Radioactive Spider-Man #2: More Trauma For Peter

September’s Radioactive Spider-Man #1 was met with mixed reactions from fans, with some finding the story to be a fun detour from the more common Spider-Man stories in recent memory and others being left with a bad taste in their mouth by the issue’s last-page reveal of a returning character that those fans are tired of seeing stories pivot around. I am talking about, of course, Aunt May. Coupled with the lack of Mary Jane and an unexpected new romance for Peter Parker, it’s safe to say Radioactive Spider-Man #1 was the introduction to a very different story than what Spider-Man fans expected.

So how does the second issue build on or continue these plot threads? Well, it kind of doesn’t. Instead, Radioactive Spider-Man #2 takes a detour from a story that already reads like a detour from the overarching Spider-Man mythos. With a focus on Peter, rather than Spider-Man, and an overly long flashback sequence that doesn’t quite add anything to the story, Radioactive Spider-Man #2 feels more like filler than the second episode.

Last month’s issue #1 had thematic depth that explored how a changing environment forces a hero to change with it, without giving up the fight for the soul of their hometown. The first issue also managed to build on the world of Age of Revelation by introducing Highside and Lowtown, the two districts of a mutant New York with two equally divided social classes. However, in issue #2 none of this world-building seems to be present. Instead, there is a focus on character relationships, and the tone is shifted from “changing with the tide” to “standing firm against difficulty, even amid change.” The reason for this shift and the main weakness of this issue comes from its focus on the mutated Aunt May, whose blackouts transform her into the monster we saw at the end of Radioactive Spider-Man #1 last month.

Kev Walker’s artwork, which felt vibrant last issue due to a mix of dynamic environments and unique characters, seems to carry less energy in this month’s issue. While the first half or so of the issue is well-drawn and dense with small details that create a setting that feels like a mutant New York, the latter half is devoid of finer details and suffers from an over-reliance on facial close-ups. Chris Sotomayor’s colors are still great, with buzzing energy effects and a highly textured spider-suit that continue to make this version of Spider-Man himself visually appealing.

Together the writing and the artwork create a rather mundane issue. Action sequences are stuffed with so much exposition that the physical mayhem is lost in the words. In some of the more famed Spider-Man stories, such as “The Night Gwen Stacy Died” (ASM #121 & 122) or “Spider-Man No More!” (ASM #50-52), part of Spider-Man’s battle is the destruction of his beloved hometown and the danger posed to innocent bystanders. Unlike these lauded storylines, the battles in Radioactive Spider-Man #2 lack any sense of consequence, which is a stark departure from Issue #1, which saw innocents cowering as Spidey threw food carts and tried to save the city itself from its tyrannical mutant police force.