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The Spectacular Spider-Man (2003) (Collected Editions)
The Spectacular Spider-Man, Vol. 4: Disassembled
Spider-Man's life is thrown into turmoil as he begins to undergo a shocking transformation - one that may well leave the web-slinger scarred forever What is the cause of this strange mutation - and how does it connect to the troubles plaguing the Avengers? Betrayed by his body and suffering the painful effects of his slow transformation from man to arachnid, Spidey must confront the architect of his metamorphosis - the Queen But only Captain America holds the key to her defeat Tie-in to the Avengers Disassembled storyline running throughout Marvel titles in 2004.
Collects SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #15-20.
Collects SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #15-20.
136 pages, Paperback
First published December 15, 2004
2 people are currently reading
121 people want to read
About the author
Paul Jenkins
1,259 books154 followersPaul Jenkins is a British comic book writer. He has had much success crossing over into the American comic book market. Primarily working for Marvel Comics, he has had a big part shaping the characters of the company over the past decade.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
August 15, 2021
NOT required reading for Avengers: Disassembled or indeed any reason! Some woman from Captain America's past - The Queen (actually her first appearance) comes after Spidey because of his insect brain; and yes like me you're probably scratching your head because a spider is not an insect. Weak art, average story and poor plotting, but somehow I gave this still a 4 out of 12 for it's take on Captain America and Nick Fury and it's continuity across the Marvel universe.
February 21, 2017
That was weird.
Not a good weird, a really bad one.
There is not a single redeemable quality in this arc: The story sucks, the art sucks, the characterization sucks, everything sucks!
This story was even featured in an article by cracked.com titled ' 5 absurd ways comic books have resurrected dead superhero'. This story holds 5th position in that category because in this arc, Spider-man gives birth to himself.
Yup, let it sink in.
Go to this link to read the hilarious article!
Plus, this arc had absolutely nothing to do with Disassembled story arc!
Avoid.
Not a good weird, a really bad one.
There is not a single redeemable quality in this arc: The story sucks, the art sucks, the characterization sucks, everything sucks!
This story was even featured in an article by cracked.com titled ' 5 absurd ways comic books have resurrected dead superhero'. This story holds 5th position in that category because in this arc, Spider-man gives birth to himself.
Yup, let it sink in.
Go to this link to read the hilarious article!
Plus, this arc had absolutely nothing to do with Disassembled story arc!
Avoid.
June 1, 2018
So... Back in 2004, apparently it was cool for a protagonist to be sexually assaulted and then victim blamed by his wife. And then this wonderful sentence happens, the wife talking to a friend:
"Strictly speaking, she kissed him, megs. He was really freaked out about it, too. You know what Peter's like: he's too poor of a liar to have an affair. I figure it's worth about two new dresses and ten pints of ice cream to pretend I'm still mad about it."
So, she knows he was assaulted, but decided to use it so she can manipulate him into giving her gifts? That poopoo needs burnt with fire. Lots of fire. If this is what comics were like back in 2004, is it any wonder misogyny is so prevalent in comic geek culture today?
Anyway, the story was kinda cool, but the sexual assault and victim blaming were awful and make this a comic not even a little worth your time and money.
"Strictly speaking, she kissed him, megs. He was really freaked out about it, too. You know what Peter's like: he's too poor of a liar to have an affair. I figure it's worth about two new dresses and ten pints of ice cream to pretend I'm still mad about it."
So, she knows he was assaulted, but decided to use it so she can manipulate him into giving her gifts? That poopoo needs burnt with fire. Lots of fire. If this is what comics were like back in 2004, is it any wonder misogyny is so prevalent in comic geek culture today?
Anyway, the story was kinda cool, but the sexual assault and victim blaming were awful and make this a comic not even a little worth your time and money.
January 11, 2020
Oof. Where do I start. First of all, Peter Parker is a total jerk in this book. Totally unlikable. All of his quips are cringe and are very degrading to women. Then he gets sexually assaulted by The Queen when she kisses him which triggers a mutation where he starts transforming into a literal giant spider... a PREGNANT spider. Through all of this, Mary Jane is basically victim-blaming him and makes him go to a wedding with her, mid-transformation WTF?! Later, when he’s full-on spider, he gives birth.... to HIMSELF. All of his powers are now apparently heightened.
The characterizations in this book are awful. The story is weird but that’s not really an issue for me. I should’ve loved it because of the oddball Kafkaesque Cronenbergian body horror storyline. But, dammit, Peter Parker is just so unlikable. Mary Jane is unlikeable. Captain America is unlikeable.
I only read this because it’s a prelude tie-in to Avengers Disassembled, the next arc I plan on reading. This story was trash.
