Today I read Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man vol. 1: Into the Twilight. This book collects issues #1-6 of the series and Free Comic Book Day 2017 (Secret Empire) #1. The story, written by Chip Zdarsky, is considered to be one of the best modern Spider-Man runs. So, after reading many good things about it, I decided to pick it up.
I bought the entire series in trade paperbacks, but there is an upcoming omnibus that will collect it all in one book. You can also read this story online with Marvel Unlimited.
The Spectacular Spider-Man is Back
In this story, Peter Parker investigates a new crime ring with advanced tech. He is joined by his sister, Teresa, and his best friend Johnny Storm (a.k.a. the Human Torch!). But things are never this simple with Spider-Man. As he investigates, he finds himself hiding from S.H.I.E.L.D., fighting the Kingpin, and trying to balance a normal life in the process.
Zdarsky inserts lightheartedness into Spider-Man’s story
The tone of this story is very lighthearted, which is a deviation from the previous “Spectacular Spider-Man” series. At first, I found the lightheartedness refreshing, after reading more intense stories like Spider-Verse. Halfway through the second issue, I worried that the light tone would reduce the stakes. But I was glad to be wrong about that, as Zdarsky makes a great job of raising the stakes without changing the story’s tone.
“Into the Twilight” captures classic Spider-Man action and comedy
This story is filled with comedy and action, and I find it very reminiscent of Stan Lee’s original Spider-Man stories. Zdarsky’s writing is evidently more modern (Zdarsky’s Spider-Man debuted over 55 years after Lee’s Spider-Man). But he still manages to write a somewhat familiar Spider-Man, full of quips, jokes, and a heart of gold. The comedy doesn’t overtake the action; and we still get to see Spider-Man fight classic villains.
Zdarsky’s Spider-Man is great, but not perfect
Despite my praise for this story, Zdarsky’s Spider-Man is not without his flaws. “Into the Twilight” is still part of Spider-Man’s main continuity, so it adopts several Spider-Man traits from Dan Slott’s run. To name a few: Peter is no longer dating or pursuing Mary Jane, which was a change enacted in One More Day about a decade prior to this run.
In Zdarsky’s run, Peter often makes less-than-intelligent decisions; which is in line with Dan Slott’s Spider-Man. Sometimes writers forget that Peter Parker is supposed to be incredibly intelligent. Somehow their desire to align Spider-Man in comics to his movie/TV persona means having him act like a teenager; despite the fact that he is supposed to be 30 years old.
Perhaps this story would have worked best as an alternate continuity, where Zdarsky could have full control over his characterization of Peter Parker (similar to what he did in Life Story and Spider’s Shadow).
Another issue I had with the story was the odd pacing. The story is mostly linear except for a series of epilogues that occur at the end of an issue. These small epilogues don’t fit in chronologically with the rest of the story, nor do they seem to go anywhere. Perhaps they will pay off in future issues, but they don’t seem to fit in with the current story.
Despite minor flaws, this story has heart
Overall, the minor issues I had with this story don’t overtake all that is good with it. There was a lot of emotion, laugh-out-loud comedy, and edge-of-your-seat action. Chip Zdarsky’s Spectacular Spider-Man is definitely one of the best modern Spider-Man stories.
Score: 9/10
Zdarsky brings us one of the best modern Spider-Man runs! It would have a perfect score, if it were not held back by previous developments in Peter’s life.
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