This is the fourth chapter in the six-part "Season of the Serpent" storyline. I've been enjoying this storyline quite a bit. It's played to the strengths of the property -- accessibility and the super-hero fun of yesteryear -- while making room for some effective characterization through the narration. But this new chapter takes the story in an odd and unnecessary direction that sets aside the more grounded aspects of the title. On top of that, Pat Olliffe's sleek style is replaced with Ron Frenz's more exaggerated approach.
Spider-Girl turns to her friends in the Avengers for information about Seth, the supposed Egyptian death god who's leading the terrorist Soldiers of the Serpent. American Dream informs her that long ago, Seth killed the original Thunderstrike, father of the hero who currently bears the name, and together, the heroines travel to the alternate dimension where he resides in order to recruit his assistance. But upon their arrival, they meet with a deadly reception and discover that Thunderstrike has joined a resistance movement against some superhuman tyrants.
Frenz's over-the-top approach -- clearly heavily influence by the late Jack Kirby -- works for some comics stories, but Spider-Girl is a title with its feet on the ground. Frenz's approach doesn't really work with that... not fair, I know, since Frenz was the first Spider-Girl artist. Williamson's dark inks takes some of the edge off of his exaggeraed style, but it's still a bit much... especially when the "Fatal Force" is introduced at the issue's climax. The designs for these familiar characters are awkward.
The most irksome aspect of the book is the fact that the characters just don't seem to act all that wisely here. None of the heroes take the jaunt into alternate dimensions or enemy territory all that seriously... even though some are well aware of the threat level they face. Spider-Girl's wisecracks make it seem as though the trip through the dimensional gateway is no big deal, and in the process, her sense of awe and wonder -- something that the reader shares with her -- is lost.
What I just don't understand is why DeFalco chooses to present us with a story about evil versions of super-heroes in the middle of a story arc that's supposedly about the Soldiers of the Serpent and Mary Jane's second pregnancy. This parallel-reality schtick would have been a fine story arc on its own -- with some logic in the storytelling thrown in, as mentioned above -- but here, it derails the main plotline and subplots we've been following so closely.
