Spider-Man: Bloodline

Spider-Man (2019-2020) #1-5

by J.J. Abrams (Writer), Henry Abrams (Writer), Sara Pichelli (Artist)

J.J. Abrams, his son Henry and superstar artist Sara Pichelli spin a Spidey story unlike any other! The horrific villain Cadaverous is about to take a huge bite out of the life of Peter Parker - but what will it mean for Parker's family? What will it mean for...his son?! Years after a tragedy, teenage Ben Parker will learn his own lesson of power and responsibility. He's already facing his own share of high school troubles, from standing up to a bully to meeting the love of his life. Now Ben is about to find out that his dad was Spider-Man - and that the fiend who changed everything is back...and out to get him! The Hollywood visionary who has left his indelible mark on the galaxies of both Star Wars and Star Trek revisits Spider-Man's old adage about power and responsibility in a thrilling new way!

COLLECTING: SPIDER-MAN (2019) 1-5

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

136 pages, Paperback

First published February 23, 2021

About the author

Jeffrey Jacob "J. J." Abrams is an American film and television producer, screenwriter, director, actor, composer, and founder of Bad Robot Productions. An Emmy and Golden Globe-winner, he is known as the creator or co-creator of the television series Felicity, Alias, Lost, and Fringe, and as a director of films including Mission: Impossible III and the 2009 feature Star Trek.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

It may be uncharitable but it's hard not to imagine the conversation going something like this:

J.J. Abrams: My kid wants to write a Spider-Man comic.
Marvel: Does he have any writing experience.
J.J. Abrams: Ah, not as such...
Marvel: Can we put your name on the book as well as his?
J.J. Abrams: Sure.
Marvel: SOLD!

This somewhat cynical imagining aside, I'm afraid I didn't think much of the story in this one. It's yet another alternate future story, of which we've now had so many I feel like they fall to the floor in clouds when I scratch my head. It's also full of plot-holes and stuff that just doesn't make sense. Story: 2 stars

The artwork, though, people! Wow! From Sarah Pichelli's incredible pencils to Dave Stewart's beautiful colouring, this book is a visual delight. Artwork: 5 stars

I gues that evens out to 3.5 stars overall but I'm going to round down because this sure doesn't feel like a 4 star book to me.

[Khurram · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. Maybe as my expectations were too high, which is what made this so disappointing for me. I get what Abrams was trying to do, but I don't like it. I understand Peter Parker racked with guilt, nothing new there, but Peter being a toxic, absentees father, I do not buy. Peter is too obsessive about that. Then, on top, this was one of the lightest books I have read action wise as well.

I liked the artwork but the story I think it needs a lot of work, I did like the little bit of redemption at the end. Though the story just did not come off for me. For what the villain was trying to achieve, I really do not think Spider-man would not be the first candidate I think of.

Another of the main things I did not like was the villain. When you have a 5 issue mini series, it is probably not the time to try and introduce a new villain. It would have been better to use an established villain Spider-man had some history with. Another thing is I have a pet of a certain corporation always having to save Spider-man. I did not like it in the movies. I don't like it here.

As interesting about most Spider-man stories, these mini series tend to turn into series. I think they can do some interesting stuff with how this finished.

[Subham · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is about Ben Parker, who one day discovers he has Spidey powers and his dad Peter ignores him or thats what he thinks. From flashback we learn how his father lost his mother MJ during a fight with a villain named Cadaverous and from there Ben learns slowly about his father, teams up with a girl named Marker and when his dad finds out, he confronts him but then Cadaverous comes again and takes away his father. So Ben has to find Tony Stark and team up with them to rescue him and they do sorta by the end and we understand the origins of this villains, his motivesand how Stark Industries and Richard Parker is involved and "the key". It could have been done better though but ultimately in the end its an all out dragout fight but when the fight is over and all, there is such a great moment when Peter says goodbye to everyone and (spoiler) MJ returns. That whole revelation was okay.

