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Fake Red #1
Spider-Man: Fake Red
Yu’s new high school is kind of awful. He’s failing his classes and striking out socially. Everything changes when he finds one of Spider-Man’s costumes abandoned in an alleyway. At first, it’s fun to put on the costume and play hero, but when powerful enemies appear, Yu quickly realizes he’s out of his element. Still, with the real Spider-Man nowhere to be found, the city needs someone to save it…
328 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 9, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 217 reviews
January 21, 2024
"I'm not him . . . I just can't . . . I'm scared . . . I know I'll mess up . . . I'm no superhero . . . Yet, I'VE GOTTA TRY !!!" -- teenage protagonist Yu, swinging over New York City in a classic Spidey action pose
Now here was an unexpected and perhaps even more unlikely treat - Spider-Man: Fake Red is a graphic novel (or technically manga . . . or it that Spider-Man'ga'?) which unusually keeps our actual title character off-page until the third act. In the opening pages Asian-American teenager Yu - a well-meaning but quiet loner-type who is an average student in New York City - finds a discarded Spider-Man suit (complete with the web-shooters) hidden in an alleyway near his school. Naturally, out of curiosity he tries it on and soon finds himself mistaken for the real deal and fumbling through action-packed rescue and/or crimefighting situations. It's played for humor at first, but before long Yu pleasingly discovers a previously untapped courage and determination deep inside his soul and begins to roughly succeed at being a passable imitation Spidey. This confidence naturally also spills over into his personal life and he sheds some of his social awkwardness, making a good friend for apparently the first time in his adolescence. THEN the narrative begins to explore the reason for the genuine Spider-Man's disappearance, and one of his trusty A-list villains finally arrives on the scene to reveal his diabolical plot as well as mistaking Yu for his intended target. I was surprised by how the heartfelt nature of Spider-Man: Fake Red had really affected me by the conclusion, but I think it perfectly drove home that while our teen years can often be problematic, within us lies a certain quiet potential for achieving the unexpected or even heroic given the right circumstance.
Now here was an unexpected and perhaps even more unlikely treat - Spider-Man: Fake Red is a graphic novel (or technically manga . . . or it that Spider-Man'ga'?) which unusually keeps our actual title character off-page until the third act. In the opening pages Asian-American teenager Yu - a well-meaning but quiet loner-type who is an average student in New York City - finds a discarded Spider-Man suit (complete with the web-shooters) hidden in an alleyway near his school. Naturally, out of curiosity he tries it on and soon finds himself mistaken for the real deal and fumbling through action-packed rescue and/or crimefighting situations. It's played for humor at first, but before long Yu pleasingly discovers a previously untapped courage and determination deep inside his soul and begins to roughly succeed at being a passable imitation Spidey. This confidence naturally also spills over into his personal life and he sheds some of his social awkwardness, making a good friend for apparently the first time in his adolescence. THEN the narrative begins to explore the reason for the genuine Spider-Man's disappearance, and one of his trusty A-list villains finally arrives on the scene to reveal his diabolical plot as well as mistaking Yu for his intended target. I was surprised by how the heartfelt nature of Spider-Man: Fake Red had really affected me by the conclusion, but I think it perfectly drove home that while our teen years can often be problematic, within us lies a certain quiet potential for achieving the unexpected or even heroic given the right circumstance.
May 24, 2024
7.2/10
Yu is a teenager who stumbles upon a Spider-Man costume. He decides to try it on. It turns out that it's the real deal. Not only that but he also is being mistaken for actual Spidey, who is nowhere to be found. Now Yu has two choices, to let people down and let them know that he's not Spider-Man or step up and be the hero. Something that is much easier said than done.
This plays out like your familiar origin story, although it's not technically an origin. You have someone who has his life change completely out of nowhere. A fish out of water. He has to find the courage to use the powers he have ( here it's only the suit, Yu doesn't have superpowers), to fight villains and put himself in dangerous situations. At the same time he can't this affect his normal life too much and even more importantly he needs to hide his identity.
