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.