Spider-Man by Mark Millar: Ultimate Collection

Marvel Knights: Spider-Man (2004) #1-3

by Mark Millar, Terry Dodson (Illustrator), Frank Cho (Illustrator)

Peter Parker's worst nightmare has come true: One of Spider-Man's enemies has learned his secret identity and is using that knowledge to strike at Peter's family. Now, his Aunt May has been kidnapped - and his wife, Mary Jane, may be next. Forced into a personal battle against a mysterious foe devious enough to ensnare him in a vicious game of cat-and-mouse, Spider-Man must battle more than a dozen of his deadliest enemies to rescue his aunt. With the clock rapidly ticking down, will Spider-Man earn his greatest triumph or suffer his greatest defeat? In a spellbinding story superbly illustrated by fan-favorite artists Terry Dodson and Frank Cho, best-selling writer Mark Millar presents his definitive take on Marvel's greatest hero - reinterpreting classic Spider-Man foes such as Dr. Octopus and the Vulture, and introducing an all-new Venom! Collecting MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN #1-12.

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Spider Man, Graphic Novels, Comic Book, Superheroes, Fiction

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Mark Millar is the New York Times best-selling writer of Wanted, the Kick-Ass series, The Secret Service, Jupiter’s Legacy, Jupiter’s Circle, Nemesis, Superior, Super Crooks, American Jesus, MPH, Starlight, and Chrononauts. Wanted, Kick-Ass, Kick-Ass 2, and The Secret Service (as Kingsman: The Secret Service) have been adapted into feature films, and Nemesis, Superior, Starlight, War Heroes, Jupiter’s Legacy and Chrononauts are in development at major studios.

His DC Comics work includes the seminal Superman: Red Son, and at Marvel Comics he created The Ultimates – selected by Time magazine as the comic book of the decade, Wolverine: Old Man Logan, and Civil War – the industry’s biggest-selling superhero series in almost two decades.

Mark has been an Executive Producer on all his movie adaptations and is currently creative consultant to Fox Studios on their Marvel slate of movies.

Reviews

[Subham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably one of the greatest Spider-man runs or stories ever.

OMG THIS WAS SO GOOD! It took me quite a bit of time to read but its so worth it.

It starts with Spider-man and MJ moving May to Manhattan but when she is kidnapped and Spider-man has to face all of his villains from Green Goblin to Vulture to Electro and even the Owl and the return of Dr Octopus and what is going on with Venom and his secret plans, its a nightmare for him as all this is happening back to back. There is an emotional undercurrent with the vulture story and its a gauntlet and he is bloody and beaten and even his secret identity maybe known and the only one he has at his side is Black cat plus the cameos of Avengers and X-Men!

And then the big fight when Osborn is rescued, the gathering of the sinister twelve, the new venom and the big story with Mac Gargan and everything at stake here for one final fight, who will win and who will die? Also MJ and May's life at stake and Peter identity too..

Its an epic volume with such tension and all stories build on top of each other and its just epic when it comes to form one narrative beat and I love the way it ends and ahh the art on the other hand is so good and compliments the writing really well, Millar knows how to create tension and make it epic! Its a must read and like one of the best spidey stories ever!

[Aaron · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've gotta give Mark Millar credit for this one: it doesn't read like yet another shock-for-shock's-sake, over the top Stupid Fest like a lot of his other work. I mean, don't get me wrong, he still manages to throw in several instances of blatant homophobia and a villain with a weird sexual fetish (his two favorite things on earth), but overall this book manages to drive right past Gross Town and take up residence in Boring City. Bravo?

Marvel Knights Spider-Man reads like a story written by a guy who's nostalgic for the Wikipedia entry on Peter Parker. All the major bullet points of Spidey's 40-year history (at the time of publication) are thrown in: Green Goblin, the death of Gwen Stacy, Electro, Vulture, Venom, etc., all doing the exact same stuff they always do with no deviation from the preordained script. There's essentially zero character work for anyone involved. Peter complains a lot about how his life his hard, but he's a super hero so I don't care. The action scenes are all right, but nothing new. Thwip thwip punch dodge jump thwip win. The Konami Code for Spider-Man fights.

