Review: Midnight Spider-Man #1 (Marvel)
With the pursuit of power comes great tragedy...
Writers | Phillip Kennedy Johnson |
Illustrators | ScieTronc |
Colorists | Neeraj Menon |
Content Rating | T+ |
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
Spoilers Ahead
Marvel's Midnight publishing initiative might feel like a direct response to DC's Absolute imprint, and practically speaking it is, but in terms of the actual stories it's a different beast altogether. Where the Absolute line aims to whittle the DC pantheon down to the core things that make them who they are, the Midnight line is more ponderous, asking what would happen to Marvel's heroes when faced with not just adversity, but utter darkness?
At least, that's how I'm interpreting these comics after making my way through all three of the series that launched last week. Midnight X-Men #1, Midnight Fantastic Four #1 and Midnight Spider-Man #1 were all released on the same day and were the only books put out by Marvel during that week. Marvel wanted fans' attention and by and large, seem to have gotten it. That said, was all the pomp worth it?
Of the three series, Midnight Spider-Man was the one that interested me the most, mainly because Spidey is my favorite Marvel character. The premise was interesting, though; a Peter Parker whose transformation into Spider-Man leaves him more spider than human. A veritable monster, Peter has to struggle with his twisted fate and see if, despite it all, he can still be the hero he is in other realities. Of course, that question isn't answered in this first issue, but the answer is at least beginning to gestate.
Peter is a high school senior as the story starts, working as a teacher's assistant to Curt Connors, who is a professor at a college. Peter runs a social media account/blog called Sagan Ritual that roasts corporations for their misdeeds in the world of science, including ethics violations, shady business practices, and so on. He's also a scientific wunderkind with a bright future ahead of him. As in the 616, Peter's parents are dead and he lives with Uncle Ben, but, seemingly, no Aunt May. It's alluded that Ben is leaving her a voicemail at one point in the story, but that's all we get of her in this issue—a hint that May exists.
Another big change is that Peter's parents died because of something having to do with Oscorp and Norman Osborn. Both seem, as per usual, to be up to no good. Part of the issue revolves around the Ben being fixated on winning a wrongful death suit of some kind against Osborp, which Peter doesn't support. Peter perceives Oscorp as being bigger than life, too big for nobodies like Ben and himself to ever win against, and dangerous if they draw too much attention to themselves. At the beginning, Peter's goal instead of suing is to start his own company and take on Oscorp directly. And at the heart of Peter's dream are words of wisdom (the midnight version of "with great power...") from his father: power makes monsters. For Peter, he wants to show everyone that power can be wielded without losing your humanity.
Like I said, though, that was at the beginning of the story. As the issue progresses, Peter runs into temptation made manifest in the form of the sexy and alluring Felicia Hardy, who doesn't seem to be the Black Cat in this universe, but is instead the VP for Oscorp's Talent Relations department. Felicia has a proverbial deal with the devil to make for Peter: come work for Oscorp. Get rich, make his mark in science, the whole nine yards. And despite saying he wanted to beat Oscorp at its own game, Peter instantly relents and wants to sign up. He's down to work for the company that caused his parents to die. Why? Because Peter wants the power.
And it's here that Midnight Peter differs from 616 Peter. 616 Peter never wanted the power that he gained. Sure, he relished in it after the fact, to his detriment, but the spider and its gift/curse came unbidden. In the Midnight universe, Peter beckons (figuratively) the spider. Midnight Peter courts his own doom. Uncle Ben isn't pleased with Peter making this decision, knowing all too well the dangers that Peter is setting himself up for, but his nephew refuses to listen. Not that this Peter is a selfish person. Indeed, Peter wants power, but to do good with it. He knows he can help his uncle do things like pay off the house, or get his truck fixed, if he's bringing in lots of money.
The path to hell is paved with good intentions, however, and when Peter gets to Oscorp, the first brick is laid. Shimmying down its web is the spider that will change Peter's life. It nestles inside of Peter's backpack, and once home, it starts to shred its way out. And that's when poor Ben seemingly meets his maker, as the spider consumes Peter's uncle. By the time the spider gets to Peter, it's apparently grown in size and grafts itself to Peter's chest. Peter is transformed, horrifically transformed and filled with fear; and that's where the issue ends.
Midnight Spider-Man #1 is... a lot to absorb. In a good way! The tone is set early when a younger Peter discovers the mutilated corpse of his pet cat. Peter falls and skids into the mud, getting a mouthful of maggots right before he discovers the body. Johnson lets readers know right away how dark this world is. It helps to highlight how brave, if foolhardy, it is of Peter to not only believe he can take on the evils of the world like Oscorp, but to also believe that he can be the exception to the rule when it comes to wielding power.
Johnson does a great job of getting readers invested in Peter and Ben right away. Of course, it's not all that hard, as it's a familiar relationship, but their plight felt very real in its portrayal. And while I'm sure May will eventually rear her head, it was refreshing to have the dichotomy of the Parker household be different this time around, with Ben being the one to solely take on the responsibility of watching Peter by himself. It might even be worth exploring if this version of May isn't the loving, supportive woman she is in the 616. I'm very curious to see where Johnson goes with this aspect of the story.
