Spider-Man/Red Sonja #1

Background

Way back in Marvel Team-Up #79 Spider-Man met Red Sonja. After concluding their adventure against Kulan Gath, Peter had tossed the amulet which was the cause of all the trouble in the river. Well, take a wild guess as to what has surfaced...

Story Details

New York, evening, Spider-Man is swing across town while on the phone with his wife, Mary Jane. They discuss dinner plans as Spidey stops some jewel thieves.

The Metropolitan Museum Of Art, there's a major exhibit opening. Senator Thomas arrives by limo, he is worried about the funds he's receiving for his reelection campaign. Inside, J. Jonah Jameson is there to meet him. A professor Jones is also there, he shown the senator a remarkable (yet familiar) amulet. The necklace hums, and he senator tries it on. A scream follows and Kulan Gath emerges.

Spider-Man has just arrived at the Daily Bugle building, to drop off some photos. Suddenly his spider sense goes crazy and he falls down. When pulling himself from under a pile of rubble, it seems New York has changed. It now looks like a town from the middle ages. The museum has changed into a church. Kulan Gath is using magic to change the world for it is fat and weak.

Spider-Man, swinging across town, is confused, everything changed but him. Down below, some people are attacked for they did not pay their taxes. Spidey comes to the rescue.

At the transformed museum, Kulan Gath summons JJJ to be his scribe. He asks what this place is. Jonah tells him and warns him about the heroes that live there. Kulan Gath is not impressed. He recalls that a Man-Spider and a redhaired woman thwarted his plans when he came to this era years ago. This time he will make that mistake again. He will pit one against the other in order to have room to complete his plans in peace. He summons Mary Jane.

Meanwhile, Spider-Man is helping some locals. But they not happy to see him and call him a red demon and a spider devil. Some things never change. He swings away, towards a weird glow on top of a building. There, he sees Mary Jane climbing that building. He calls for her, but she does not respond. In stead, she grabs a sword and lashes out to Spider-Man. The Spider-Man see it, it's not longer Mary Jane, it's Red Sonja!

General Comments

Nicely done. I can't help but compare this to the original Spider-Man / Red Sonja team-up. And although it seems like doing that book all over again, it doesn't bother me one bit. As a matter of fact, Kulan Gath even says so and that makes it OK by me. Some new elements are thrown into the mix, JJJ and Venom. Yes, Venom. He's shown only on the cover and in a picture on Robbie Robertson's desk, but still, this is a clue as to what is yet to come. Can't wait for part 2.

A question comes to mind, do we really need Spidey in a T&A comic? Meaning if you read Red Sonja lately, or at least have seen some of the covers of her current series over at Dynamite, you'll know what I mean. The answer is no (of course, my wife might be reading this too you know), we do not need it, be I will definitely not dislike it. After the Civil War and Back In Back saga, I could use a cool, perhaps even silly, Spidey comic. And if it has to be fluffed with T&A, so be.

Overall Rating

Excellent! So why not a full 5 webs? This only the first part of a 5 part story, there must be room for improvement, right? And there is, on the final page, don't you think it looks like Red Sonja gained a few too much pounds there? You might want to check out Marvel Team-Up #79 for reference.