Following an impressive debut during ‘Superior Spider-Month’ last month, ‘The Superior Foes of Spider-Man’ is back with its second issue and it still hasn’t lost any of its charm. The newest book to join the Spidey-verse follows the lives of villains Boomerang, Shocker, Overdrive, Speed Demon, and the Beetle as they are in search of the next big score that will put them on the map as the new Sinister Six (even though there’s only five of them).
In the latest issue, Fred Myers (Boomerang) has been released from prison. He can now rejoin his gang of misfits and get back to a life of crime, but first he has to deal with some of the worst things about being a supervillain like the lawyers and “The Punisher”.
I don’t even know where to begin with this book. Upfront I can say that I love it. The humor, the artwork, the premise, the story. Everything. I just plain like it. It’s so different than anything else that I’m reading these days and I genuinely enjoy these bumbling bad guys and their antics. The whole scene in the restaurant is pretty funny, as is the idea that this is how they get food: By roughing up some high scale restaurant so that the competitor across the street can get some business. It’s just stuff that I’d never think of, but now after seeing it, I want more.
The team meeting was a lot of fun too, especially since they mention that there are only five of them yet they’re called the Sinister Six. Fred’s reason is for them to be unpredictable since their foes won’t know who their other guy is or when he’s coming. However, while I find his reasoning funny in the scene, I do have to agree with Beetle when she says that it’s stupid. Funny, yes, but still stupid.
And speaking of Beetle, who is easily becoming my favorite character of the series so far, I enjoy the little doodles that are often associated with her. For instance, at the meeting, she’s playing a game on her phone instead of paying attention to Boomerang. A little flower shooting a fireball in a word bubble notates this. Then when the whole Sinister Six thing comes up, I like that Steve Lieber traces her hand motions to show her counting. Quirky little things like that add a lot of character to the book and I like reading on to find more silly moments like the one where Boomerang daydreams about his lawyer.
From the looks of things, Fred is about to enter a world of hurt if he screws up. And judging by the way things have been going so far, that is bound to happen, so I’ll most definitely keep reading to see what sort of hilarity ensues as a result.
Final Score:
THE SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN #2
Written by Nick Spencer
Art by Steve Lieber & Rachelle Rosenberg
