Untold Tales of Spider-Man #11

Background

Writer : Kurt Busiek
Penciller : Pat Oliffe
Finishes : Al Vey & Pam Eklund

Story 'Shock Follows Shock'

Remember back in issue #7, where Sally and Jason help Spider-Man defeat Electro. Well, it seems that Sally has got the taste for the superhero kick. The story opens with her visiting Peter Parker in her new costume as "The BlueBird". Complete with some handy-dandy gimmicks, she is ready to take on any super-villains who shows his nose in public - and she wants Peter's help to find her first opponent.

Peter ain't too keen on that - especially when he runs into the double whammy of "Electro" and "The Electric Eel". BlueBird turns up and joins the fight - although she really doesn't contribute too much - being somewhat out of her depth. Spidey manages to save the day, but he is still mighty worried for Ms. Sally Avril and her determination to try out her new water wings in the deep end of the swimming pool.

There's a nice sub-plot too, with Flash hanging around Petey trying to get an introduction to Spider-Man. That is, until Peter points out that given that he takes photos and sells them to JJJ to aid in his campaign to make the arachnid look bad - then just perhaps Spider-Man doesn't like Peter! Well, that stops Flash from hanging around.

General Comments

I like how these stories have the chance to get in and look at some of the issues which were overlooked the first time round. Issues like Flash coping with Peter's association with Spidey, ans specifically the whole idea of a teenager dressing up in a costume and putting there life on the line. When you see BlueBird as a child playing an adult's game, you realise that Peter was just a kid too. A kid with great powers, but still just a kid.

I also enjoy the fact that the stories concentrate on characters a great deal, especially Peter's high-school buddies. It makes a great change from just seeing how many different ways Venom can find to describe the act of dismemberment.

Overall Rating

I like this. 3.5 webs.