The book suffers from a major pacing problems and there are moments of dumbness where nothing much happens, explanations as to villains motives are unclear, the fight seems uninspired, characters act like they have multiple personalities. They could have done so much with the character but didn't but regardless its an okayish read. Cadaverous looks like an okayish villain but that scene with Peter in the end was heart-warming and emotional. The art in it was good all the time!

[James DeSantis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, just a passable Spider-man story at best.

The art alone makes it worth taking a look at. Some really cool designs and fight scenes.

But the plot? Starts off interesting enough and a nice twist to have Peter's son be the main character. Not to mention I'm a sucker for "learning your powers" arc. But that quickly goes away after two issues to focus on the future avengers like people, and a boring villain with almost no real reasoning to do what he does.

The ending is okay but feels more like a "Nice bow on top of the story" type ending. I won't say it's the worst thing ever but it's a disappointing story.

[Harrison Delahunty · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’ve read Spider-Man: Reign. I’ve read the 90’s Clone Saga. I’ve read One More Day, One Moment In Time, and The Gauntlet.

This is easily the worst Spider-Man story I’ve ever read.

Uninspired, trite, very much consistently gross, and just generally unappealing are all things I would say to describe Bloodline. Aside from, maybe.... two redeeming moments, both of which occur in the final issue? Everything about this just plain blows. Except the art, I suppose; Sara Pichelli pencils a mean comic.

Regardless, though, I would not recommend reading this book to anyone.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quando você acha que uma quadrinho pode ser bom por ter um nome de peso envolvido nele, aí é que não sai nada. A Marvel Comics convidou o incensado diretor de cinema e de séries J. J. Abrams para desenvolver uma história do Homem-Aranha. E ele chamou seu filho, Henry, para coescrever. Até aí tudo bem, se menos fosse mais. Mas aqui os dois querem pensar épico e colocam Peter, Mary Jane e seu filho adolescente, Benny, num futuro apocalíptico. O menino tem 12 anos e é criado pela Tia May (sim, ela está viva AINDA!). Mary Jane aparentemente morreu num atentado e Peter abandonou o filho para ser fotografo de guerra (?). Benny, claro, se torna o Homem-Aranha e isso desperta a ira de um vilão bem meia-boca. A HQ é desenhada por Sara Pichelli, que mudou bastante seu estilo. No começo eu achei o desenho ruim, mas aos poucos fui me apegando com o desenho e detestando o roteiro. O desenvolvimento do roteiro é clichê, mas pelo menos temos a participação de Riri Williams e de Tony Stark pra quebrar um pouco a mesmice. Enfim, achei que tinha deixado passar uma grande história do Aranha por não ter achado esse encadernado, mas não. É só mais uma entre muitas de quem quer reinventar a roda e não consegue.

[Ivan Lex · Rating 1 out of 5]

We live in a world where comic companies shoot us more and more with stories about alternative futures and I don't usually have problems with that, but this book in particular has several plot holes and I didn´t enjoy it at all...



Basically the superheroes world ended in tragedy (again...) some died, some retired and the Friendly Neighbor Spider-Man lost his wife (MJ) in this whole affair, so he decided to become a war photojournalist and resign his son leaving him with Aunt May to escape the world of the past and avoid future problems... (I don't know if Uncle Ben would approve this).

So Peter and MJ's pubescent son who hates his father for being a coward, begins to develop arachnid powers. And remember that he is a teenager with hormone explotion so he decides to fight crime and use his father's suit to impress... a goth girl!



In the end nothing is what it seems and everyone is happily ever after or something like that. THE END...



I don't know, but if it weren't for the WONDERFUL art by Sara Pichelli, I wouldn't have read 5 minutes of this ...

[Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm glad this was a library find, because I wouldn't have wanted to spend money on this entirely unnecessary book.
So much to dislike. One dead parent swapped for another. Self-absorbed, irritating teenagers. Disgusting villains. Evil dead Avengers. Old, drunk Tony Stark. Underutilized Riri Williams.
I pulled out some the older Ultimate Spider-Man collections, including the silly one with the Logan/Peter body swap, to chase away the bad mental aftertaste.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collects Spider-Man (2019) Issues #1-5

Set in an alternate timeline, Peter Parker is raising his teenage son with the help of Aunt May, but without his deceased wife, Mary Jane. How MJ died, and why Peter isn't Spider-Man anymore, all tie into the new villain, Cadaverous. Plus, does his son have spider powers?

