Joe Fixit #2: Peter David Will Always Be The Master

This issue starts with Kingpin working on a new chemical that he can use to control Fixit. Meanwhile, Spider-Man does some recon work to determine if Fixit is actually the Hulk but decides to leave after the investigation goes nowhere. Out of the costume, Peter hangs outside the casino until Kingpin arrives, determining that Kingpin must have some nefarious scheme afoot. Kingpin enters the casino and has a small conversation with Fixit before using his new chemical to make Fixit freak out in a Hulk rage. Spider-Man intervenes and is eventually pinned down after distracting Fixit from civilians.

Much like the first issue, Joe Fixit #2 is, first and foremost, a Spider-Man story. This is not necessarily a bad thing in the grand scheme, but fans of the Hulk may want to avoid jumping on this expecting a run-of-the-mill Hulk story. Thankfully, Spider-Man, the book’s protagonist, helps this story work from multiple angles. More so than the first issue, we get to see the whole picture and a greater understanding of how Spider-Man’s place is more of a ride-along character than the actual crux of the story. We may be following him throughout the issue, but he mainly serves as a lens for us to see the greater Kingpin VS Joe Fixit conflict.

The best parts of this issue come when Peter David’s classic witty dialogue shines through and steals the scene. At one point, Spider-Man patiently waits for Kingpin and starts to reminisce about how he feels about Las Vegas. He muses about how the people in the city aren’t privy to the classic greats like Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. This leads him to ask some random bystander if they know who Dean Martin is, only for them to guess very incorrectly. This little interaction reminds us how odd Peter can be in a personable setting, where most people would have kept their thoughts to themselves. David understands Peter on a deep level, and it’s a shame that he’s relegated to only writing these throwback continuity stories.

This issue could not be more bare bones regarding the overall plot. The simplicity of it is almost essential because this story has to take place between points to make sense of continuity. At the same time, this allows for the minor aspects of the story to stand out, like when Peter throws out the hundred dollar bill that Kingping hands him or when we see Fixit surrounded by a harem of women inside of his hotel room. These scenes almost feel like iconic parts of their character’s histories, even though they are just minor moments in this flashback series. This is again a testament to David’s ability to remind readers what made these characters so iconic what seems like forever ago.