The author does a good job showing how hard is to balance the superhero life with your daily life. How you have to seem confident when you do something but at the same time complete panicking.
Like in other manga i have read this has a fast pace, maybe too fast for my taste. Also some of the dialogues are a bit off. Don't seem that natural. The art is more than good.
I recommend this, it's about something you know but said in a completely different way.
Yu is a teenager who stumbles upon a Spider-Man costume. He decides to try it on. It turns out that it's the real deal. Not only that but he also is being mistaken for actual Spidey, who is nowhere to be found. Now Yu has two choices, to let people down and let them know that he's not Spider-Man or step up and be the hero. Something that is much easier said than done.
This plays out like your familiar origin story, although it's not technically an origin. You have someone who has his life change completely out of nowhere. A fish out of water. He has to find the courage to use the powers he have ( here it's only the suit, Yu doesn't have superpowers), to fight villains and put himself in dangerous situations. At the same time he can't this affect his normal life too much and even more importantly he needs to hide his identity.
The author does a good job showing how hard is to balance the superhero life with your daily life. How you have to seem confident when you do something but at the same time complete panicking.
Like in other manga i have read this has a fast pace, maybe too fast for my taste. Also some of the dialogues are a bit off. Don't seem that natural. The art is more than good.
I recommend this, it's about something you know but said in a completely different way.
June 16, 2023
i heart spiderman in every universe
August 29, 2025
It's absolutely awesome. This book is great. I love it, I love the way Peter Parker/Spider-man was written, and Yu/Spider-man was written. This is a Prime example that Peter/Spider-man is a great character and not a loser or a joke he is portrayed to be in the current main Spider-man book.
Yu is a loaner teenager struggling with life and high school. He has never thought of himself as a hero until he finds Spider-man's costume and Spider-man is missing. With the city in need and Spider-man suit and a pair of webshooters, what can Yu do? Also, what has happened to the real Spider-man?
It is a great story with excellent artwork. Love the cameos of the other characters, great Easter eggs. Also, great action. It is great seeing Spider-man punch, kick as well as a webshoot, and win. Too many times, especially recently, writers forget that Spider-man has incredible strength and instincts and is an experienced fighter. I am glad all were remembered here. The book finishes with a varient cover gallery and Easter egg glossary. I would love to see much more of this series to come.
Yu is a loaner teenager struggling with life and high school. He has never thought of himself as a hero until he finds Spider-man's costume and Spider-man is missing. With the city in need and Spider-man suit and a pair of webshooters, what can Yu do? Also, what has happened to the real Spider-man?
It is a great story with excellent artwork. Love the cameos of the other characters, great Easter eggs. Also, great action. It is great seeing Spider-man punch, kick as well as a webshoot, and win. Too many times, especially recently, writers forget that Spider-man has incredible strength and instincts and is an experienced fighter. I am glad all were remembered here. The book finishes with a varient cover gallery and Easter egg glossary. I would love to see much more of this series to come.
August 15, 2023
I absolutely LOVED this when I read it. It had me on the edge of my seat and many times, the tension was so great, I had to put it down and pick it up after I had calmed down some.
The premise is an average teen (who rock climbs, so maybe not THAT average) happens upon Spidey's suit and dons it, with the predictable results. Trouble with a capital "T". But he is game and really does try to help while waiting for the real spidey to get back and take up his suit and mantle.
I really loved the MC, he was so earnest and was a sincerely good person at heart. Have to wonder what would have happened if someone less sincere found the suit.
The artwork was gorgeous, the storyline believable and the characters were all great. 4.5 stars, rounding down until I get my own physical copy of this so I can re-read again in print and see if it should be bumped up to the full five.
4, SO CLOSE, stars.
My thanks to NetGalley and VIZ Media LLC for an eARC copy of this to read and review.