One of the bigger problems in this book, though, stems from Millar's overarching plot. This volume constitutes the entirety of his run on the book, and in reading it all together it becomes pretty clear Millar didn't really care about how this story turned out. The whole thing is framed as being a missing persons case as Spider-Man tries to track down a kidnapper, but in the end this is thrown away with very little thought or fanfare. It just... resolves. All of a sudden the case is solved and a big fight happens. So, don't worry about trying to solve the mystery! It isn't even really a mystery at all, just a big waste of time.

So, why not one star? I guess the art, and the fact that it was at least mostly readable. But, I would not recommend this to anyone unless they are the world's biggest Spider-Man completist. Like me. An idiot.

[Edward Wilsher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having seen so many Spiderman adaptations on film and having just read a Spiderman comic, I was very impressed by this comic. I typically enjoy 'street heroes' more than the 'god-type heroes' and this comic is exactly why. All the fights and character development are very grounded, even if they all have super powers, and with the stakes so high, the ending feels earnt. Overall, a really good comic.

[Christian Savin · Rating 4 out of 5]

~4,5

Spidey and Black Cat are such an underrated duo.

[Rattoni · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this many years ago, and I thought it was good, but I just re-read it, and I don´t know why I had such an idea.

Sooooo.... Do you know what are the memories that aunt May treasures the most from Uncle Ben? What about him being a smoker? or that he was a terrible cook? or that he always left the door open while peeing?
Yes that´s what she talks about when Millar is trying that we root for this old lady, so that when she gets kidnapped we feel bad.

What does Spider-man think of Rikers Island? that it smells like a public urinal. And the pee references keep comming. This was supposed to be the Marvel line for mature stories, but Millar tries very hard in the worst ways to create a dark side of the marvel universe. He´s like a child trying to seem tough by saying dirty words.

Terry Dodson and Frank Cho do the illustrations for this stories, they both are really good artists, but they end up being very bad choices for a book that is trying to be dark. Maybe the colors could have helped, but in the end there´s n

All the earhtly problems that Millar give to spider-man turn up as boring nonsense. What about when a guy uses spider-man as a car jack? Spider-man gets tired of it and he decides to throw the car up in the air, making it land on it´s roof. What the hell was this? Spider-man woulvé pulled the man from under the car with a web line, and then he would´ve put the car on the street harmless. Peter and Mary Jane have some debts, which they discuss in some really boring pages.Speaking of Mary Jane, she functions only as Peter´s assistant or as the drama wife, other than tradition, I don´t know why there was such a rage when Joe Quesada decided to end this fruitless relationship.

Then there´s the Green Goblin. Millar tries to have some Silence of the Lambs moments there, but this turns as a strange relationship where they both seem to have a code, that makes no sense at all. norman Osborn´s life motto has been to make pater´s life miserable, why would he in any way try to help him? and why would peter think that he can help him?

I was able to keep reading till number 7. I cound´t care less of what was happening there, so I quit. Not the story of Venom, nor how Peter will eventually find Aunt May made me continue.

It´s amazing that this is the same guy who created the Ultimates. (yet again, he created Wanted)

[Javier Muñoz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una buena historia con un buen dibujo, bien contada y muy entretenida, que se ve lastrada por las típicas cosas de Millar... sus omisiones interesadas, sus trampas argumentales, sus chorradas inverosímiles que luego quiere solucionar con explicaciones de brocha gorda... el problema además es que no hablo de temas periféricos, sino que los problemas están en todo el meollo argumental, en la resolución de la trama principal.

Vamos, un tebeo que lo disfrutas, que por momentos piensas que puede ser una de las grandes historias del universo marvel hasta que va acercándose el final y te vas dando cuenta de que el guión va dando tumbos, y ya cuando se resuelve te quedas pensando, ¿pero en serio me tengo que tragar esto?, que ya hace unas cuantas décadas que los cómics de superhéroes los leen gente adulta, o al menos mayores de 11 años ¿este es el nivel?. El intento de homenaje a ese punto de inflexión en la vida de spiderman que todo fan tiene en mente es algo que no me parece mal de por sí, pero me parece que está resuelto de forma torpe y que termina resultando un truco barato para aportar una referencia al pasado de spiderman que ni el más neófito podrá ignorar. En todo caso el problema no lo veo ahí, sino en todo lo que rodea a Norman Osborn y la tia May.

