Spider-Man/Power Pack #3 (Story 2)

Background

Spidey's been fired from his paper route after his identity was made public, and he's got his hands full at his new job: babysitting the Power Pack. They've already trashed their home and taking them to a generic playground was a bad idea, so Spidey is gonna try someplace a bit safer.

Story Details

Spidey takes the pack to Iron Man's playground where other hero kids are enjoying all the various things to do. Iron Man inquires about the kids in tow and Spidey gives him the update. But when he tries to bring them into the park, Iron Man stops the kids from entering telling Spidey they need to register to enter. Spidey asks why he needs all the information he requests for registration, prompting Captain America to burst on the scene and explain Iron Man's anti-freedom agenda.

Cap and Iron Man begin to argue back and forth over the other being wrong, and Spidey tries to calm them down before it escalates. Unfortunately, he's too late as heroes stand on either side of the debate line, ready to fight for what they believe. Finally, Cap and Iron Man turn their attentions to Spidey directly to ask what side he's on, only to find him and the kids gone.

At the Xavier Group Home, Spidey cons his way into their playground by saying the Pack are mutants.

General Comments

Civil War in a nutshell, done in a few pages and far more enjoyable than the real thing. The parodies Mini-Marvels usually do are sometimes better than the actual stories they parody, basically because of how cleverly they're done. On a personal side, I especially liked how in the hero face-off, Daredevil was facing the wrong way and Psylocke still sports her Crimson Dawn tattoo over her eye. (Far too many retcons in the real Marvel U for my taste, so I'm glad to see Chris Giarrusso keeps some things constant).

Overall Rating

5 Webs. No tie-ins to buy, no overpriced one-shots, no forced opinions or resurrections. Civil War quick, clean, concise, and funny.