Marvel Adventures Spider-Man

(Marvel, 2005–2009)
™ and © 2005 Marvel Characters, Inc.

Marvel has canceled its Marvel Age lineup and replaced it with Marvel Adventures, a similar imprint designed to lure younger readers into the wondrous world of web–slinging wall–crawlers and other spandex–clad do–gooders. A worthy endeavor, to be sure, but it’s unclear (at least so far) how a simple re–launch with accompanying name change will help sales.

This issue retells for a contemporary audience the famous Stan Lee and Steve Ditko tale of a teenage Peter Parker and how he learned that “with great power comes great responsibility.” Rehashed countless times before, the origin of Spider-Man is, indeed, timeless, but this rendition has nothing new to say on the subject. Nevertheless, thanks to clear and simple storytelling, it is a yarn that can safely be passed down to little spider–fans, especially to those whose parents find the feature films a bit too dark and brutal.

The art, which tells as clear a tale as the script, will appeal somewhat to modernists who enjoy the work of such Spidey scribblers as Mark Bagley and Mark Brooks.

— Brett Weiss

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