En fin, Millar tiene cosas que me gustan pero también suele tener momentos como el final de este cómic que me cabrean... yo espero que no se lo tomen a mal los fans de Mark Millar, pero yo le pido a un cómic algo más que una trama entretenida pero tramposa, un buen dibujo de dobson y un par de números con Frank Cho haciendo lo suyo con Mary Jane y la gata negra para tomarlo como una de las grandes historias de marvel.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mark Millar hat aus der Gelegenheit alles rausgeholt, als er das Angebot bekam, im Zuge der MARVEL KNIGHTS=Reihe einen Spider-Man=Run zu schreiben. 12 Hefte umfasst die clever konstruierte Story, die einen etwas anderen Blick auf das Superhelden=Business wirft: brutaler, zynischer und auch in gewisser Weise realistischer als die üblichen Stories ist Millars Geschichte, die Peter Parker an die Grenzen dessen bringt, was er ertragen kann. Sein von Verlusten gezeichnetes Leben (Ben Parker, Gwen Stacy) droht den endgültigen Tiefpunkt zu erreichen, als Tante May und Mary Jane in Lebensgefahr schweben und sich die Frage stellt, wer Peters geheime Identität kennt und gegen ihn ausspielt. Kann er weiterhin Spider-Man sein, wenn alle Menschen sterben, die ihm etwas bedeuten und ihm nahestehen?
In MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN sterben entgegen der üblichen Comic-Gepflogenheit Menschen, die Kostüme der Helden und Gegner hängen nach den Kämpfen in Fetzen an ihnen herab und sie bedürfen ärztlicher Hilfe. Aber das ist es nicht alleine, was MARVEL KNIGHTS realistischer macht.
Könnte es wahr sein, dass Politiker Interesse daran haben, dass Superschurken die Helden auf Trab halten? Tauchen immer wieder die gleichen Gegner auf, damit die Superhelden keine Zeit haben, sich mit korrupten Politikern zu beschäftigen? Ein zynischer Gedanke, den Millar da in den Raum stellt.
Und auch die Frage, ob sich das Dasein als Superheld überhaupt rechtfertigt oder ob man die Menschen zu retten versucht, die ohne einen gar nicht erst in Gefahr gekommen werden, wird aufgeworfen.

[Bryan Pope · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm rating this more as a 3.5 stars instead of 4. It was a good story overall but some things just felt lackluster. I am more concerned at how many times Peter Parker/Spiderman said "I'm sorry" because of how much it irked me. Beyond this it was a decent read.

[Himanshu Karmacharya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mark Millar and The Dodsons (sounds like a 50's band), deliver a near-masterpiece with this limited series, showing Spider-Man in one of his most vulnerable situations. The stakes are high, the tension is off the charts, and the writing and art deliver them all.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clar: cea mai buna banda desenata cu Spiderman citita de mine pana acum. Complexa, emoționantă, cu întorsături de situație. Mi-a amintit de ce sunt asa mare fan Spiderman. ❤️

[Dakota · Rating 5 out of 5]

9.5/10

Millar was able to perfectly balance the story to have very high stakes but still feel grounded. Story had excellent pacing and the art enhanced the experience.

