Teaming up with the Cat to battle a Goblin.
Two men walk into the alleyway and find Spider-Man barely conscious. The Wall-Crawler barely recovers in time to save the men from a pumpkin bomb blast. Spider-Man is locked in battle with the Green Goblin. When the battle ends, Spider-Man learns that someone other than the Goblin knows his secret identity and they begin using it to their advantage. -summary
Marvel Knights Spider-Man written by Mark Millar began the second volume of the Sensational Spider-Man run that began in I believe to be 2004. The first 12 issues were under the Marvel Knights banner, and it would later become Sensational Spider-Man for the rest of the run, which would later be canceled after the One More Day storyline. This TPB collects three 4 part storylines that all connect to each other and conclude with one final battle at the end; these stories are Down Among The Dead Men, Venomous, and The Last Stand. The stories follow Spider-Man's epic feud with the original Green Goblin along with several battles with A-listers from his rogue's gallery, as well as a status quo update in the form of introducing the new Venom. This TPB collects issues 1 - 12.
Despite the several slower and dragging moments in the middle of the book, this is a pretty fun read that delivers the goods at times. On some occasions it's just a good old-fashioned action filled comic, with Spider-Man being forced to take it to the bad guys. The opening battle with the Green Goblin doesn't even feel rushed. It's given reasonable amount of time to give readers an idea on just how tough the Goblin may be. After this encounter, Spider-Man receives a phone call from someone whom knows who he is that the person has kidnapped Aunt May in which he learns to be true. This sends him around the city, and even forces him to seek help in finding her.
One thing I noticed about this book is Millar's attention to detail for some of the Marvel U. He reaches out to Daredevil's neck of the woods letting readers know that the Owl has taken over the city in place of the Kingpin. He doesn't give any details on how it occurred, but it was a pretty good move to at least give a heads up on the status quo update for some people. The Owl may not have received much development, but he does play a role in setting up Spider-Man in an encounter. Perhaps the most notable status quo change here for me is the update in Electro's powers, in which later on he would see several big changes in his abilities; but that's a discussion for another day. Here, Millar delivers one of the best battles ever between Spider-Man and Electro. At times, it felt like Electro could have held his own against the Avengers. The battle is very fun to read, as he dishes out major volts of electricity and even appears to magnetize objects and cause big explosions. He was pretty awesome here and the Vulture was cool too.
Venom makes a noteworthy appearance as Eddie Brock, distancing himself from the costume and the result is two new Venom's. The first encounter is pretty cool but it gets better when someone else dons costume. This is more of a personal gripe and has nothing to do with the quality of the book; but I really hate the way Marvel took the Venom name completely out of context. Originally the name Venom was created by Brock, due to him and the Alien Symbiote joining together out of a mutual hatred for Spider-Man. He chose the name Venom likening himself to lethal poison for Spider-Man, and it felt that way because he knew the man under the mask, he was his opposite number and superior in strength, and he did everything he could to create battlefields in his favor. Around this time and beyond, anyone could become Venom whether they have a grudge against Spider-Man or not. I understand business wise the reason Marvel refuses to let Venom go, but as a fan of continuity it just bugs the hell out of me.
The remainder of the book builds up rather well to the conclusion plus we get some guest stars, with the Black Cat being most notable. I will always love their team-ups, there's just this nostalgic feel I get from Spider-Man partnering up with Black Cat that reminds me of the 80's. Millar injects some political commentary that I found to be interesting as he attempted to make the story more than a comic, by claiming the government and even shady companies actually create villains to maintain a balance. It actually makes some sense though, and it explains in a way how come villains always return when they should be receiving life sentences and death penalties for the murders they usually commit.
My main gripes with the story is the constant deus ex machine that some times had me rolling my eyes for being so predictable. One moment just had me thinking if Millar could have done better. I also didn't care at all to see major threats like Sandman, Lizard, and yeah, even Hydro-Man so easily dismissed by single blows, when they're capable of taking on multiple heroes. Years of characterization and development was jettisoned for the sake of mindless action and a head count.
The artwork by Terry Dodson and Frank Cho kind of bugs me too. Dodson is the problem for me really. Some of the designs resemble something you will find in the Sunday paper comic strips. Some very poor facial detail at times and bad character designs. The backgrounds have moments of being pretty stale as well. On some occasions, the backgrounds and designs can be incredible; the battle with Electro immediately comes to mind with its explosive colors and background destruction as Electro closes in on Spider-Man. Some of the action is very good, while the climax feels rushed. For me, the action-filled events leading towards the end didn't quite live up to the promise. However, the ending and the Gwen Stacy throwback was pretty awesome.
If someone brand new came into this book they will come away really liking Spider-Man, Electro, and definitely Green Goblin which is a good thing. There are things that bothered me but it's difficult for me to like the book less; there's plenty of good action, witty dialog, and interactions. If you're looking for a Spider-Man story to pass the time this is one to check out, but avoid the expensive, rare hardcover version I own and pick up the paperback. Your pocket will thank you.
Pros: Some status quo updates, cool action at times
Cons: Artwork sometimes feel messy, climax needed more action