Spider-Man Noir (2020) Issue 5

The final issue in this series leaves me with more questions than answers, and I’m sorry to report, I feel unsatisfied.

Dr Huma Bergmann is revealed to be an ancient Babylonian goddess, who has opened the underworld to summon some of Spidey’s now dead enemies. The horrible mutations we saw occur at the end of the last issue have worn off, and... well things get pretty uncharacteristically cosmic from this point out. Our murdered waitress is revealed to have been a Babylonian goddess in hiding this whole time, Spider-Man destroys the ancient all-powerful crystal and the amulet that activates it, and everyone goes home like nothing ever happened.

A lot of what I’ve described sounds like it should be thrilling, and a fascinating read, but it’s such a dramatic departure from the story the first three issues set up, that it comes across, at least to me, as rushed and forced.

Also, this sudden, out of nowhere reveal that Dr Bergmann is a Babylonian goddess in disguise, comes right after the sudden, out of nowhere reveal that she’s been a Nazi spy the whole time.

I’ve read through this issue, and the entire series, several times, assuming I had missed clues or that there was something I simply wasn’t picking up on, but as far as I can tell, this story is just a water slide toward a “high stakes” cosmic ending.

Why was Holly Babson murdered? The obvious answer is that someone (I guess we’re meant to assume it was her sister) wanted to get their hands on the Cicada Stone... but Spider-Man finds the stone clutched in her cold dead hand. Why did Huma go along with Spider-Man on his adventure to Germany to meet her supposed mentor who turned up dead? Why as he murdered? What was the point of Huma turning out to be a Nazi spy if that subplot leads nowhere?

The heroics of this final issue seem undeserved and it leaves me feeling a little empty. I really wanted to like Spider-Man Noir (2020) but instead I’m left disappointed and looking forward to reading other things.

Spider-Man Noir (2020) Issue 4

Written by Margaret Stohl

Art by Juan Ferreyra

Cover art by Dave Rapoza

There’s a couple of things to note about this issue before we dive into it. First of all, right on the cover is a small tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman, which is touching. On the same note, the first page is devoted to a Memoriam to Marvel artist Joe Sinnott.

Without further ado, we have much to talk about.

The issue opens with a huge reveal. Harry Charles, our pilot from Brazil, is in fact, a Dora Milaje, a royal guardian from Wakanda.

Didn’t we meet her in Sicily, all hesitant to even join this mission in the first place? This also yanks Brazilian rep away from this story, but I guess I should have seen something like this coming. When we met her parents, Spidey seemed a little sceptical that they were from Brazil.

Besides, I am a hug fan of all things Wakanda, so this gets an overall pass from me.

Harry, rather, Hu-Ri, makes short work of the Nazis, and when more arrive, our heroes get some air support from Tony Stark. Electro throws the plane off but not before buying the gang some time. Before Tony makes his escape, he laments to his co-pilot that his prototype suit isn’t ready, so I fully expect the see Iron Man Noir before this series ends.

Hi-Ri fills us in, that this archaeological site is home to the M’kraan Crystal, an object so powerful it could end the entire universe. Obviously, letting the Nazis get their filthy mits on something like that is out of the question. More immediately, we learn the “cicada stone” is the key to unlocking this power, it’s what gives Electro his power, and it’s getting stronger.

The gang delves deeper into the ruins, dispatches the guardian cicadas and find themselves at the Tomb of Heaven, radiating some strange power.

Here, Huma and Electro catch up to our heroes and in the ensuing battle, our super-powered friends mutate hideously, Electro growing larger and mor beast-like and Spider-Man growing spindly extra limbs.

Huma and Electro prove too much for our heroes and the gates are opened. Huma is radiating with power and five once-dead super villains have joined the fight.

Juan Ferreyra’s art continues to dazzle me in every panel, but I have to say...

This story seems rushed and without focus. We’re a long way away from the murdered waitress in New York City. Why did Huma’s sister have the cicada stone if Huma was willing to kill her for it? Why and how did she end up dead and still in possession of the stone? What were Huma’s motivations for teaming up with Spider-Man against Electro in the first place? This sudden betrayal seems less like part of a master plan and more like genre dressing that unfortunately doesn’t really fit the larger story it’s trying to tell. Ultimately, this mashup of noir themes with an Indiana Jones story isn’t really living up to either.

We’ve got one more issue to go in this series, so we’ll see if it can save it for me.

Spider-Man Noir (2020) Issue 3

Spider-Man Noir (2020) Issue #3

Written by Margaret Stohl

Art by Juan Ferreyra

Cover art by Dave Rapoza

All of my fears have been confirmed and I'm a little disappointed.

Okay okay, let’s back up. This issue, like the previous ones, is really fun and exciting. The opening fight with a Nazi version of Electro is huge and gives us lots of really dynamic and interesting panels which are just a joy. Spidey’s inner monologue is witty and engaging.

After a timely rescue from an appropriately re-imagined Tony Stark, working as an American spy in Germany, our intrepid heroes find themselves flying to the near east, but not before another run-in with Electro. Nearly crashing into the Alps after an artificial storm Electro brewed up (this sequence, in which Spider-Man uses his webs, heightened strength and raw courage to manually steer the plane over a mountain top, is one of my favourites in the series so far) the gang meet yet another contact in Istanbul.

The noir version of Black Widow is a welcome addition to this rag tag group, but it’s getting just a little bit crowded. How many other characters and themes from the outside comics world are we going to see painted black and white and thrown in this adventure?