[José Antonio · Rating 4 out of 5]

En su día no lo leí, y luego lo fui dejando para un quién sabe cuándo. Pero con la oferta de Panini, por un euro me dije: a por ello. Y qué queréis que os diga: me lo he pasado teta leyéndolo. Hacía muchísimo que no disfrutaba tanto con un tebeo de Spiderman. Es como su Lobezno: 0% original, porque es lo mismo de siempre, pero con una capa de modernidad y espectáculo. Y por eso es tan bueno, porque están todos los ingredientes que hacen de Spiderman uno de los mejores superhéroes, pero adaptado al siglo XXI. Hay acción espectacular, y Peter lleno de remordimientos y dudas, y dificultades cotidianas, y vida familiar, y Nueva York, y un montón de supervillanos chulos, y una situación que supera ampliamente a Spidey pero a la que se acaba sobreponiendo con coraje y apoyo de su entorno, e historias cortas que se mezclan con una trama central que te atrapa desde el principio y te hace querer leer un número tras otro hasta que te lo acabas. ¡Y qué dibujo de Dodson! Mira que no soy nada fan del estilo amerimanga, pero qué fluidez, qué narrativa, qué peleas… Y en resumen, un tebeo que mola mil.

Decid lo que queráis de Mark Millar. Es un trilero, es verdad. Ha conseguido vender la moto a medio mundo, cuando no hace más que reciclar y recauchutar ideas ajenas. Pero el tipo es un artesano de primera. Sabe contar historias, es un entertainer de los que ya no quedan. Y qué queréis que os diga, prefiero lo que hace a la inmensa mayoría de guionistas actuales, que todos se creen Alan Moore, como si para contar una buena historia de superhéroes hiciese falta estar cambiando cada dos meses el estatus de un personaje, revelando oscuros secretos del pasado y demás pretenciosidades que el siguiente que entre en la serie directamente ignorará. Que no, puñetas. Acción a tope, un chorro de culebrón y unas gotitas de profundidad y trascendencia, que la fórmula ya la descubrió Stan Lee…

[Luke Geddes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series starts off really good. A good mystery involving May, but somewhere down the line it becomes a mess of other plot points. The art really takes away from the dark and gritty tone that Millar was going for in his writing.

For new readers to Spider-Man it’s a fun read and gives you a good sense of the character’s personality and history. For seasoned veterans like myself it’s just kind of a mess.

[Mark Stratton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the better Spidey stories I’ve read in a while. Really enjoyed it.

[Lena's Version · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gran historia plagada de los más memorables villanos de Spiderman. Aunque el dibujo no ha sido de mis fav a veces, la verdad.

[Dark-Draco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only have volume 1 and it was an ok read - kind of setting up the rest of the story so apart from the initial fight scene when Spiderman finally gets The Green Goblin, it's a little bit on the tame side and ends with Peter rushing home to find his Aunt has been kidnapped. I did like the fact that this Spiderman was a little bit older than previous incarnations I've read or watched - he's married, he's a teacher and he feels the bumps and bruises of his fights - makes a change where Superheroes are usually up and fighting again within moments of serious head injuries! Liked it, but probably not enough to go and search out the other 11 volumes.

[Roberto Diaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mark Millar es un escritor de cómics que saltó a la fama por estar en el lugar y tiempo correcto. Fan del medio y aprendiz de Grant Morrison, no puede negar su entusiasmo por el medio de los tebeos y sus personajes, creando mucho material de autoría propia que ha sido adaptado con algo de éxito al cine y la televisión.

Antes de tener lo suficiente como para decidir escribir por puro gusto. Marvel le dio la oportunidad de trabajar en una mini serie de 12 capítulos de Spider Man, para la línea Marvel Knights, en la cual no tenía que apegarse al canon regular del personaje, lo que le dio pie a realizar lo que considero su versión de un homenaje al arácnido.

Entre los muertos es el resultado, y se siente como la película blockbuster que Millar haría de Spider Man, apoyado por artistas competentes como Terry y Rachel Dodson y un Frank Cho que batea de emergente para 2 de los capítulos. Spider Man se encientra en una carrera por rescatar a tia May luego de que el capturar a Norman Osborn.

Lo que se ventila al inicio como un misterio de "quién lo hizo" al final solo es una excusa y oportunidad para Millar de usar a sus personajes favoritos del mundillo arácnido y establecer a través de Peter que mientras sea Spider Man, estará caminando entre los muertos, posibles personas que ama que sufrirán también las consecuencias de sus actos, todo esto mientras se da de tortas con varios de sus archivillanos.