The premise is an average teen (who rock climbs, so maybe not THAT average) happens upon Spidey's suit and dons it, with the predictable results. Trouble with a capital "T". But he is game and really does try to help while waiting for the real spidey to get back and take up his suit and mantle.
I really loved the MC, he was so earnest and was a sincerely good person at heart. Have to wonder what would have happened if someone less sincere found the suit.
The artwork was gorgeous, the storyline believable and the characters were all great. 4.5 stars, rounding down until I get my own physical copy of this so I can re-read again in print and see if it should be bumped up to the full five.
4, SO CLOSE, stars.
My thanks to NetGalley and VIZ Media LLC for an eARC copy of this to read and review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 31, 2024
An unexpected treat, Fake Red follows a new face behind the mask, but with the catch that it's someone with absolutely no powers whatsoever. It's a nice breath of fresh air to see our new protagonist navigate scenarios that would usually be handled with ease. It takes "it always fits eventually" and creates a heartwarming adventure that embodies the idea of Friendly Neighbourhood in a visually stylish, character driven package.
June 26, 2023
Predictable, but fun.
July 23, 2023
It was a nice and crisp story. I especially liked the colour pages. Artwork was overall good. It was all in all a Spiderman tale.
June 26, 2024
Really solid Spider-Man story that I enjoyed more that I expected to. Great art in this one, also!
December 4, 2024
Quiero una miniserie para seguir la historia de Yu porfa.
November 18, 2023
Spider-Man: Fake Red is a Japanese manga with Spider-Man that takes place in it's own universe.
It follows a teenager named Yu that finds Spider-Man's suit in an alley. But when he discovers that Spider-Man is missing now he must take his place and protect the innocent.
It's an interesting take on Spider-Man and even if Peter is almost absent from the book the story is interesting and engaging. The story itself isn't anything to write home about but it's an okay adventure that could have happened in Spider-Man's life.
It has some nice character designs with the villains too and the art overall was great.
I liked the overall message and meaning behind the story but it was a bit basic and predictable without a lot of new things to offer.
Recommended to those wishing to see how a manga with Spider-Man would be.
It also doesn't require much prior knowledge about the characters only some basic stuff so it's new-reader friendly.
It follows a teenager named Yu that finds Spider-Man's suit in an alley. But when he discovers that Spider-Man is missing now he must take his place and protect the innocent.
It's an interesting take on Spider-Man and even if Peter is almost absent from the book the story is interesting and engaging. The story itself isn't anything to write home about but it's an okay adventure that could have happened in Spider-Man's life.
It has some nice character designs with the villains too and the art overall was great.
I liked the overall message and meaning behind the story but it was a bit basic and predictable without a lot of new things to offer.
Recommended to those wishing to see how a manga with Spider-Man would be.
It also doesn't require much prior knowledge about the characters only some basic stuff so it's new-reader friendly.
June 8, 2023
My new favorite Spider-man story!
November 24, 2023
This is a fun and interesting take on both what it means to be Spider-Man but also how inspiring a character he is.
A wide array of Spidey heroes and villains crop up in this but all are used perfectly so it never feels overstuffed or that the author has added characters for the sake of it. All the story beats hit the right note and the art is sublime throughout. I really hope this continues!
4/5
A wide array of Spidey heroes and villains crop up in this but all are used perfectly so it never feels overstuffed or that the author has added characters for the sake of it. All the story beats hit the right note and the art is sublime throughout. I really hope this continues!
4/5
September 2, 2023
4.5 stars. Fun characters, interesting plot, cool cameos/Easter eggs. It was awesome to see Silk
August 25, 2024
Yu is an average teen who's failing his classes, has no friends, and skips school to work out on a climbing wall. One day, he happens to find an abandoned and surprisingly well-made Spider-Man suit - and when he discovers that it includes web-slinging tech, he comes to the conclusion that it might actually belong to the real Spider-Man. When he gets spotted trying the suit on, he feels obligated to uphold Spider-Man's honor and fight nearby crime. However, he really is just an ordinary teen. Can he keep this up without getting himself killed? And what happened to the real Spider-Man?
