-Zar in town to represent the Savage Land in a conference on the dangers of global warming, that can only mean Savage Land type trouble has followed him. Spider-Man teams-up with the jungle man and his faithful saber tooth tiger, Zabu, to take down Stegron. However, Spidey notes an extra bit of aggression on Zabu's part when he aided the duo. Ka-Zar explains he's been out of sorts lately, but can't figure out why. Ka-Zar then asks Spidey to watch out for him while he's at the conference, a prospect Spidey's not too thrilled about but accepts.

While hiding him in his garage, Peter does some research on prehistoric creatures to see what he can do for Zabu. This inspires his Aunt May to tell him her thoughts on endangered species, and how sometimes she feels like one because of her age. Sometimes she feels alone. This strikes a chord with Peter and gives him an idea.

Spidey takes Zabu (after hours, of course) to the Natural History Museum to let him romp around the saber tooth tiger exhibit. Spidey explains he gets how he must feel being the last of his kind, hoping he's as intelligent as Ka-Zar said so he doesn't feel too foolish talking to a cat. Soon, Zabu is reunited with Ka-Zar to help Spidey take down Sauron. Ka-Zar sees the change in Zabu, and Zabu shows his appreciation by indicating Spidey is now part of his family. With that, Ka-Zar and Zabu head back to the savage land, and Spidey ponders where to get a 300 pound ball of yarn for Zabu's next visit.

General Comments

This was a simplistic and heart-warming tale. We've often had moments where Spidey has shown a strong sense of compassion, and this captured that quite effectively. There were some funny moments in the script thanks to the mutterings of Peter Parker as he thought aloud to himself, and the way in which he and Zabu evaded the night watchman at the museum (bonus points for a Calvin and Hobbes reference). The artwork was pretty good, with Zabu looking the best out of all the characters. The coloring gave it a bit of a watercolor quality, which was done very well. Overall, a very good story.

Overall Rating

4 Webs. Nice artwork and a touching story, two things you can never go wrong with in Spidey-land.