Para lo que es, cumple, me entretuvo en la lectura como una celebración de lo que es Spidey en un mundo ligeramente más oscuro y en el cual puede que algún día sus pasos como enmascarado terminen. Y para alguien que no tenga ganas de leerse décadas de continuidad y busque algo con elementos un poco similares al cine, esta es una buena opción.

[áfrica · Rating 4 out of 5]

está ambientada en un momento de la vida de Spiderman muy guay

[Jonathan Wortman · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite Spider-Man books ever. A darker tone, a motivated and angry Spider-Man. A must read!

[Marcin Wichowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5🌟

[Dony Grayman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Edición definitiva con los doce números del Spider-man Marvel Knights de Millar y cía. Si no me equivoco, la primera mitad la tengo también en el coleccionable de Salvat.

[Will · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was my first Marvel book after years of DC Comics. I'm no 'exclusive to DC' fanboy, it's just that I was trepidatious about getting into the Marvel universe with no good starting point. In any case, my Spider-Man curiosity got the better of me and I started this book after seeing it on multiple 'Must-Read Spider-Man stories' lists. It was described at the Hush-equivalent, and Hush is both one of my favourite DC books and a great place to start with Batman for newcomers.

Plus I was interested in reading about Spider-Man and Black Cat's relationship, and this book seemed to fit that bill too.

Yeah, no. Just, no. About halfway through I realise I'd been mislead with this recommendation. Millar's writing is awful. Starting with characterisation - it doesn't feel like the Spider-Man I was expecting... quippy, yes, but rude and just an asshole. Mary-Jane is treated like a out-dated "comics woman" (she is rewarded in Peter's thoughts for doing even the most basic thing). [I'm now aware that Millar is a problematic writer, which I didn't know]. Other characters such as Goblin fall victim to the standard 'tell but don't show' trap of talking about their brilliant plans with no actual basis for that. Plus, there's that time Peter flipped someone's car upside down because they asked him to help change a tire. Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man?

Here's a sample of Millar's text: "bullets stream over and he's chuckling like a girl". What does that even mean?

Anyway I could go on and on about how the plot was nothing compared to Hush. Simply stuffing lots of characters into a plot and saying there's an overarching theme does not an all-encompassing showdown make. Plus, Osborn's plan was overly complex and yet also stupid. Also for approximately 3 pages he's responsible for all the super-villains because government conspiracy or something.

Anyway, luckily I've been recommended some better Spider-Man books, which I've already enjoyed and found them to be exactly what I was looking for in the first place. I started with Mark Waid's mini-crossover 'The Devil and the Details' in Amazing Spider-Man #677 and DareDevil #8. That was amazing. Now I'm going on to Spider-Man Blue by the amazing Jeph Loeb of Hush fame. Wait, why didn't I start there first? Rookie mistake.

[Kyle Berk · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beginning to end thrill ride that uses all of Spideys villains.

I’d compare it to Batman’s HUSH because it reminds me of it so much.

I had a very good time reading it, though I think MJ wasn’t used as much or as well as she could have. And Peter felt off. Not by much but just off.

I liked Black cat and the Vulture in this. I think this is a very solid Spider-Man book.

4 stars.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was really good. It had a very thrilling story with lots of suspense. There are very good art and text. It is also very iconic.

[Marta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trepidante y super adictivo.

[Dani Wladdimiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leer esta historia es adentrarse en una narrativa con una clara estructura de inicio a fin, demostrando que el autor está seguro del cómo quería establecer el desarrollo, tanto con los giros de guion como la interacción con el universo Marvel de los cómics, como así también los tres actos planteados en la obra. Eso se agradece muchísimo, porque se siente como si Mark Millar quisiera mantener una coherencia en este gran universo, lo cual él mismo lo dice en el epílogo, siendo algo bastante positivo. Por otra parte, volver a la idea del Duende Verde como villano, siendo muy interesante, dado que es un villano demasiado emblemático, reconocido por muchas personas, por lo que llevarlo a la palestra es porque tiene alguna intención importante, más allá de simplemente molestar Spiderman.

