I could complain about how the various Spider-Man titles can't seem to get on the same page when it comes to incorporating elements from New Avengers. I could complain about these NA spinoff stories have leap-frogged the always-late series from which they're taking their cues. I could complain about that stuff, and I will, but not as much as I thought I might. No, another aspect of this plot struck me as being off, but it's for the same reason. It just doesn't fit into the broader context of the shared Marvel continuity. Furthermore, the writer has strayed away from one of the defining characteristics of the title character: that his Herculean conflicts as a masked hero are to be tempered by the everyday struggles he must undertake.
Because he didn't anticipate his enemy's rage and paranoia, Peter Parker's family finds itself without any home. His and Mary Jane's apartment is destroyed, and May Parker's home in Queens has been gutted by fire as well. Cue Tony Stark, Peter's teammate in the New Avengers, who rushes to the family's aid. Meanwhile, the heads of several major criminal enterprises across the United States are kidnapped and brought to a secret location. The organization that set them up in the first place has returned, and it's not pleased with what the men have done with the power they were given.
Deodato's work early on in the issue offers a realistic look at a low point in a family's life. The damage and devastation in the Parkers' lives looks real, not like the result of a rampaging super-villain (even though that was the cause). The penciller's efforts later in the issue, though, leave a bit to be desired. The Hydra scenes are rather hazy and rough in appearance. It's as though the art team has to hustle through the tail end of the issue to get things done on deadline. I'm at a loss as to why the artist hides the Hydra hero-clones from us while showing the audience just enough of them to clearly indicate what's being hidden.
Part of what defines Peter Parker is that he has to deal with life-and-death problems as Spider-Man at the same time as he deals with the mundane challenges of everyday life. In this story, his everyday problems are solved by someone else magically appearing and giving him everything he could possibly need. He has a luxuious new home he doesn't have to pay for, and May has an instant new companion. Peter's wife is now safer than ever and closer to him because she's further inside Spider-Man's world. It's all too... convenient, all too neat.
I like what Straczynski does here with Hydra. Instead of it being a legion of faceless, expendable goons, Straczynski works to set it up as a credible threat in the world of Marvel's super-heroes. There's just one problem: other writers have been doing the same thing. Bendis in The Pulse, Nicieza in New Thunderbolts, Mark Millar in Wolverine... it seems like all of Marvel's regulars have something to say about Hydra, and some of them have definitely done a better job of it than Straczynski does here. Mind you, this isn't so much the writer's problem as it is a failing of editorial co-ordination. Continuity is a selling point of Marvel's super-hero comics, so it ought to try to achieve and maintain it. 5/10
