COMIC BOOK REVIEW - Amazing Spider-Man: Worldwide Vol 3
By The Masked Medic
Whilst I am largely trying to ignore all the chaos that is going on over at DC, I thought it was time to return to some Marvel Comics, and in particular, Spider-Man. The Amazing Spider-Man series has been an interesting one, in that we get to see Peter Parker explore some of his relationships with other heroes whilst being a CEO of a multi-million dollar empire!
‘Worldwide Vol 3’ starts with Peter Parker and Harry Osborn at a party where they bump into Mary Jane. Peter is surprised to see her, but even more so when he realizes that she’s there with her new boss, Tony Stark, aka, Iron Man. Whilst the two high-profile CEOs battle it out verbally, the event is ambushed by the villain, Ghost. Naturally, he doesn’t realize that he’s attacked the one place where there’s not one, but two major superheroes around. After being defeated, he’s taken to a new prison run by Augustus Roman, the CEO of a company called Empire Unlimited. Unbeknownst to the world, Augustus is moonlighting as new hero Regent, by acquiring the powers of the villains he’s captured and running them through a suit of his. One day, Peter is on his way to see Miles Morales, the newer Spider-Man, when he finds that Iron Man is already there helping Miles out. One thing leads to another and suddenly Spider-Man and Iron Man are fighting each other. Regent sees this as an opportunity, and whilst they are distracted, takes down Miles and absorbs his powers. This sends him on a rampage and soon he takes down the majority of heroes operating in New York. Only Peter and Tony realize that Miles is missing and decide they need to work together to stop this new menace. With the help of Peter’s old friends Harry Osborn and Betty Brandt, they realize that Roman is Regent and they team up to fight this megalomaniac. However, given all the powers he’s absorbed, the two of them may not be enough. Can they stop Regent alone?
Whereas Vol 1 and 2 of Worldwide seemed apt, this novel certainly brings Spider-Man back to his locality and it’s a far more grounded story. I think seeing the relationship between Spider-Man and Iron Man in the comics is great because it so vastly contradicts what we see in the MCU. I know that comic book Spider-Man would have been Team Cap. I will say that although the idea of Regent was good, his powers and how he acquires them was very cliché and that makes him a rather forgettable villain. It would be nice to see Spidey fighting some of his usual rogues in this series at some point!
In terms of the artwork, it was pretty good. Not many complaints from me there. I think they definitely draw the heroes better than the civilians, but that’s usually the point! Now, this is one of those few series where the artwork is way better than the covers. I really don’t like that style. Overall, this was a decent novel and it’s a pretty readable series!
Favourite Panel:
This is the kind of Peter and Tony relationship the MCU should’ve had!
Favourite Character:
Too many to choose from, but it’s probably Spider-Man, as in Peter Parker. Although Miles is also a badass!
Rating:
Story Arc: ★★★½
Character Development: ★★★
Artwork: ★★★
Enjoyability: ★★★
Re-readability: ★★
Level: Intermediate