After the jaw‑dropping visual dynamism of Spider-Man & Wolverine #3, the story jumps into an even more volatile arena: the globe itself. Undoubtedly a fight-comic first, the series has looked great and offered up plenty of punches, kicks, and dodges to go with it. In issue #4, the mysterious Dreadshadow ups the danger levels as the heroes duke it out with Doc Ock at the Great Wall of China, the Colosseum, and more. All the while, Spider-Man is still reeling with the fact that Wolverine may have killed his parents.
Kaare Andrews’ electric art takes a break this issue with Gerardo Sandoval on art, but he’s no slouch when it comes to Spider-Man. That’s evident from the spectacular agility and top-tier webbing he draws throughout this issue. The style is certainly very different from Andrews, but the visual flair is strong throughout. From the large ears on Wolverine’s mask to heavy use of speed lines, the visuals don’t let up from cover to cover.
With minimal plot progression up until this point, writer Marc Guggenheim does give us some resolution and direction. Spider-Man gets to use his brains to solve something, for instance, and Dreadshadow postulates with the evil villain speech enough to hang a bit of something on. It’s not a lot, but I’ll take it. The cliffhanger, however, makes for a juicy twist that should get fans of Chip Zdarsky’s run on Spidey seated.
Love those webs!
Credit: Marvel
As far as the nerdy nitpicky side of things, it’s a little rich to think Doc Ock can fight Wolverine for so long and somehow tire him out. Sure, the villains have been wearing both heroes down since last issue’s Savage Land fight, but I guess we have to roll with it. We’ve certainly seen both heroes fight longer and harder and not get winded, but I digress. The fact that Spider-Man inadvertently saved Doc Ock’s life rather than saving Wolverine is overshadowed by the teleportation cliche that keeps getting used in this story arc.
Once again, this series leans on the visuals to get you through it. It’s safe to say it’s not trying to be anything else with the minimal plot progression and clues as to what is going on, so it’s hard to knock it too much.
Spider-Man & Wolverine #4 continues the series’ commitment to being a stylish, action-first brawler, swapping in Gerardo Sandoval’s kinetic visuals for Kaare Andrews’ while nudging the plot forward just enough to keep things interesting, capped by a cliffhanger that should hook Spider-Man fans.
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