La historia se centra en el contexto que algunos superhéroes comienzan a registrarse, siendo los preámbulos de Civil War, y Spiderman se encuentra constantemente en el dilema sobre lo que significa ser Peter Parker. Mark Millar quizá no tenía claro que iba a realizar Civil War, pero si se exploran muchas cosas de estos volúmenes en la historia del mega-evento de Marvel. Lo ocurrido con la tía May vuelve a ocurrir, la relación con MJ vuelve a suceder, pero lo que cambia, y es ahí la gran diferencia, son sus villanos.

Duende Verde no es un villano común y corriente, siempre trata de ir tres pasos adelante de Peter, haciendo que el némesis del trepamuros sea tan conocido. No es el solo hecho de irradiar demasiado carisma, sino también presenta una verdadera amenaza, y no por sus poderes, sino por su intelecto. De esta manera, tenemos a un Peter completamente paranoico, tratando de armar el rompecabeza sobre quién es la persona que secuestro a tía May. Teniendo a Norman Osborn detrás de las rejas, sería imposible que él tuviera ese poder, o eso se da a entender. Por lo que terminan saliendo muchos, pero muchos villanos, algunos como cameos, otros con participaciones más importantes.

De esta manera Spidey debe analizar quién podría ser la persona que está detrás de todo esto, y entiende que es imposible realizar esta tarea sólo, por lo que el autor se da el trabajo de justificar por qué no están disponible los demás superhéroes, pero sí Black Cat. Esto es importante, porque siempre termina habiendo la duda del por qué no acudieron las demás personas, y pues bien, lo intentan, pero sin mucho éxito. Y está bien, fuera de la intervención contra los 12 siniestros, me parece excelente que nunca participen los demás superhéroes, ni siquiera Daredevil, quién en la mayoría de los casos es el clásico aliado en New York, porque así da intimidad al personaje.

Si bien, hay muchos detalles interesantes que destacar de la historia, incluyendo el discurso final sobre villanos y superhéroes, debo decir que estoy enamorado de Felicia Hardy. Todo lo relacionado a Black Cat es hermoso, si bien entiendo que son dos personajes cortados por la misma tijera, no podrán estar juntos, porque tienen principios morales diferentes, me gusta mucho al relación que tienen. No puedo obviar que una de las relaciones que más me gusta es Peter con MJ, pero toda la complicidad, el romanticismo, la cara final de Felicia en el hospital, con sus ojos enamorados viendo a Peter es hermoso.

Definitivamente, una de mis historias favoritas de Peter, con varios giros que quizá los voy a perdonar, pero lo que más me importaba es justamente el viaje y la búsqueda, lo cual hacen una de esas grandes obras que quedan grabadas en la retina.

[HowardtheDuck95 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was unsure of this story going in. I’d heard it was good, but not necessarily great. And Mark Millar…he can be divisive. The art by the Dodsons and Frank Cho is extremely solid, cohesive, and feels almost seamless in their transitions. Cho’s is more on the brighter, more poppy side, while the Dodsons have a very inky, thick look.

I’m going to be blunt: this story *gets* Spider-Man, plain and simple. It’s absolutely fantastic. It understands what makes him tick. It is a story about the cycles he gets stuck in. And it’s a story of what it means for Spider-Man to still be doing what he does as an adult.

Surprisingly for a man whose reputation for writing women is…not great (heck, he uses the word ‘skank’ a little frequently here, but could be way worse.) he manages to nail both MJ and Black Cat, and understands the differences of their relationships with Peter. The villains are written with unique voices; I found Electro essentially being Steve Buscemi from Fargo to be a particularly inspired choice. His ideas for how Super-Villains and superheroes tend to have these symbiotic relationships work is…interesting, and should be explored more.

It manages to use a simple core mystery as a way to add urgency to the whole story. It propels it. And it slowly causes Peter to unravel, questioning why he does what he does. His fraying nerves allow him to write a Spider-Man who acts a bit more aggressive and tense than usual, an it pays off. It also in the first arc cuts off the most obvious answers nicely, and plants seeds that pay off later extremely well.