This was somewhat disappointing, since I expected there to be more actual Spider-Man. Kudos to the writer for not making Yu and super-special teen who somehow magically figures out how to be a badass superhero when he puts on the suit, but that made it even more frustrating when one of Yu's classmates found out his secret (or thought she did - she assumed he was the real Spider-Man) and Yu never did anything to clear up the misunderstanding.
As far as the actual Spider-Man went, this turned out to be a Spider-Man and Venom story in which Spider-Man was trying to deal with being taken over by the symbiote. That part of the story isn't fleshed out very well at all, and in fact you have to read the notes at the end to fill in the details on how the volume's villain got hold of Venom in the first place.
All in all, this was just okay, from the story, to the characters, to the kind of clumsy attempt at adding an element of LGBT inclusion.
Extras:
Several full-color illustrations and a notes section with Easter egg breakdowns.
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
This was somewhat disappointing, since I expected there to be more actual Spider-Man. Kudos to the writer for not making Yu and super-special teen who somehow magically figures out how to be a badass superhero when he puts on the suit, but that made it even more frustrating when one of Yu's classmates found out his secret (or thought she did - she assumed he was the real Spider-Man) and Yu never did anything to clear up the misunderstanding.
As far as the actual Spider-Man went, this turned out to be a Spider-Man and Venom story in which Spider-Man was trying to deal with being taken over by the symbiote. That part of the story isn't fleshed out very well at all, and in fact you have to read the notes at the end to fill in the details on how the volume's villain got hold of Venom in the first place.
All in all, this was just okay, from the story, to the characters, to the kind of clumsy attempt at adding an element of LGBT inclusion.
Extras:
Several full-color illustrations and a notes section with Easter egg breakdowns.
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
August 24, 2024
Mooi hoe mijn bieb de cover er verkeerd om heeft gedaan. XD Ik was al verward dat een manga begon op de Westerse manier, maar nee, dat was dus eigenlijk de laatste pagina. XD Goed gedaan.
Een toffe manga met een goed verhaal en veel toffe action scenes, wat als Spidey verdwijnt en iemand zijn pak vindt en steeds de rol overneemt (vooral omdat hij toch geen nee kan zeggen/het pak al aan heeft en iemand hem ziet en hij dus geen nee mag zeggen). En ondertussen zien we wat er met de echte PP is gebeurd. Ik vond de MC (Yu) niet altijd tof, soms een beetje zeurderig, maar ik vond het wel geweldig dat hij het toch probeerde en zijn best deed. Heel nieuwsgierig hoe dit verder gaat! Hopelijk komt deel 2 snel uit.
Een toffe manga met een goed verhaal en veel toffe action scenes, wat als Spidey verdwijnt en iemand zijn pak vindt en steeds de rol overneemt (vooral omdat hij toch geen nee kan zeggen/het pak al aan heeft en iemand hem ziet en hij dus geen nee mag zeggen). En ondertussen zien we wat er met de echte PP is gebeurd. Ik vond de MC (Yu) niet altijd tof, soms een beetje zeurderig, maar ik vond het wel geweldig dat hij het toch probeerde en zijn best deed. Heel nieuwsgierig hoe dit verder gaat! Hopelijk komt deel 2 snel uit.