[Brian Garthoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can’t believe it took JJ Abrams and son a year to come up with this weirdly uneven story. It’s not terrible, but it peaks early and then just kind of fizzles out at the end.

[OMNIBUS GOD · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why can’t there be any good comics starring Spider-Man’s offspring? In this 5 part mini-series, J.J. Abrams and his brother Henry Abrams, attempt to give us a cool alternate Spider-Man story. However they instead deliver a messy heap of a story that fails to deliver what other great Spider-Man stories do. Joined by Sara Pichelli on artwork, with Dave Stewart on colors, we get the story of Ben Parker, Peter and Mary Jane Parker’s son. It all opens with what seems to be the final minutes of a crazy battle between Spider-Man and a new big baddie, Cadaverous. It’s unclear what Cadaverous’s intentions are in the beginning but after finding out later on, I can safely say they’re pretty cliche and boring. We see Spider-Man get up one last time, however he’s quickly taken down again after Mary Jane is killed by the lame ugly bad guy. Flash to the future and Ben Parker is a moody teen that has a bad relationship with his father but of course during this time he notices he has some special abilities. He learns about his father’s superhero past, and in a turn of events that he wasn’t expecting, takes over the mantle of his father. Oh, and Cadaverous comes back , cause like duh you gotta do the whole “he beat my dad so I gotta beat him” trope. Bleh.

The Abrams brothers write possibly one of the worst Spider-Man comics I’ve ever read. The pacing in this book is god-awful and all over the place to the point of it not making sense sometimes. Some of the plot points were random as hell and felt picked out of nowhere, it made me wonder if they thought of shit the day before deadline and just threw it in. The villain is also super cliche. I was almost hoping there was another layer or character to be revealed. And THERE WAS! BUT EVEN THAT WAS WACK! Every issue felt like a 3 minute read where I gained nothing but blank progression and it seemed like the duo just wrote stuff simply to go onto the next issue. Nothing about the story intrigued me in the slightest and everything felt extremely uncreative.

Sara Pichelli wasn’t even able to save this story much, cause although I loved her work in this one, I couldn’t appreciate it all too much cause I wanted to be done with the read. I think she gives us awesome action scenes partnered with cool character designs but the way the Abrams brothers move the book along, there isn’t much to actually be seen. Dave Stewart provides colors and again it’s a good job but could not distract me enough due to the terrible read all around.

Overall; Maybe, and I mean MAYBE check this one out for the artwork as Pichelli is always a delight to see, however be warned that her work is heavily tainted by some terrible storytelling.

[Ashe Catlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

At this point I don't understand why Marvel just doesn't give Spider-Man a kid, we've had Mayday from MC2 universe, Annie from Renew your vows, countless others and now we've got this, just give Pete a kid already. Stop Resetting his age so he's in school, he's been doing that since 2000's it's getting boring now. Especially with Miles doing the same thing, there is now a 5 year gap between them which is silly. Make him a teacher or CEO or whatever and give this man the family life he deserves!

Right ranting aside, this was pretty solid. It was very reminiscent of Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows, with the kid angle. The world reeling from a global attack and superheroes being the thing of the past, it was a bit of a darker take. As it showed what Peter could become if he gave into his fear, with his son Ben deciding to become Spider-Man. What was interesting about Ben is he's not doing it because he feels guilty over someone's death, he does it because he thinks the world deserves better. He starts on bullies and then becomes Spider-Man on a whim.

I know a lot of people don't like J.J. Abrams, but I truly think this one of the best Spider-Man stories we've had in years. Up there with Spider-Man: Life Story, there are just so many great emotional beats. It's something we, the fans have been clamoring for years. Yes there are some predictable elements but it's worth it, I didn't realize how passionality I felt about this until I wrote this, I love this story!

