THE GOOD
Close to 90% of Spider-Man's adventures have him spouting off "jokes" that aren't actually funny. Reed has made Spidey funny here and that's not to be understated. Even Venom and Ms. Marvel get some funny turns, as well, with the zingers keeping a good rhythm with the fisticuffs. I liked Carol's "Gordian Knot" solution to getting Gargan out of Venom. I liked Venom's acceptance that he's on a sinking ship (pun intended) so he's just going to have as much sick fun as he can and enjoy the "Kobe beef" of cannibalism with Norse flesh. Santucci's art nicely straddles the line between realism and fantasy, making all the action suitably muscular.
THE BAD
It's just a minor quibble, but it seems like a gap in story logic that Ms. Marvel wouldn't be able to just burn the symbiote off of herself. She's a living battery of energy, yet it takes a live telephone wire to blast all the black alien goo away? Also, I don't know if this really bad, per se, but since I haven't been keeping up with Spidey's life after Brand New Day, it felt a little... weird to see him in a budding romance with Carol. What about Mary Jane?!
THE VERDICT
This has continued the good track record these Siege tie-in specials have earned. Both the Young Avengers and Captain America issues were better than they even needed to be, and so is this. Even though this is just a "bridge" to get readers from one part of Siege to the next, it's an enjoyable story in itself that delivers on what you'd want out of a superhero comic.
4/5