On the surface, Jenkins is exploring East Indian culture in this two-part story arc, but what he really delves into is the title character's spider-sense. Jenkins tries to expand it further, examining it not as a super-power but as some of spiritual awareness. It sounds like an intriguing idea, but the effort falls flat. Combined with a rather cliched origin for a new super-villain, it makes for one of Jenkins's less impressive Spidey stories.
Spider-Man does a little research about the AGK, Inc. and any connection it has to India, and he learns that the company did something highly objectionable and actionable in a city called Malpura... something so horrible that it has drawn the ire and retaliation of a woman believed to be a Buddhist goddess named Tara. But even she can't contend with the ruthless methods of Corman, AGK's enforcer. It's up to Spider-Man and Tara to expore the corruption of AGK... and its even more powerful "employer."
Jenkins presents Spidey's sensory powers as something of a Zen, one-with-nature kind of thing, and there's a pleasant, lyrical tone to his description of the experience. But it just seems to go too far, diverging too radically from the character's more grounded, everyday appeal. It adds an element of the spiritual to his powers that draws too much attention to them. In other words, in an attempt to make his powers seem more natural, Jenkins actually ends up pointing out just how fantastic and over-the-top they are.
Buckingham's artwork serves the story well. While I didn't care for the mystical tone of the spider-sense scene, I did enjoy the way the spiritual synchronicity was represented in the art. The design for the new villain was sharp as well. It looks like a character that would result from a collaboration between Amazing Spider-Man artist John Romita Jr. and the late Jack Kirby.
While I enjoyed the design of the new villain, his origin left a lot to be desired. It's a cookie-cutter bad guy origin, and his powers remind me more than a little of those of Venom. But Tara... she's an intriguing character, and I hope we see her again in the near future. There's an innocence and purity to the character that's appealing, and unlike the new villain, she's far from a typical super-hero comic-book character. I also enjoyed the personality of the Indian yoga master with whom Spidey meets in the opening scene.
