Spider-Man & Wolverine is a comic that works best when it touches on the differences between its titular characters. Spider-Man always tries his best to save everyone he can, and often feels saddled with guilt when he can’t because of the old chestnut about power and responsibility. Wolverine, on the other hand, tends to try and not let regrets weigh him down. Part of that is because his past has often been a mystery, and he often has to make the call between sparing someone and putting them down with his claws. Marc Guggenheim, Kaare Andrews, Geraldo Sandoval, and Brian Reber touch on this plenty of times in Spider-Man & Wolverine Vol. 2: Life & Death Choices.
The bulk of the issue is devoted to a story in which Peter Parker and Logan are pulled into an alternate universe by a different Reed Richards, who needs their help fighting the mysterious Arachnix. As his nom de guerre suggests, Arachnix mixes the powers of Spidey and Wolverine, but lacks their heroic qualities. It also turns out that Arachnix isn’t the only “combo hero” in this world: the creators go hog wild with mixing and matching different Marvel heroes to great effect, to the point where I wished they’d get a spinoff series just to explore this entire universe. For the record, my personal favorite combination has to be “Psyhulke”, a combination of She-Hulk and Psylocke.
Guggenheim doesn’t just use Spider-Man & Wolverine Vol. 2 to indulge in crazy crossovers. He also uses it as a way for Peter and Logan to deal with their own hangups: Peter with the revelation that his “sister” Teresa wasn’t really his sister, and Logan with reconnecting with the recently resurrected love of his life, Mariko Yashida. It’s the latter that gets more focus, especially since it turns out Arachnix had a disturbing obsession with his universe’s Mariko. I can’t complain, as it leads to some of the best scenes – especially a moment where Spidey tries to get Wolverine to actually talk to Mariko – but I’d have loved to see more of Spidey dealing with the revelation about his “sister”, particularly as he’s going through another family upheaval in the pages of Joe Kelly’s Amazing Spider-Man run.
Marvel
Life & Death Choices also features a great balance of art between Andrews, who illustrates Spider-Man & Wolverine #7-8, and Sandoval, who does the rest of the series. Both artists are clearly tapping into their inner Todd McFarlane, down to Spidey’s big eyes and “spaghetti webbing” and the flying limbs whenever Wolverine gets into combat with someone. Arachnix even looks like an early-days Image character, sporting a jet-black take on Wolverine’s costume with Spider-Man-sized eyes. Perhaps the standout sequence comes in Spider-Man & Wolverine #6, which features the duo taking on an army of Vermin. Sandoval turns in pages that feel like a horror movie, as the Vermins emerge from shadows with glowing blood red eyes and frothing mouths.
Those moments wouldn’t hit as hard as they do without Reber’s colors, which make great use of playing shadows against light during the Arachnix arc. It also bleeds into Travis Lanham’s lettering, which features red-and-white captions for Spidey’s inner thoughts, while Wolverine gets yellow-and-tan. Readers will also be able to pick out Spidey and Wolverine thanks to their respective red/blue and blue/yellow color schemes, which strangely complement each other.
Spider-Man & Wolverine Vol. 2: Life & Death Choices works best when it touches on the differences between its titular duo, though it doesn’t neglect the action element either. Here’s hoping that this isn’t the last time we see the webhead and the clawed Canadian team up; there are plenty of great stories to be wrung out of their dynamic.
You must be logged in to post a comment.