Spider-Boy #3: Spider-Boy Meets World

Spider-Boy #3 picks up with Bailey continuing to fight the good fight in New York, while also attempting to forge his own identity. The woes of being broke and homeless lead to Spider-Boy asking a bystander for money after he saves his life. This leads to a moral battle between the hero and his conscience as a villainous vlogger begins terrorizing the city. Overall the issue leads to a fun dive into the sidekick’s mind that promises to lay the foundation for future stories from Slott and company. 

Much like the first two parts of this story, the backup is what truly steals the show, showing Spider-Boy teaming up with The Mighty Thor as an Asgardian spider invades a New York construction site. This series has done a great job of splitting the narrative between character building moments and world building moments. This backup brings back up the idea that the people of New York are afraid of Spider-Boy’s spider form, despite the powers giving Bailey a strong advantage over his enemies. Thor helps bridge the gap between the public’s worries and Bailey’s self esteem issues, which will hopefully lead to him embracing these powers in future battles where he is overmatched.

Dan Slott has built up a lot of momentum behind Spider-Boy and issue three starts painting a picture of what his ultimate goals are. It seems like Slott has grown more and more interested in seeing how characters of his own creation would impact the greater Marvel universe than other, existing ones. Spider-Boy’s role in this universe is practically all up to Slott, with much of the series staying fairly self contained. This also pairs well with the sister series, Superior Spider-Man, which focuses on another of Slott’s creations. Together, these are leading up to more Spiderverse fun which will come with some profound stakes as a result of the extensive character work being done here.

Paco Medina and Ty Templeton have a lot of fun with the art here, with the first part of the story showcasing a toy that transforms into different characters from the Marvel universe. This creates some fun story moments that lend well to the light and juvenile tone of the series. Inversely, Templeton does a great job in changing up the art style enough in the latter segment to make the tone shift over to a more somber, heartfelt approach. Together, these two art teams, in conjunction with colorists Erick Arciniega and Dee Cunniffee, service these stories in ways that genuinely add a sense of fun and nuance to the subject matter.