The way it uses Venom is interesting; as a dark mirror for Peter’s progress. Eddie Brock is similarly thinking about all he’s done, and decides Venom No More. Angelo Fortunato is a kid who’s been stepped on and emasculated his whole life, but unlike Peter, he makes all the wrong choices with the power he’s given. The choice of venue for that fight makes the theme even clearer. The last guy…he mirrors Peter’s growing feelings of uselessness with his swaggering bravado finding a new purpose.

It uses well worn Spider-Man tropes and plot devices not out of laziness, but to twist them and reinforce the core of what’s there. It writes Peter as an adult with adult problems, something that has become increasingly rare as of late. It understands that Peter isn’t the same Spider-Man, but will always *be* Spider-Man, no matter how much he grows. He has to.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nobody draws a physically beaten Spider-man/Peter Parker better than Terry Dodson. Ready to pounce on any opportunity to illustrate the battered and bruised, Mark Millar sends our hero on a rat race across the city to chase various Hollywood-level MacGuffins and roller-coaster climaxes. Peter continually swings on the precipice of discovering his Aunt May dead and buried. The twists and turns, no matter how predictable, provide detours to a mostly linear missing-persons mystery. Millar borrows the tropes of a Guy Ritchie-eque black comedy tying a plan, a heist, and a prison break all within a world that is equal parts thrilling as it is simple hi-jinx.
The beginning of Marvel comics Hollywood end-game. Owl (the new Kingpin of New York), Vulture, Electro, the original Kingpin, chase a stolen case of $20 mil. A calamitous but speedy arc that comes to end fast when it’s discovered that Adrian Toomes stole the case in hopes of finding a cure for his cancer-ridden grandson. Just one of the many detours that Millar takes before taking the reader down the rabbit hole of broader government conspiracy: manufacturing fights between heroes and villains, to the man puppeteering Aunt May’s kidnapping from his cel, Norman Osborne.
A precursor to Millar’s Civil War and Spidey’s public identity reveal. Much of the story damns the concept of secret identities, for which Millar doesn’t hide his steadfast desire to undo. Notably as QuickSilver retorts, “secret identities are out of style.” The moral implication of holding onto a secret for too long creates more trouble than what wearing the mask originally intended.
Jonah announces 5 million dollar reward for anyone to reveal the identity of his greatest foe. Equipped with such knowledge, Eddie auctions-off his symbiote to the highest bidder. Mob boss, Fortunato, purchases the symbiote and forces it onto his loser son. The new Venom crashes Peter’s high-school reunion. But finding its host weak, the symbiote discards Angelo then proceeds to seek out a stronger candidate in Mac Gargon, the Scorpion. Peter tired of the damage JJ has caused by going public with the reward, concocts ‘photo evidence’ that proves to JJ that it’s his own son, John, who is Spider-man. With the public hit behind him, Peter and Black Cat are able to move forward with their main mission: finding Aunt May.

(After putting all the clues together, Spidey discovers Aunt May, barely alive, buried in Uncle Ben’s grave).

Terry Dodson’s costume and set design highlights some of the best of the Hitchian-style illustration that would come to represent Marvel's transition to a more cinematic form of storytelling. The faces are heavy with eye-liner and contort, the bodies unabashedly sexualized; but when the masks are on, the high-flying duels are perfectly choreographed to fill the sky with theatrical brutality.
The fights are performative. A hero’s violent ballet; figures skating against the dread of the physically and emotionally beaten. With such a directorial approach, Dodson’s layouts feel appropriately cinematic to go alongside Millar's especially fast-moving plot. Exemplary by the greatest of Hollywood action tropes that involves Black Cat and Spidey teaming up to break Norman out of prison; a cameo of almost every villain in the rogues gallery. All Before reaching the final climax--which is taken directly from Sam Rami's Spider-man-- Spidey saves MJ from on top of the Brooklyn bridge. Although cliche to relive the death of Gwen Stacy. Our hero grasping the damsel after she falls to her death saves always a powerful image. If only one more chance for the hero to redeem himself.
Kevin Smith and Mark Millar, with Quesada and Dodson on pencils, brought a cinematic vision to the field of comics. The Marvel Knights imprint had been a huge success ushering a new age of cinematic story telling. Borrowing more and more from Hollywood, Marvel Knights would provide an outline to the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe that would literally adapt Millar’s Civil War a decade later. The beginning of Marvel Knights Daredevil, and Marvel Knights Spider-man spearheaded what would become the future of cinema, while borrowing so much from it in the first place.

