** (two of five stars)
Favorite Quote: "I'm sure you think you're being clever, but I get no fewer than six crank calls from Spider-Man per week, another four from Iron Man and, occasionally, even one or two from Superman -- which is kind of impressive considering he's fictional." -- Matt Murdoch on the phone with a person he suspects isn't Spider-Man (but is)
Summary
A mysterious girl follows Spider-Man as he returns from defeating Fracture with Daredevil. She later tries to assassinate Peter Parker in his new job at a comic book shop. Meanwhile, Vin has a run of bad luck: his off-duty gun was used to kill a drug dealer, he's hit by a car, someone stole his ATM number and wiped out his savings, and the bank is foreclosing on his student loans. The mysterious girl later appears in the apartment, makes Vin put on the Spider-Man costume, and brings him to the sewers where Vermin dwells (and Spidey fought Kraven way back when). Believing Vin to be Spidey, she makes him participate in a hunt (her hunting him) in the sewers. Meanwhile, Peter discovers both Vin and his costume are gone. Thinking Vin is rounding up a posse after discovering his secret identity, he borrows Daredevil's costume so he can enter a police station (and not have them arrest him as the "Tracer-Killer") and ask about Vin. A cop tells Spidey...er, Daredevil...that word on the street is that Spidey's being held hostage. After a brief skirmish with Vermin, Spidey gets Vermin to lead him to Vin and the girl, who's injected Vin with mutant-growth hormone before the hunt. Vin (as Spidey) and Spidey (as Daredevil) hold off the girl long enough for Vermin to take over the battle. Spidey later appears at Vin's hospital bed, telling him that Vin's one of the decoys he's established to keep his identity secret. Vin subsequently punches him. The girl is revealed to be Kraven's daughter, and has brought a trussed-up Vermin as a trophy for her mother.
The Review
I'm kind of torn on this one. I really enjoyed the arc the first time I read it, but, in re-reading it, a few things that nagged me in the first reading really bothered me.
The Good
1) Spidey as Daredevil was pretty freaking awesome, actually.
2) I enjoyed the "vermin" reference on "The DB!" recap page. Cute.
3) "This guy nearly killed me once. Right after Mary Jane and I moved in together..." NICE! Finally, we're getting some hints here about what Mephisto's actions changed. In interviews about "Brand New Day," Quesada has mentioned that Peter and Mary Jane lived together, but didn't get married. But, this comment is the first time we get confirmation of that in the actual comic. I still don't think it's going to be as easy as that, since clearly they ended their relationship as some point, something that doesn't happen in the pre-"One More Day" continuity. But, at least we're starting to get some idea of what actually happened to the past.
4) Spidey having to make up the story about Vin being his "decoy" so that Vin doesn't figure out his secret identity was a nice touch. The wordless scene of Spidey swinging his way through the city after the confrontation conveys how depressing it must be for Peter to have to "prove" to Vin that he's justified in hating Spider-Man. It was a nice way to wrap up a loose end, particularly since so many other loose ends and plot inconsistencies were never addressed in this arc.
The Unsure
1) So, is Carlie/Vin happening? In "Threeway Collision!" Carlie seems to agree to go meet Vin's dad. Here, she tells him she'd be upset if he hadn't told her his secret identity. The previous "Brand New Day" arcs made it seem she was aware Vin liked her but wasn't interested (since she was, probably, interested in Peter). Here, though, it seems like it's happening.
2) Presumably, Ana still thinks Vin is Spider-Man since nothing about their confrontation proved he wasn't. I wonder how that's going to manifest itself later.
The Bad
1) OK, so, the big (huge, actually) problem with this story arc (and the reason why I'm only giving it two stars, despite enjoying it) is that I totally don't understand why Ana thought Vin was Spider-Man, not Peter, in the first place. I mean, I can see where she narrowed it down between the two of them, since she watched Spider-Man enter the apartment. But, the costume was under Peter's bed, not Vin's. Why would she decide it was Vin and not Peter? She mentions (or at least implies) that she knows the lease is in Vin's name, but she also knows that Peter is Vin's roommate since she tries to kill him. It totally makes no sense.
2) Pet Peeve #2: The revelation at the end of the arc that the girl hunting Spidey (well, Vin) is Kraven's daughter is made totally irrelevant by both the title of the arc ("Kraven's First Hunt") and the recap pages in both issue #566 and #567 calling her a "mysterious...Kraven." I mean, the parallels to the classic "Kraven's Last Hunt" series (which, by the way, scared the bejeezus out of me when I read it as an 11-year-old) make it clear who she was supposed to be pretty early in the story, so it's not like it was supposed to be a huge surprise. But, it still bothers me because it does involve a level of editorial intrusion into the story that makes it a little harder to suspend disbelief.
3) I have some trouble with the idea that Spidey, knowing that someone was watching him (or, at least, that his Spider Sense indicated that danger was in the area when he was approaching his apartment building) would still, nonetheless, enter it. It's hard to imagine that, after years of being a superhero, Spidey wouldn't have a protocol for changing from his costume into Peter Parker. Also, Peter keeps his costume in an unlocked box under this bed? Really?
4) I totally don't buy that Ana -- after weeks of preparation -- would brag to a MGH dealer that she has Spider-Man "trussed up somewhere." It was WAY too convenient of a plot device.
5) Peter Parker does not "hate math."
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