The characterizations in this book are awful. The story is weird but that’s not really an issue for me. I should’ve loved it because of the oddball Kafkaesque Cronenbergian body horror storyline. But, dammit, Peter Parker is just so unlikable. Mary Jane is unlikeable. Captain America is unlikeable.
I only read this because it’s a prelude tie-in to Avengers Disassembled, the next arc I plan on reading. This story was trash.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 3, 2019
This one was so weird. Now I know where 6-handed Peter Parker/Spider-Man comes from...although I'm not entirely certain I really needed to know that.
The Queen was weird, the spider birthing process is bizarre, but I can honestly say I won't be forgetting this one anytime soon. It was so weird, but as such, it definitely left an impression.
The Queen was weird, the spider birthing process is bizarre, but I can honestly say I won't be forgetting this one anytime soon. It was so weird, but as such, it definitely left an impression.
December 6, 2014
Collects Spectacular Spider-Man issues #15-20
I'll give this story a really low 3-star rating. It wasn't horrible, but it acted like a bigger deal than it actually was.
A mysterious new female villain shows up, and she has a history with Captain America. (She is the Queen, and she later plays a big role in the "Spider-Island" event.) It turns out that Cap has been keeping some secrets about things the military did in the past for the sake of American freedom. Spider-Man gets drawn into the Queen's plans, and she does something to him that starts to transform him into something different.
The characterizations of the heroes in this story seem to be fine, but the characterizations of both MJ and Aunt May are way off.
Again, I wasn't bored with this, it just wasn't anything special.
SPOILERS:
The rebirth incident that happens to Spider-Man was very reminiscent of something that happened during JMS's run on "Amazing Spider-Man." I just recently read his story, so this one felt like it was drawing heavily on the groundwork he had laid related to spider totems.
I'll give this story a really low 3-star rating. It wasn't horrible, but it acted like a bigger deal than it actually was.
A mysterious new female villain shows up, and she has a history with Captain America. (She is the Queen, and she later plays a big role in the "Spider-Island" event.) It turns out that Cap has been keeping some secrets about things the military did in the past for the sake of American freedom. Spider-Man gets drawn into the Queen's plans, and she does something to him that starts to transform him into something different.
The characterizations of the heroes in this story seem to be fine, but the characterizations of both MJ and Aunt May are way off.
Again, I wasn't bored with this, it just wasn't anything special.
SPOILERS:
The rebirth incident that happens to Spider-Man was very reminiscent of something that happened during JMS's run on "Amazing Spider-Man." I just recently read his story, so this one felt like it was drawing heavily on the groundwork he had laid related to spider totems.
January 7, 2023
What in the actual fuck did I just read?
Okay, so the first two issues in this collection weren’t bad. I loved the art, and Spider-man’s wit and humor were mostly on-point. Dated, certainly, but not terribly so.
But the last four issues? They involved bizarre art, extremely superficial characterization (Peter & MJ were replaced with one-dimensional cutouts with no redeeming qualities), considerable misogyny and other problematic references, and a plot that made absolutely no fucking sense and involved (spoiler) Peter being turned into an actual spider and then giving birth to himself? Um… You can’t make this shit up.
Don’t read this. Ever. There are so many infinitely better Spider-Man comics out there.
Okay, so the first two issues in this collection weren’t bad. I loved the art, and Spider-man’s wit and humor were mostly on-point. Dated, certainly, but not terribly so.
But the last four issues? They involved bizarre art, extremely superficial characterization (Peter & MJ were replaced with one-dimensional cutouts with no redeeming qualities), considerable misogyny and other problematic references, and a plot that made absolutely no fucking sense and involved (spoiler) Peter being turned into an actual spider and then giving birth to himself? Um… You can’t make this shit up.
Don’t read this. Ever. There are so many infinitely better Spider-Man comics out there.
May 1, 2021
Ok, voy a empezar contando que los tomos que yo leí, contaban dos historias.
La primera, una historia distorsionada sobre un Spiderman que se ve acosado por 2 sujetos, los cuales resultan ser sus hijos
En la segunda, la ciudad se ve atacada por una mujer que al parecer es la reina de los Insectos, así que Spiderman se uno al Capitán América y otros héroes para detenerla
La primera historia me pareció buena a secas, algo lenta, pero supongo que está bien, me gustó saber que pasó con Spidey después de la muerte de Gwen.