[Keef Davidson · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book starts really poorly and continues all the way through. The story starts by making most of the characters unlikeable. So many slides with people just fighting over nothing. There are plot points that resolve themselves almost immediately. It's cliche, super unbeatable bad guy who is quickly and easily killed when the plot needs it. There's also just no real story to it. It felt like they made plot points and had to try to figure out how to force those points. Like they created the bad guy and the bloodline concept and asked themselves how they would force those concepts into the story.

[Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an okay story - it's weird to see the generation we know so much older, including Riri Williams. I liked that this gave familiar characters different responsibilities, but the actual arc wasn't that great. I also thought the ending was a total cop-out.

[Vail Chester · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yeeeeeup, hang on to your seats everybody! It's another Spidey-has-Offspring story! And this time the kid hates him!
Pretty messy in light of other Spidey's-kids stories...but this one is literally messy as the only two times we see Peter and his son (AND OF COURSE THE BOY'S NAME IS BEN!) interact, they're literally shouting at each other with overlapping word balloons.
But thanks to a Japanese Zendaya-MJ-stand-in, a somehow-still-alive-and-kicking Aunt May, and some IronMans, this lil guy will learn how to be a hero.
And beat up some creepy science&tech necromancer along the way.

[Madeline · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Ronja Rüegg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fine for nostalgia but really poorly written women and over all just showed me why I'm a DC girly.

[WillBrit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun to see a What If type story about Spiderman, but more of a family drama than good ol' fashioned Spidey action

[Peter Derk · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a promising start and end, but the bulk of it isn't as hot.

Here's what's weird: Peter Parker is really well-written in the beginning and the end. He's heroic and funny, the qualities that make Spider-Man better than other heroes.

The bulk of the book isn't that way.

So here's what's telling: Whenever someone makes a new Spider-Man, they give the new Spider-Man spider powers, but they forget what makes Spider-Man read-able. Spider-Man is fun because Spider-Man has a sucky, normal life as his alter ego, and humor is his survival mechanism. That's what makes Spider-Man like a real person, and that's what's usually missing from other Spider-Men.

Just a thought.

I think we also see here something that plays out in lots of comics written by people who aren't typically writing comics. I think a lot of folks coming from that angle think they're doing something new and unusual, and they are, just not for comics. Comics have done A LOT over the years, and with very little supervision, so they've gone some weird places, and they've covered a lot of ground. So, a lot of times it feels like the newbies who come from other realms, like movies, TV, or even prose, will do one of two things:

A) Think they're doing something brand new with the character, and some of the book rides on novelty, but the readers don't see it as all that new.

B) Study up and do a version I'd call "correct," but not all that interesting. They get the character and the universe right, but I think they end up so paralyzed by the reverence or respect for the whole thing that they can't do anything very interesting. Or, they are so focused on getting it right that the weird little stuff gets lost, and that's some of the magic.

You can get away with A if you write Saga, because that broke through to a lot of non-comics readers. But that's rare. You can also get away with it if you write THE definitive version of something, something so damn good that it doesn't matter if it's new or not, it's now the best version of that thing.

You can get away with B for awhile, but not forever, and you won't make a lasting impact on the form.

I don't meant to play gatekeeper. I just think any art requires a combo. You have to know about the form, understand the norms and tropes, AND you have to have some good, somewhat new ideas that you're going to execute.

I should say you don't HAVE to possess both, but that's how outstanding comics roll.

I put this book in A. It's not horrible, but it feels like the writers felt they were doing something very new, when really they were doing a version of something we've seen, fairly often.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collects Spider-Man (2019) Issues #1-5

Set in an alternate timeline, Peter Parker is raising his teenage son with the help of Aunt May, but without his deceased wife, Mary Jane. How MJ died, and why Peter isn't Spider-Man anymore, all tie into the new villain, Cadaverous. Plus, does his son have spider powers?

