Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #6

Background

Miles already has his own problems in life to deal with, what with his friends and family drama. The fact that the superhuman community is about to break into a second Civil War only makes things worse.

Story Details

Miles and Fabio sit in an outside courtyard, where Fabio attempts to convince Miles that things aren’t as bad as they seem. Miles admits to no longer being angry with Ganke, but he expresses his hesitance about the whole situation with them and Fabio. He’s worried that his secret identity could be compromised by all of them rooming together, but Fabio tries to reassure him that everything will be alright. As this is happening, Jessica Jones is photographing the conversation from afar, but she is driven away by the school principal. At the same time, Miles’ parents are out to dinner, where Miles’ mother confesses that his grandmother hired Jones to follow Miles. Jefferson states how much he disagrees with the idea, and Miles’ mother states that she will do what she can to stop the investigation.

Meanwhile Miles, Ganke, and Fabio are discussing Ganke’s girl trouble, where Miles makes a joke regarding their recent fight. Ganke fears that Miles is not over the debacle, but Miles assures him that he’s getting there. At that moment, Miles receives a call from Tony Stark wanting to meet, to which Miles obliges. He swings off to meet Stark at a bridge, and Tony explains the situation regarding the widespread superhuman conflict. He says that he believes the issue revolves around ‘profiling,’ which Miles understands. Miles expresses hesitation over involving himself in the debacle, and he tells Tony that he will need to take time and consider his options. The next day, he seeks advice from his father who tells him to go with what he believes.

Miles’ mother goes to Jessica Jones’ office and attempts to get her to call off the investigation. Jessica refuses, citing the fact that Miles’ mother is not the one who hired her. As Miles’ mother turns to leave, she demands that Jessica tell her whatever she has found about Miles.

General Comments

I will admit to having been a bit skeptical about this issue before it came out. I’m not always the biggest fan of tie-in issues, so when I heard that we were going to get a series of them for this title, I wasn’t entirely enthused. However, I will say that this issue manages to actually rise above the typical failings of tie-ins, and I think it’s an honestly entertaining book. There’s a lot more to this issue than I thought there would be, and I think that is the biggest surprise of them all.

To start, I like a lot of the low-level civilian aspects of this issue. Despite being presented and solicited as a Civil War II tie-in comic, this issue really goes out of its way to not lose sight of its own plots and characters. For example, the ongoing fallout between Miles, Ganke, and Fabio is handled pretty well in my opinion. It makes sense to me that Miles wouldn't be over the whole ordeal immediately, especially given the nature of what happened and how important Miles' secret is to him. The beginning talk between Miles and Fabio is very strong, and I like that Miles doesn't exactly trust Fabio right from the get-go. It's good to see all three characters moving towards a new normal in terms of a dynamic, and I'm glad it's actually being addressed and fleshed out rather than just being brushed over.

The talk between Miles and Tony is the less interesting aspect of the issue for me. I'll admit to not being super-enthused about Civil War II, and I think that overall feeling of apathy sort of extends into the discussion in this issue. It's not that it's badly written or anything; it just doesn't really interest me. Seeing as I've found this event to be kind of dull thus far, I think it's logical that I wouldn't be excited about it here. I will admit that Miles and Tony's interactions are fairly solid, and the topic of profiling being brought up in Miles' book is obviously very fitting.

Just as a little bit of self-indulgence, I'm still geeking out over the fact that Jessica Jones has a sub-plot in this comic, and it's only fitting that she's written perfectly. After all, she is a Bendis-created character. I cannot wait for her and Miles to finally interact. I feel like it’s going to be a really fun issue when that finally does happen.

Lastly, Leon and Gracia deliver very high-quality artwork for this issue.

Overall Rating

While I am fairly uninterested by the entire Civil War II fiasco, I think the other aspects of this issue far outweigh it in terms of quality and significance. This book does a great job of both tying into the larger universe while also continuing the low-level aspects of Miles' life.