En cuanto a la segunda historia, el primer tomo me pareció buenísimo, dinámico, con un gran villano y grandes cameos, sin embargo, en los tomos siguientes, los dibujos y el arte cambian, y de verdad que son malisimos
Los dibujos son feos, y todos distintos en cada tomo. Por que, si es la misma historia, se enfocan en UN SOLO estilo de dibujo? Se ve descuidado y extraño, para mí no funcionó
No me quedaron ganas de seguir leyendo, 2 estrellas
La primera, una historia distorsionada sobre un Spiderman que se ve acosado por 2 sujetos, los cuales resultan ser sus hijos
En la segunda, la ciudad se ve atacada por una mujer que al parecer es la reina de los Insectos, así que Spiderman se uno al Capitán América y otros héroes para detenerla
La primera historia me pareció buena a secas, algo lenta, pero supongo que está bien, me gustó saber que pasó con Spidey después de la muerte de Gwen.
En cuanto a la segunda historia, el primer tomo me pareció buenísimo, dinámico, con un gran villano y grandes cameos, sin embargo, en los tomos siguientes, los dibujos y el arte cambian, y de verdad que son malisimos
Los dibujos son feos, y todos distintos en cada tomo. Por que, si es la misma historia, se enfocan en UN SOLO estilo de dibujo? Se ve descuidado y extraño, para mí no funcionó
No me quedaron ganas de seguir leyendo, 2 estrellas
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 29, 2018
3.5 stars
This was surprisingly my first Spider-Man comic and it was a really fun arc to start off with. I’m currently reading the tie ins to the Avengers Disassembled event so this isn’t the first volume in this series. But, I didn’t feel completely lost so if you’re already fairly familiar with spider man and his origin story this should be a fun read for you. Although, I don’t see how this ties in to the event it was still really fun. The art work was very old school cartoon-ish and I can’t really tell yet if I like the style or not.
This was surprisingly my first Spider-Man comic and it was a really fun arc to start off with. I’m currently reading the tie ins to the Avengers Disassembled event so this isn’t the first volume in this series. But, I didn’t feel completely lost so if you’re already fairly familiar with spider man and his origin story this should be a fun read for you. Although, I don’t see how this ties in to the event it was still really fun. The art work was very old school cartoon-ish and I can’t really tell yet if I like the style or not.
March 23, 2020
Day 7 of my COVID-19 self-isolation. WTF did I just read?
I have no qualms about body horror, in fact, I love Cronenberg's The Fly remake. This was pretty awful, though.
I know comics are silly - not everything can be Watchmen. This was pretty weird.
I have no qualms about body horror, in fact, I love Cronenberg's The Fly remake. This was pretty awful, though.
I know comics are silly - not everything can be Watchmen. This was pretty weird.
June 3, 2022
While I still overall liked how the characters were written, this book got a little far-fetched for my liking. Peter turning into a spider? And then… coming out of the spider? It’s probably a bit more like 2.5 stars, but I’m forgiving it some because: (1) I liked seeing all the other heroes, and (2) I still like this world of Spidey—with him being married to MJ and Aunt May knowing his secret. Still, the overall plot felt more hand-wavey than not, so my overall opinion was… fine.
February 4, 2020
What an incredibly weird period of spider-history. Two separate stories across the Spider-Man books featured him mutating into a giant spider. Neither were very good, and this one is the worse of the two. Feels like the weird corners of DeviantArt got to design a Spidey story by committee. No thanks!
April 16, 2022
Spider-man turns into a big spider. Then he pops out as spider-man again. Doesn't need web shooters any more. The end.
Oh yeah, mention of something called the m-gene. Has that been developed more since 2005? TBH, this comic is labled Disassembled but really doesn't seem all that relevant. Took 6 issues to tell a meh story which could be summed up in a couple sentences.
Oh yeah, mention of something called the m-gene. Has that been developed more since 2005? TBH, this comic is labled Disassembled but really doesn't seem all that relevant. Took 6 issues to tell a meh story which could be summed up in a couple sentences.
October 9, 2021
Great art in the first and last two issues.
The story was kinda weird and the end made no real sense. Has given Pete new powers, though.
MJ is a real bitch in this.
Not sure what this had to do with Avengers Dissembled though.
The story was kinda weird and the end made no real sense. Has given Pete new powers, though.
MJ is a real bitch in this.
Not sure what this had to do with Avengers Dissembled though.
October 25, 2021
It's real dumb, y'all.
There have been some very fun "big swing" ideas for Spider-man over the years (Superior Spider-Man comes immediately to mind). This book is maybe the worst example of that. Like, genuinely one of the dumbest ideas I've seen committed to ink and paper.
There have been some very fun "big swing" ideas for Spider-man over the years (Superior Spider-Man comes immediately to mind). This book is maybe the worst example of that. Like, genuinely one of the dumbest ideas I've seen committed to ink and paper.
May 3, 2019
Might be the weirdest Spider-Man arc I've read yet. Definitely not my favorite.
October 23, 2019
Kinda weird and different, not the worst, but certainly not the best.