[Krzysztof Grabowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Posiadam wersję wzbogaconą o Marvel Knights: Spider-Man, Vol. 4: Wild Blue Yonder.

Dla wielu, w tym i dla mnie, Millar to autor klasyków, które wyznaczały swojego czasu kierunki pewnej fali komiksów (marvelowski Civil War i Old Man Logan czy Kick-Ass). Także od tego "typu" autora można wymagać nietypowych pomysłów.

I tak padło na Spider-mana, którego tożsamość zna tu prawie każdy napotkany złoczyńca. To było dziwne. I dziwnie poprowadzone. Bo Peter ma na pieńku z wieloma złoczyńcami, w tym z Zielonym Goblinem, który de facto rozpętuję tę dwunasto-tomową hecę. Na dodatek ktoś uprowadza ciocie May i szansę na odnalezienie jej drastycznie maleją.

Peter z związku z tym jest dużo bardziej agresywny. Wali mocniej. Tyle, że kompletnie nie ma to ciężaru. Tajemniczy gość, który szantażuje bohatera, twierdząc że wie, gdzie jest ciotka - nie pomaga. Całość trwa za długo, nie nosi znamion śledztwa i rozwiązuje się samoczynnie. I to tak, że nie jestem w stanie w to uwierzyć. Pewna postać trzymała May tygodniami? Może jeszcze na butli, tam gdzie była? Weźcie...

Dużo efektownych bójek sprawy nie ratuje i choć całość wygląda porządnie, tak miejscami jest meh. Czwarty tom pachnie też nieco prześmiewczą nutą, bo dostajemy charakter jak żywo przypominający Supermana i autor (już nie Millar, a Reginald Hudlin) nawet mruga do czytelnika, w kilku miejscach naśmiewając się chociażby z konceptu: założę okulary, nikt mnie nie pozna.

Fajny zbiorek, ale oczekiwałem przełomu, a nie przeciągniętej, mało wiarygodnej historii o poszukiwaniu krewnej, poupychanej masą dodatkowych aktywności i finalnie zrzucając całą to kabałę na drugi plan. Dla fanów Pajęczaka pozycja obowiązkowa, dla innych - cóż, na rynku jest wiele lepszych serii z Spider-manem.

[María Ferre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Las cosas parecían haber entrado en una costa calmada en la vida de Peter Parker; su tía May iba a comenzar una nueva vida cerca de su sobrino para estar siempre en contacto, la relación con Mary Jane solo iba a mejor, su trabajo como profesor lo estaba centrando en una rutina agradable y su vida superheroica no le causaba muchos problemas. Sin embargo, desde el momento en el que descubre que tía May ha sido secuestrada, todo comienza a derrumbarse.
Este cómic destaca tanto por todo el tema de superhéroes, supervillanos y todo lo que haya en medio de la balanza como por los temas cotidianos. Peter Parker es un personaje muy humano (quitando los trajes de licra y los sentidos arácnidos) en comparación con otros como Tony Stark que viven vidas fuera de nuestra realidad cotidiana. Esto quiere decir que tiene problemas humanos y sentimientos humanos; las deudas, las situaciones familiares, la compasión, la rabia, el resentimiento... Peter trata de deshacerse de ellos con Spiderman, pero una identidad secreta no es una persona aparte, sigue siendo la misma. Siendo Spiderman no se centra tan solo en lidiar con el malo de turno y ya está; se plantea como afectará cada paso que dé a su día a día y sus nubes negras personales lo amenazan de tormenta incluso en mitad de una patada.
Aparte de todo eso, el tema de la revelación de la identidad secreta, renunciar a la vida como superhéroe, y todo el plan malévolo del Duende Verde han estado muy bien llevados y me ha gustado mucho ver a tantos personajes queridos dando vueltas y ser cada vez más humanos.