April 28, 2025
The new Spider-Man manga is a real treat for me to read!❤️ I really enjoyed it a lot 🥰
The story and the character development of Yu was very well written and very warm hearted. It really pieced the whole Manga together, along with the awesome action sequences in the story. Best part was when Peter Parker acknowledges Yu as a hero. That moment warmed my heart and made Yu smile.😊
This manga had both heart, humor, and awesome action packed adventure and I love it all!!😍 A favorite manga of my favorite hero, Spider-Man 😎
I’m not really sure what’s gonna happen next, but if the author continues with Spider-Man Fake Red, I would be very happy to read more of it so I can find out what’s next for Peter Park and Yu.🤩
The story and the character development of Yu was very well written and very warm hearted. It really pieced the whole Manga together, along with the awesome action sequences in the story. Best part was when Peter Parker acknowledges Yu as a hero. That moment warmed my heart and made Yu smile.😊
This manga had both heart, humor, and awesome action packed adventure and I love it all!!😍 A favorite manga of my favorite hero, Spider-Man 😎
I’m not really sure what’s gonna happen next, but if the author continues with Spider-Man Fake Red, I would be very happy to read more of it so I can find out what’s next for Peter Park and Yu.🤩
June 2, 2025
Took me a while but I’m finally done! LOL! Life yu know…
But this was a great read! I loved seeing how it would be for someone’s life to change after the whole world thinks you are the Spider-Man.
Do you go along with it or come out immediately?
I think the answer was done well in this story.
I wish we got more action but dang once we got the big fight at the end I was getting more satisfied.
I hope this story continues somehow in the future.
But this was a great read! I loved seeing how it would be for someone’s life to change after the whole world thinks you are the Spider-Man.
Do you go along with it or come out immediately?
I think the answer was done well in this story.
I wish we got more action but dang once we got the big fight at the end I was getting more satisfied.
I hope this story continues somehow in the future.
July 19, 2025
definitely falls into the “anyone can wear the mask” which i fw cs i aint seen too many asian supaidamans, last fight scene felt rushed and the lesbians made my jaw drop 😦
wholesome take but WRONG READING STUFF OF MY LIFE RN FUUUCK - i should be reading the 1970 spider-man manga where yu komori holds a knife everywhere he goes and daydreams of killing people in traffic jams and dgaf ab women
I CAN’T ENJOY NICE THINGS 😿😿
but i do like that this yu goes bouldering, that’s tuff
3.25/5
wholesome take but WRONG READING STUFF OF MY LIFE RN FUUUCK - i should be reading the 1970 spider-man manga where yu komori holds a knife everywhere he goes and daydreams of killing people in traffic jams and dgaf ab women
I CAN’T ENJOY NICE THINGS 😿😿
but i do like that this yu goes bouldering, that’s tuff
3.25/5
December 22, 2023
I enjoyed this - the artwork was beautiful and the story was intriguing. There were a few areas where I was confused, but when I pointed them out to more seasoned manga readers, the areas of confusion made more sense. Overall, it seems like it would be popular with comic and manga readers.
March 6, 2024
It’s literally Spider-Man!
May 1, 2024
Je suis une vendue de spiderman vous voulez quoi ?
July 16, 2024
Mochte den MC nicht so vom Charakter her
July 24, 2024
So fun!! V wholesome and classic spiderman :') NEEDS MORE SILK THO!! 🥺💘
LMFAO I also loved that MJ's reaction was immediately 'google play reputation by Taylor Swift' tho
LMFAO I also loved that MJ's reaction was immediately 'google play reputation by Taylor Swift' tho
December 4, 2024
Last fight scene seemed very rushed.
December 28, 2024
Ha estat molt interessant ❤️
May 2, 2025
Went into the book blind. Was not expecting any of it. The story seemed like it ended quickly, but overall it was a fun and new take.
February 17, 2024
"Without great power, without great responsibility..."
This was fun! The unique concept kept things fresh and the artwork was really polished; I especially loved the colored pages.
This was fun! The unique concept kept things fresh and the artwork was really polished; I especially loved the colored pages.
August 7, 2024
It's spiderman of course it's good
July 24, 2024
Il était incroyable ! Les références, les dessins, les citations, j'ai adoré ! ❤️🕸️
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