Spider-Man: The Gauntlet - Vulture and Morbius #1

Electro breaks the new Vulture out of prison who goes on a vicious rampage which leads to J. Jonah Jameson causing Spider-Man to intervene and save the day. Peter tries to help Jameson out by fabricating a fake photo proving Jameson's innocence but ends up getting fired for it. The two Rhinos square off against one another with a shocking ending.  

I didn't enjoy this installment of The Gauntlet story arc nearly as much as I had hoped. A lot of what happened felt a little forced or unnecessary. Yes there were decent moments but they were overshadowed by the lackluster ones. Mark Waid, Joe Kelly and Fred Van Lente continue their inconsistent writing on this story arc. I do like the concept of this story arc; having Spider-Man's old enemies return is great because ever since Brand New Day we haven't had any of the traditional villains from his rogue gallery. However, that should only be done if it's organic and unfortunately it felt forced to me. I didn't see the point or purpose of Morbius showing up. It was completely unnecessary and really did nothing to advance the story. The writers are so busy trying to add more villains to the mix that they fail to develop or follow up on recent events such as the status of Aunt May. Is she still under Mr. Negative's influence? She had no appearance at all in this comic. Another disappointment. 

The writers then bring back this new red Vulture. I wasn't thrilled with this villain the last time I saw him and this time around did nothing to change my opinion. I was hoping the original Vulture would return but instead was stuck with this newer less interesting version. I guess one big event came out of these issues and that would be Peter Parker losing his job. Being fired by Jameson was a pretty big and shocking moment. Once again I find myself enjoying the part with the Rhino the most. I like what the writers have been doing with the original Rhino and this new one. Strong writing and a shocking finish make this part stand out but it's not enough to save this volume.

The art is about as inconsistent as the writing has been on this series. Once again we get some incredibly awful artwork. It's just so unattractive and the proportions on Spider-Man are so ugly. It looks like he put on about 100 pounds in some panels. Luke Ross illustrates a short part about Flash which was beautifully designed. Marvel should have had him draw the entire story arc and I would have no complaints. His work was amazing. Max Fiumara's work is pretty decent but he only draws one issue. I hope the artwork gets better in the future because this is getting a little ridiculous and embarrassing on Marvel's part. 

So far this story arc seems to have its ups and downs. It's lack of consistency makes it a little difficult to recommend. I so badly wanted to enjoy this story line but so far have been quite disappointed. I'm hoping for a strong finish but I won't keep my fingers crossed.