Earth-65 Wolverine, Earth-65 X-23, and a whole bunch of Hand ninjas are hunting down Spider-Gwen and Harry Osborn. Oh, and Earth-65 Matt Murdock is pissed at them, too.
Writer: Jason Latour
Artist: Robbi Rodriguez
Publisher: Marvel Comics
First Read Reactions
- …but first, we get to see Matt Murdock spring this universe’s version of the Rhino from jail thanks to a little help from the shady D.A., Foggy Nelson. Good lord, this dimension is all types of corrupt.
- I’m not sure if the idea of multiple Bodega Badits is simply a running gag or the groundwork for something much bigger, but either way I love it.
- “Am I really considering safe haven from a talking pig?”
- Earth-65 Matt Murdock may be evil, but he actually makes some good points about why going on the run with Harry was a terrible idea.
- No matter what universe you’re in, Captain Stacy is bound to be way too idealistic.
- Remember what I said about Matt Murdock before? Well, the guy is even smarter/more evil than I was just giving him credit for.
- Wolverine time, baby!
- I love ya, Captain Stacy, but I don’t think there’s any way out of this one.
The Verdict
Okay, so right off the bat I’ll admit that I’m getting a little antsy about not seeing the Venom suit. The 90’s fanboy side of me feels like it’s about lose it. That being said, however, Jason Latour’s exposition on HOW the Venom symbiote fits into this universe is fantastic. It’s also presented via some excellent dialogue rather than a deluge of heavily lettered word balloons.
Also, despite my barbs toward Captain Stacy’s idealism, he does make for one heck of a good character…which makes the horrifying peril Latour puts him in even better.
Art wise, I’ve just about run out of ways to describe how good Robbi Rodriguez is. One additional mark in his favor can be found in the number of quieter/dialogue-heavy moments in this issue, which he draws just as well as the kinetically charged action sequences he’s known for.
And it should go without saying at this point, but seriously, how awesome of a villain is this version of Matt Murdock?
Once again, we’re treated to another great issue from this creative team. If you’d told me a couple years ago that Spider-Gwen would be my favorite would be one of my favorite spider titles, I would have laughed. Now it’s in the running for the top spot…and we haven’t even seen Gwen go full-on Venom yet.
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