Black Widow fills us in. The Nazis have been digging up a Babylonian ruin, the same place where the cicada-shaped amulet that started this whole adventure came from. The team heads out into the desert toward the ruin when they’re ambushed by soldiers.

A firefight breaks out, but before long, the good doctor Huma Burgmann proves she’s not so good after all, but has been a Nazi double agent this whole time.

Now...

I suspected something like this would happen. It’s almost funny how on the nose I was in my previous post when I mentioned I was worried this precise thing was going to happen. That said, I feel like this came out of nowhere and doesn’t fit very well in the story so far.

It was Huma’s sister who had the amulet and was murdered. It was Huma’s mentor who was murdered by Electro in Germany as part of a trap to kill Spider-Man. I’ve read these three issues at least twice each now, and I can’t see any foreshadowing or hints that this double cross was going to take place, except for the genre this series is trying to emulate. The Femme Fatale is always supposed to double cross the hero, so she does here.

Maybe the next issue will shed more light on this, but so far I’m unimpressed with this specific plot point. Other than that, I remain deeply impressed. There are so many panels in this series that are so deeply expressive and intriguing that I love going back just to look at them for minutes at a time.

Things are really gaining speed in this series, and with only two more issues to go, I’m excited to see what’s next.

Spider-Man Noir (2020) Issue 2

 

Spider-Man Noir (2020) Issue #2

Written by Margaret Stohl

Art by Juan Ferreyra

Cover art by Dave Rapoza

The first stop on Spider-Man's international adventure is London England. Honestly, the more I think about it, the more excited I get. As far as I'm aware, the noir genre rarely takes place outside of the United States, and typically sticks with New York or San Francisco (which is fair enough, write what you know and all that), but I'm looking forward to seeing other locales on mysterious dark and stormy nights.

This issue sees Spidey and Dr. Huma Bergmann (the expert on Byzantine artifacts whose sister was murdered in the 1st issue) attend a fancy party where Huma meets a couple of informants, a pair of well-to-do Brazilians with a taste for antiquities. They give our heroes a new lead on the case and a contact in Italy, before they're attacked. Spidey makes quick work of the first attacker and this leads us into an action packed, and deliciously drawn, chase sequence, before our detective and the doctor board a ship for Italy.

They make their way to meet the contact, the daughter of the informants who happens to be a tough as nails pilot who can fly our heroes to Berlin while avoiding any Nazi entanglements. The takeoff hardly goes smoothly. A machine gunner opens fire on the plane, and this is the most resistance we've seen Spidey face so far.

They make it to Berlin, lousy with Nazis, their symbolism polluting the place, and Dr. Bergmann leads the others to the museum where she hopes to meet her boss, Doctor Heinrich Hellstrom. It isn't long before Spidey and the gang are intercepted by a noir re-imagining of Electro, and the book ends, leaving us drooling in anticipation for the high voltage fight ahead of us.

Just as in the last issue, the art is phenomenal, every panel has me lovingly looking at all the detail and bold shadows with strategic use of color. The writing continues to be fun to read, the old timey slang never feels clunky or gets in the way of the story trying to impress the reader with its verisimilitude.

My only fear lies with Doctor Huma Bergmann. She's shaping up to fill the Femme Fatale role. Now, that's a classic noir trope, but not one I'm particularly fond of. I like Dr. Bergmann, and I'd hate to see her diminished to being a Nazi spy or some other plot device.

All that said, I'm still really enjoying this, and looking forward to what comes next. There's only three more issues in the series, so I don't have too long to wait for the exciting finale.

Spider-Man Noir (2020) Issue 1

Spider-Man Noir (2020) Issue #1

Written by Margaret Stohl

Art by Juan Ferreyra

Cover art by Dave Rapoza

I first encountered Spider-Man Noir during the Spider-verse comics event back in the Autumn of 2014. His first solo adventure I read was in Edge of the Spider-verse #1, in which our hero finds himself up against Mysterio.

I fell head over heels for this interpretation of Spider-Man. Admittedly, I'm not too well-read in the greater noir genre, but the imagery of a loner fighting for justice in the face of danger with nothing but his wits and his reflexes definitely resonates with me.

When I found out about the 2020 series for Spider-Man Noir, I immediately put it on my Must Read list.

First things first, the cover art is absolutely amazing. It readily draws the eye and teases the imagination. Chalk outlines, tough as nails pilot, performer in a swanky dress, Nazis performing what can only be a dastardly experiment, Spider-Man in a hat?! We're in for something very different than your average Spider-Man story.

We first see Peter Parker, a private detective, listening to the radio in his office. World War Two is on the horizon but the criminals of New York aren't taking a break any time soon. Peter leaps out the window to stop a couple of bank robbers, armed with his twin pistols and trusty web-slinging skills, and this sets the tone for what's shaping up to be a mysterious international adventure.

The broad strokes of what makes Spider-Man familiar are all here. We've got sweet and wise Aunt May, spunky Mary Jane, and even though Peter is a fast-quipping detective, there's still a hint of that socially awkward every-man we all love.

Overall, I'm very excited to continue reading, as Peter's latest case takes him abroad. The art perfectly captures the tone of the story, and the writing is a joy to read, with dialogue heavy on the 1930's street slang. I've loved this first issue, and I hope I feel the same about the rest of the series.