It has nothing to do with Avengers Dissasembled
It has nothing to do with Avengers Dissasembled
March 22, 2021
Cuarta parte para el evento: Avengers Disassembled.
March 29, 2021
the ending was interesting but the whole story was really... weird. and i do not see how this is connected to avengers dissassembled at all
July 16, 2021
Fue bien hasta cierto punto, Spider-man se empieza a convertir en una araña mutante... nada memorable que recuerde. Los dibujos no me parecieron tan atractivos
July 31, 2021
The only thing more disgusting than the body horror is Peter's misogyny
September 27, 2021
It was weird, I must be honest. I didn't enjoyed it as much as I wanted 🤷🏻♀️
May 12, 2024
2,5 - 05.2024
June 7, 2024
Pregnant Spider-Man. Enough said.
August 13, 2024
so fucking weird and i really don't understand the relation with disassembled. i get it, it was 2004, but the SA was not taken serious at all. didn't enjoy the art as well
October 15, 2024
Marvel was really desperate to scrape every penny from Brian Michael Bendis's masterpiece. The artwork of Michael Ryan could not save this work.
July 24, 2023
What a bunch of hellish, horny nonsense.
November 28, 2014
I chose this book (a prologue to Avengers Disassembled) as my entry point into a Marvel 616 read-through that will hopefully take me all the way to the Infinity event, covering roughly the last ten years of the Marvel 616 continuity. This is designed to complement my Marvel Cosmic read-from earlier this year when I read everything from Annihilation all the way to The Thanos Imperative. All the way through that read, I remember being intrigued by echoes of the main 616 crossover events like Civil War and Secret Invasion from that I saw in the Cosmic tales. Well, here I am now, getting the other half of the picture.
Going into this particular book, I knew that it was a controversial tale where (just to sync up with the Raimi movies) Spidey got organic web-shooters. Personally I really don't care whether they are organic or artificial, but I know they were a big deal to many fans.
At any rate, this is a decent entry-point if (like me) you're planning to read all the major Marvel crossover events of the last ten years or so. As any good Marvel read-through should, it begins for me with Spiderman! Having done a complete read of the Ultimate line (mostly in 2012, spilling over into 2013) from Ultimate Spider-man #1 all the way to the origin tale of the second Spiderman, thus far I'm more familiar with the Bendis version of Spidey. It was delightful to see the 616 version being ha-ha snarky in this issue. Spidey's irreverence towards Captain America as well as the main villain (The Queen) was fantastic. The writing in general was good - albeit the end does seem a bit of a hasty job. Great cameos from almost everyone else in the 616 U - the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, X-Men all show up.
The art was also great I thought - some really creepy panels when Spidey is (avoiding spoilers here) undergoing some changes. Also, my big fear was that compared to the Ultimate U, the art would feel dated but it didn't. Whew!
All in all, a good beginning methinks - but nowhere near as "Spectacular" as some of the Ultimate Spidey tales I've read
Going into this particular book, I knew that it was a controversial tale where (just to sync up with the Raimi movies) Spidey got organic web-shooters. Personally I really don't care whether they are organic or artificial, but I know they were a big deal to many fans.
At any rate, this is a decent entry-point if (like me) you're planning to read all the major Marvel crossover events of the last ten years or so. As any good Marvel read-through should, it begins for me with Spiderman! Having done a complete read of the Ultimate line (mostly in 2012, spilling over into 2013) from Ultimate Spider-man #1 all the way to the origin tale of the second Spiderman, thus far I'm more familiar with the Bendis version of Spidey. It was delightful to see the 616 version being ha-ha snarky in this issue. Spidey's irreverence towards Captain America as well as the main villain (The Queen) was fantastic. The writing in general was good - albeit the end does seem a bit of a hasty job. Great cameos from almost everyone else in the 616 U - the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, X-Men all show up.
The art was also great I thought - some really creepy panels when Spidey is (avoiding spoilers here) undergoing some changes. Also, my big fear was that compared to the Ultimate U, the art would feel dated but it didn't. Whew!
All in all, a good beginning methinks - but nowhere near as "Spectacular" as some of the Ultimate Spidey tales I've read
April 5, 2015
Much like with Avengers Disassembled: Thor, this is the first Spider-Man comic I've read, with my main Spider-man exposure being pop culture and some of the recent movies. Even so, it was understandable. The ending lacked some of the impact it might have otherwise, had though.
The story was decent, even with it's comic book conceits of "insect gene" and ridiculous transformations, . The artwork was less to my taste, being a little too exaggerated/cartoony.
The story was decent, even with it's comic book conceits of "insect gene" and ridiculous transformations, . The artwork was less to my taste, being a little too exaggerated/cartoony.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews