Symbiote Spider-Man #3 (of 5): Bad Girlfriend

Symbiote Spider-Man proves to be a fun, no-strings-attached romp through Spider-Man’s past. And although Mysterio is as much – almost more – the star of this story than Spidey or even Black Cat, the idea of looking at the effects of the symbiote suit through the eyes of a villain – unsure of what he’s witnessing – is a great one.

Writer Peter David shows he knows Peter Parker as well as anyone, even if he doesn’t write the character all that often. Peter’s neuroses about revealing his identity to his “frail” aunt is completely consistent with the character’s history, even when it becomes a detriment to his relationship with Black Cat. Granted, that relationship was never the most healthy (ably demonstrated this issue), but the fact that Peter is willing to put it at risk over something as frivolous (at least in modern context) as his secret identity speaks volumes to just how guilt-driven Spidey is and always has been.

And speaking of Black Cat: there hasn’t been a character since Emma Frost more perfectly suited to Greg Land’s unabashed cheesecake art style. Fortunately, her superficialities are offset by David’s apt playing on her insecurities.  And that’s what Peter David does best: gets inside his character’s heads, and lets them run wild, seeing where they go and what they’ll do next.  But because he has such a great understanding of psychology and basic human nature, none of these moves ever feel forced or out of character.

But it’s the symbiote that hangs over everything, and the issue never forgets it. There’s a vibe of creeping terror emanating through everything, even something as innocuous as Spider-Man waling on Electro at a showing of “Cats.” Move your litter!