Spider-Man Heroes & Villains Collection (UK) #29

Background

This is a 60-part weekly series being pumped into the market by Eaglemoss publications. They don't know much about Spidey, but they know that 60 * $8.99 = quite a lot. And I'm the kind of idiot who will spend that sort of money without doing the math.

There's an original 7-page story in every issue, and collectible trading cards too. Sure, the stories are terrible, the art has been 90% ghastly, and the price is far, far too high. But there's glossy paper, trading cards, and an original Spider-Man comic strip series that 99% of the U.S. collectors will never own!

Story 'Terminal Velocity'

Peter Parker has a fancy new digital camera, and he's off to a demonstration at Stark Industries to watch Tony Stark demonstrate the latest Iron Man armor. Would anybody care to take my bet that A.I.M. will hijack the new suit and attack all the bystanders?

Hmm... nobody wanted that bet. Maybe they've already read this one. For indeed, that's what happens. The Armor goes rogue and Tony Stark's override passwords no longer work. It's up to Spider-Man to save the day, under the careful instruction of Tony Stark who quietly sneaks out of site mid-battle only to return in his classic "grey" Iron Man outfit.

In the end, the heroes are forced to use an E.M.P. (Electo-Magnetic Pulse) attack to fry the suit's circuitry and defeat the A.I.M. agent inside, who turns out to be "Arnie Wormald from I.T." Oh, of course! We should have guessed!

Naturally, Peter's camera is also fried. Though, he probably gets Stark to pay for a replacement.

General Comments

This is a simple run-of-the-mill tale, in which the recycled parts are dull, and the "original" bits are silly.

Overall Rating

We're back to the regular mix of uninspiring writing, amateur art and terrible coloring which has seen this series become an instant candidate for "Worst Spider-Man series ever". One web.

Footnote

Obligatory Nonsense Moment? Stark sending the Iron Man suit up the edge of space to suffocate the wearer. It's well-known that the Armour is air-tight and contains significant oxygen reserves.