I suppose that if there's any weakness in this first issue, it's some of the cliches and politicking that Johnson leans into in regards to power. Can power corrupt? Of course it can. But this notion that anyone with power becomes a monster is really simplistic and myopic. It feeds into the modern progressive idea that every rich person is evil by default and out to get you. There are many corrupt, monstrous people with power in this world, but there also many who don't have any notoriety or money at all. Worse, on top of just not being true, the book tries too hard to sell this notion to the reader.
The most pointed example of this is the experiment scene towards the beginning of the issue. A young man, who apparently takes care of his younger sister, is being interviewed for a job at Oscorp. He gushes about the long history of his family working for the company, and is gleeful when he's hired on the spot. Naturally, because it's Oscorp, it's too good to be true, and he's immediately used as a human guinea pig. He meets a grotesque, horrifying end as hiis body begins to mutate and bloat, eventually vomiting torrents of blood and organs on the walls and floor before dying.
While all of this is happening, some very over-the-top executives are mocking and laughing at the man as he suffers. They make jokes, they needle him in his final moments, and they seem to derive a lot of pleasure knowing he's suffering. I suppose that part worked well enough, but it was this line that left me a little cold: "do we have to keep using poor people? The begging and blubbering is so cringe." Honestly, why not just hit the reader over the head with a hammer at this point, considering any and all subtly has now flown out the window.
Arguably the larger issue is this this axiom which Midnight Peter is framing his life around flies in direct contradiction with 616 Peter's: with great power there must also come great responsibility. If great power, according to Johnson, just makes you a monster, then where does the responsibility factor in? I worry that Johnson might get too wrapped up in messaging if he isn't careful. Conversely, Absolute Batman, which is a decidedly progressive comic book, has never become a pulpit in the hands of writer Scott Snyder. It's a delicate balance to strike, but it can be done.
That all said, I did still enjoy the comic, and quite a lot. While Johnson's writing had one or two flaws that stood out to me, this was nonetheless an auspicious debut. The new dynamics for these characters has me intrigued; is this Felicia complicit in the crimes of Oscorp? Who was Ben leaving a message to? What role will Curt Connors and Hank Pym play as the series progresses? I saw the names Otto Octavius and Norman Osborn, but what will they be like when we meet them? All of these are questions I had as I was reading, and I can't wait to get the answers.
I also can't wait to see more of SceiTronc's art. The French illustrator makes a heck of an impression in this debut issue. Although we don't get to see Spider-Man in the comic, there's plenty of other things to occupy the reader's attention. ScieTronc employs a style that's very expressive and manga-like, with loose and scratchy lines that mesh surprisingly well with the gritty, in some cases grotesque, scenery. An early shot of Peter's dead cat is haunting, as is all the horror imagery, but the artist's creativity is showcased in other ways, too. At one point we see a dramatic splash image of Felicia, followed by a zoom in shot where the camera is clearly between her breasts. In order to make sure the reader knows that this is so, ScieTronic made sure to keep the single mole on her right breast in the same spot as in the splash. Smart storytelling at its finest (and unabashed sexiness in a modern Marvel comic, to boot).
There is one hiccup in ScieTronc's excellent compositional work, which is that the transfer of the spider to Peter in Osborn Square isn't particularly clear. We see this spider at first in the room with the worker who is killed, and it's implied that the spider is impacted by whatever the experiment did to the man. When it next appears, the spider dangles from the top of the page down to the bottom, implying that it's making its way to Peter, but it's never actually shown when it lands on him, climbs into his backpack, and so on. When the spider appears in Peter's house, I had to go back and figure out how it got there. It's a small complaint, but one that others might have, as well.
Between some of the pages are the Hickman-esque "data pages," as they're called. The first is one of Peter's Sagan Ritual posts, which gives us a glimpse into Peter's other life (already a dual identity, if you think about it) and offers some insight into what (likely) Oscorp is up to with all of the acquisitions that are discussed. The other data page talks about the murdered employee, including disturbing details about what was done with his remains, his sister, and even the footage of his death. I enjoyed the inclusion of these pieces of writing, but hope they don't become an obligatory part of every issue. They can serve a purpose where it fits the story, but don't necessarily need to always be included.
Midnight Spider-Man #1 is dark, it's haunting, and it's disturbing, but it's also a very magnetic first issue that will leave you wanting more. Seeing Peter in this new situation, one where his pursuit of power caused his own downfall, is an interesting departure. I don't know where this story will go; will Peter be able to be the hero instead of the monster? Will he make the right choices even though life has thrown him through a meat grinder? I honestly don't know, and that makes the wait for issue two all the more exciting. If Johnson can keep the messaging in check, this could be a must-read for months to come. There's a certain cool, '90s edge to this series that makes it feel like a Marvel book from a different era. This could be the turning point that Marvel has needed for years.