[Mark · Rating 1 out of 5]

This story about Ben Parker, Spider-Man and MJs son doesn’t make a lot of sense. Has an interesting premise (Peter and Ben are estranged as Ben starts developing powers), but the execution is terrible. They fight, neither listens to the other, characterizations aren’t consistent, Ben is a brat, grievous wounds miraculously heal between panels, scientific breakthroughs are more like magic, it’s all silly but oh so serious too. Lots of blood and death. Not good not fun. A disappointment

[Davide Genco · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Amazing Sara Pichelli + The Disappointing JJ Abrams.

[Sheldon · Rating 1 out of 5]

I put off reading this as Abrams has proven, thus far in his career, incapable of writing anything unique or meaningful in an established universe. With JJ it's usually a case of identifying what better material he's seen and ripped off. With this it's old issues of Spider-Girl and ASM Renew Your Vows. Some nice art but my recommendation is to go read either of those two series.

Move along, nothing to see here.

[maté · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love Spider-Man but that was bad. The art is beautiful but the plot? Writing? Bad.

[Rory Wilding · Rating 2 out of 5]

When it was announced that J.J. Abrams will be writing Spider-Man in 2019, it wasn't the first time that someone who worked on film and television made a brief transition to comics, from Kevin Smith writing Daredevil to Joss Whedon writing Astonishing X-Men. What was most off-putting about the announcement was that Abrams will be co-writing the comic with his son Henry, who hadn't done anything prior, so it was a case of nepotism. Five issues later, which were published over the course of over a year, was Spider-Man: Bloodline worth it in the end?

In order to explain the plot of this title, I would have to give away a big SPOILER that literally begins the first issue. After a horrifying battle against the new villain Cadaverous, not only does Peter Parker loses the lower half of his right arm, but also his wife Mary Jane. Twelve years later, Peter has become a distant father to the young Ben Parker, who starts developing spider-like powers and thus Aunt May reveals to him that his father was Spider-Man. Initially scared by this reveal, but during his friendship with his new friend Faye Ito, he learns to embrace the costume and uses his gift for good, despite the reluctance of Peter and the return of Cadaverous.

After Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, I have felt some disillusionment towards J.J. Abrams, who concluded a nine-movie saga with a finale with no new ideas and nothing really to say, other than we are not defined by our bloodline, whilst continuing a hero’s legacy. The message may sound like things can move forward, but the execution is constantly harking back to things that you’ve seen before.

If you’re familiar with a J.J. Abrams story, whether it is his best film Super 8 or his approach to both Trek and Wars, his protagonists are often youths who have grief and daddy issues, and Bloodline is no different. Although both father and son are grieving in their own way, Ben Parker is the main character who goes through an origin story, one of which we have seen many times in various incarnations. The front cover, which features Peter in his Spidey alongside his beloved M.J., is ultimately misleading as like I said, the story kills her off at the very beginning and falls into the trap that many superhero comics do, which is to kill a female character so that the male hero has to emote.

You do get other elements from an Abrams story, such as the mystery box storytelling, which leans towards Cadaverous, a villain that starts out interesting, until the mystery starts to unravel and then the execution gets ridiculous. It is hard to say how much Henry Abrams contributed to the comic, but in the way how it depicts this dark future of the Marvel universe, it feels like a re-tread of stuff we have seen before in other Marvel titles, but in the shape of half-baked fanfiction.

If there is one positive thing to say about Bloodline, is the art of Miles Morales co-creator Sara Pichelli, who visually approaches the Spidey mythos differently than before. In contrast to the clean line-work she’d done on Ultimate Spider-Man, Pichelli’s work is rougher, but there is skill in the way she draws character expressions, costume and creature designs, whilst crafting some impressive sequences. It certainly that colourist Dave Stewart adds a darker palette to Pichelli’s art that compliments to the somewhat dark presentation of the Marvel universe.

As a Spidey story that attempts to add new layers, the overall direction feels so wrong from what we expect from our favourite wall-crawler, and as a dark future story of the Marvel universe, it reads like half-baked fanfiction co-written by the son of someone famous, because it was.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, it appears that J.J. Abrams' son Henry has inherited his father's ability to start off a story well but has no idea how to stick the landing.

