The Spectacular Spider-Men # 1

 By Mark Rodriguez

It's time for yet another new Spider-Man series, except this time we have double the fun. Peter and Miles team up for a new series as they work together to fight crime. Let's see what happens. Since they are both called Spider-Man (I guess Miles is never going to get his own codename), I'll be calling them Peter and Miles so you know who I'm referring to at any given time.

Arachnobatics Chapter 1- Regulars opens with Peter and Miles swinging through the city. Mile said Peter promised that they were supposed to just be hanging out and not have any 'arachnobatics'. Peter said he did promise, but something came up. We see that both Spider-Men are facing off against a green monster.

We flashback sometime earlier where Peter first agreed they should meet up to just hang out ever Wednesday, like a mental health reality check. Peter says they're the only ones that have a lot in common. Miles says, he's right if they don't count Spider-Woman and Silk and several others. Peter says they can also compare and trade quips. Miles agrees they should hang out, since checking in on each other is what friends and normal people do.

Back to the present, Miles and Peter tie up the monster and try to keep him still. Miles asks about him and Peter says it's one of his old enemies, the Jackal, but he isn't usually hulked out like he currently is.

Meanwhile a court case is taking place and the accused is being sworn in. When asked if he swears to tell the truth, he openly says no. The judge called for contempt of court and he says he's at least being honest about lying.

The Spiders continue fighting against the Jackal who seems to be acting like a wild savage beast. Spider-Man tries to take off the Jackal's 'mask' only to find out that this is his actual appearance.

Sometime before, Peter and Miles are still discussing where they should meet every week. Peter takes Miles to a Coffee Bean on campus of E.S.U. Peter gets a coffee directly from the barista named Kenny, while Miles gets his order from an app. Peter says the point is to talk and get to know the staff so they remember your name. Peter runs into an old acquaintance named Sha Shan Nguyen. Peter tells Miles she's the ex of an old friend of his.

Miles then sees an old friend of his, Cedric Harrison. Another barista named Shelly knows Cedric by name and Peter tells Miles that's what a regular looks like. Cedric tries to ask Shelly out, but she's too happy with Kenny. Cedric asks Miles if he's attending college here and Miles is possibly considering it. As Peter and Miles hang out, Cedric notices a 'now hiring' ad for beta-testing.

Back to current day, Peter is dodging the Jackal's attacks and says he's confused about Miles' random destruction. Miles webs up his mouth, saying not to blurt out his name in public. Peter says he was referring to the Jackal whose real name is Professor Miles Warren. Miles is surprised that Peter's high school teacher is the Jackal.

Back to the Coffee Bean flashback, Peter and Miles see Warren show up for his order. Peter and Warren talk a bit, and the professor says he came to meet someone. Just then his associate Doctor Seymour Krepps comes in. Peter makes a joke about not wanting to 'see more krepps' and Miles calls him a child.

Back to the fight, Peter tells Miles that he already met Professor Raymond Aaron Warren. His younger brother Miles is the Jackal. Peter has doubts if this rampaging is the same Jackal though. Miles asks if the Warren Brothers are like Wakko, Yakko and Dot. Peter says they're just as destructive but far less amusing.

Meanwhile a live play is taking place and the star of the show is soaking in the applause.

As the Spiders fight, Pete asks what they should call each other since it will get confusing with both of them being Spider-Man. Peter can call Miles Brooklyn and Peter can be called Manhattan. Peter then asks if that's right since technically he grew up in Queens. Miles says he was just overthinking things and they can both call each other Spider-Man. He says it should work out fine as long as a third Spider-Man doesn't pop up.

Elsewhere, two women meet up and confess their love for each other. One of them says they couldn't make a move until she broke up with her boyfriend first.

Back to the fight, Peter is slammed to the ground. Miles swoops in and gets him out of the way before the monster can slam his fists down on him. Miles says they've both been distracted and it's time to take this monster seriously.

We go back twelve weeks, which is how long it took the Coffee Bean barista Kenny to fully remember both Peter's name and his usual order correctly. Peter celebrates that he's finally a regular. Just as Peter begins to savour his medium iced half and half latte with a shot of espresso and a dash of cinnamon... this is when the monstrous Jackal starts rampaging just outside the coffee shop. Peter and Miles check it out which brings us back to the present. 

Peter and Miles tied up the Jackal with several layers of webbing, until he's suspended in the air between two buildings. Without proper leverage, the Jackal can't tear his way out of the webs.

Later on, the Jackal has been tranquilized and taken to The Raft. Peter asks where he came from. The Spiders later check on Raymond Warren and Seymour Frapps. The men found a new section within the Jackal's lab and when they turned on the power it released the monster. Raymond says that at least no one got hurt. Miles detects something and finds the skeletal remains of someone trapped under piles of debris and broken lab equipment. 

The Spiders say they should have known they couldn't just get a normal human day. Something 'arachnobatic' always has to come up. Peter and Miles swing off discussing how Peter came up with the term arachnobatic, we see Cedric calling about the ad he saw earlier, saying he's interested in the job. 

My Opinions-

Pretty good story so far. Peter and Miles decide to hang out once a week, but there's always something crazy going on. There are so many quips in this issue as Peter and Miles either bounce off each other or annoy each other, that this review would have been twice as long if I quoted them all. I did like the meta jokes with Peter saying he feels like he's saying quips for 60 years, just like Miles says he feels like he's been running around high school for a decade. Then the job ad used phrases like 'amazing', 'spectacular' and 'ultimate'.

The story has a few mysteries, mostly with what exactly that Jackal monster was. The long-winded monologuing scientist behind the infamous clone saga has been reduced to being a mindless beast. At the end, Raymond acted as if he was some monster being released, not as if the monster was his own brother. Then we have the mystery of this dead body found in the Warren lab. Finally, what's the big deal with Cedric calling about a job to the point that it's the cliffhanger of the issue? And what's with the evil smile?

One thing that was confusing about the story were the extra random scenes of... New Yorkers just going about their day. The guy in the courtroom, the live performance, the women finding love, I thought maybe they'd appear later on as Jackal was rampaging across the city. Maybe we'll find out next issue. 

There was also a plot hole of sorts with Peter and Miles meet up. It wouldn't be a problem if they didn't joke about it taking twelve weeks for Kenny to remember Peter's usual coffee. The issue opens with Miles complaining about their normal day being ruined by them having to jump into superheroics. The way the flashbacks go on, you think this was their first ever hang out day and it was already ruined by the Jackal. The vibe from the comic, especially at the end, was that these two just can't have a normal day. But then we get the scene where it shows that it took twelve weeks for Kenny to get Peter's order right, only for it to be established that this is when the Jackal appears and sets off the current story. So why would Miles be complaining if they'd already had eleven non-eventful mental health days? It doesn't make sense since the comic's overall vibe is that is their first hangout day.

The comic still got my interest, so it's becoming part of my pullbox. We'll see where the story goes as New York now has two Spider-Men to defend it.