This five-issue mini-series event is a bit of a disappointment on the writing side. A new villain called Cadaverous kills Mary Jane and a bunch of other superheroes, sending Peter Parker into exile. A decade or so later, Peter is estranged from his fifteen-year-old son Ben and has left Ben in the hands of Aunt May as he travels the globe for the Bugle. But Ben is starting to have strange occurrences in his life, like sticking to walls and the ability to take out bullies with a single punch. Before you know it, Ben has discovered he's got Spidey powers and Cadaverous is alerted that Spider-Man is back on the scene and can be used to complete whatever the hell plan it is that Cadaverous has dreamed up.

Bloodline feels like an extended mini-series based on the MCU more than the comic-book storylines surrounding Spider-Man -- and that's not a bad thing, per se. If there's one thing Into the Spider-Verse showed us, it's there can be multiple variations of Spider-Man without necessarily wrecking things.

But as I started out saying, the big issue here is Henry Abrams' writing. It's all over the place, pulling in things like Tony Stark, the Avengers, and other MCU items without necessarily thinking things through. If you're all about a big reveal that doesn't require much thought or internal continuity, this is the mini-series for you. However, Spider-Man has always been about something more than just big reveal after big reveal for me -- it's about investing in the character of Peter Parker -- or whoever is taking up the Spider-Man mantle. And that's where this mini-series ultimately fails. Yes, Ben Parker is Peter and MJ's son, but beyond that, there is little or any character arc in play to give us a reason to care about. And since Peter turns into a distant father, there's little, if any reason, to invest much in him either.

The story does try to go for a huge emotional twist in the final issue with mixed results. Again, I hadn't invested enough in the characters to really feel anything more than a shoulder-shrug when said reveal takes place.

And the ending is all over the place. So, maybe J.J. wrote this with his son.

Putting the plot aside, the artwork for this miniseries is superbly done. I grew up reading reprints of the Steve Ditko and John Romita eras, and those will always be my favorites when it comes to Spider-Man. But the art by Sara Pichelli for this mini-series event evokes the best of Ditko and Romita. It's colorful and easy to distinguish each character over the course of the five issues. There are a few striking panels in here that made me pause to just enjoy them before turning the page and continuing to roll my eyes at the plotline.

[RubiGiráldez RubiGiráldez · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ya bien pasado el tiempo en el que la campaña misteriosa de marketing que anunció este cómic y que incluso se confundió con el anuncio de la Spiderman 4 cinematográfica del Raimiverso en manos de J.J. Abrams, que ya hizo mirar a much@s con malos ojos a esta miniserie (que tampoco ayudó una publicación de los últimos números muy distanciada por temas pandémicos). La lectura de este Bloodline tampoco se puede aceptar mucho mejor. Se nota bastante de puro capricho del benjamín de Abrams por querer guionizar una historieta del trepamuros (toma, ¿y quién no?), avalado por el renombre de su papi. El caso es que por uno u otro lado tampoco parece que tengamos una propuesta decente con su simple concepción. Sí, puedo sentir el interés de Henry Abrams con su historia paternofilial superheroíca y pase de testigo, algo que merecía la pena explorar sobre todo con la propuesta de este Universo Marvel con sus grandes héroes aparentemente desaparecidos o jubilados (entre ellos nuestro querido Peter). Aquí la cosa no pasa de los frustrantes pasajes de rabietas adolescentes de manual y unas primerizas aventuras con la proto novieta "alternativa" (aún partiendo de una base totalmente "destroyer" a nivel emocional). Por el otro lado, esa sombría y exagerada amenaza cyborg macabra que parecía atender al ejercicio de las "Mistery boxes" de J.J. Abrams, tampoco se siente mínimamente cuidada. Lo que encamina la historia hasta senderos bastante trillados e incluso risibles teniendo en cuenta la fama cinematográfica asociada a este cómic con ese apellido. Todo esto hace que un personaje que podría abrirse camino al Spiderverso canonico como representante juvenil arácnido directo por parte de padre, seguramente se quede aquí y relegado al olvido más absoluto.

Bloodline cuenta con un valor seguro para su lectura con el desempeño en las viñetas de la artista Sara Pichelli, con ya una longeva carrera ilustrando historias de los trepamuros. No es su mayor trabajo, pero hace que el guion no se despeñe del todo y que sus peores pasajes funcionen a la hora de la lectura rápida.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

When JJ Abrams wants to write a Spider-Man story, of course you let him! Rather than trying to stick inside established canon, he writes a standalone story that takes the mantle of Spider-Man in a wonderfully different direction.
Highlights:
- The story establishes that Mary Jane died when Peter (as Spidey) failed to save her from Cadaverous, during which he also lost quite a bit of his right arm. Their son, Ben Parker, is left to be raised by Aunt May, while Peter goes out and is a journalist in the world. Story picks up with Ben as a teen.
- Discovering he has Spider-powers, Ben is given his father's old costume and learns about how to be a hero. Joined by a girl from his school, Faye, who is a graffiti artist, Ben tries to right some very minor wrongs.
- Peter comes home and there is obvious tension about the whole Spider-Man issue, but that is soon stopped when the huge biotech villain called Cadaverous takes Peter away.
- Meeting up with Riri Williams, she takes Ben to meet Tony Stark, hoping he will help Ben save Pete. It is discovered that Cadaverous needs something out of the Spidey blood to help heal his wife.
- During the battle against Cadaverous and his minions, one of the minions decides to help. Taking the serum for Peter, Ben plans to save his Dad are thwarted when Peter gives the serum to the minion who helped. As she heals, Ben is able to meet Mary Jane, who both say good bye to Peter as he dies.
- The story ends with Ben and MJ being given StarkTech Spider suits.

Will this story continue? I actually really liked both the action as well as the emotional complexity of this graphic novel. I hope Abrams is able to continue on, or pass this to someone else.
Recommend.

[Jason Tanner · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was...not great. Dystopian alternate future Peter Parker. Estranged son being raised by Aunt May. Weird villain obsessed with Spider-Man's blood for plot reasons. Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Burnout Iron Man. Zombie Avengers.

There were some interesting ideas that were on the cusp of presenting themselves in this book. But they were all half-baked at best and never explored in any meaningful way. J.J. Abrams seems to have a knack for that.

The art by Sara Pichelli was decent enough, but the character design of the villains were grotesque in a way that were not particularly visually appealing, and they just looked sloppy for that reason.

I've read worse Spider-Man books. (One More Day, anyone?) It's kind of bad, but not in an offensive way. For the most part. It's just, well...it's an underdeveloped vanity project that Marvel greenlit because a Big Name Director was attached to it and they hoped that would move some units. This is a very Marvel thing to do. I'm not angry I read it. (But I'm glad I didn't pay retail.) But I probably won't reach for it again any time soon, and I can't really recommend it to anyone else, either.

1.5 stars, rounded up.

[Aaron Harvey · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5/5

I genuinely hated this. When I was younger I associated JJ Abrams with quality. I mean Lost alone (for the first few seasons, which was all I ever saw) was a fantastic show, I really liked the Star Trek Reboot trilogy, and he just all around seemed like someone that I could expect would tell a good story. All that said when he was announced to be working on a Spider-Man Comic with his son I was interested....This was not good.

Telling the story of Ben Parker, the teenage son of Peter and Mary Jane Parker, as he struggles with his relationship with his father following MJ’s death, finding out his father was Spider-man, and finding out he has powers of his own this comic SOUNDS far more interesting than it is. The events and relationships of this story seemingly are progressed out of necessity rather than out of actively being progressed. And the overall base of the story is just nonsensical and convoluted. Despite trying on a couple instances, the book never finds its “with
Great Power, Comes Great Responsibility” moment.

But hey, Sara Pichelli’s Art was good.