Locality vs. globality
I must say right away that I was a bit disappointed with this volume. I love the humor that is inherent in the Spider-Man story. They do not deal with the issues of survival of the whole world, typical for the Avengers, and the area of Spider’s interests is rather his own district, or city. This looseness and lack of major commitments are responsible for the success of Spider-Man, the “hero next door”. However, you have to be very careful, because the line between lightness and stupidity is very thin. In my opinion, Nick Spencer got a little carried away in Volume 2 of Amazing Spider-Man . Peter Parker winning the Spider Man knowledge contest at a bandit-only bar? This is a slight exaggeration, more suitable for one of the so-called Holiday Specials .
Briefly about the plot
Let’s start from the beginning. Peter’s broke again. He rents an apartment with two roommates, one of whom is a villain (supposedly rehabilitated). Fred Mayers is better known as Bumerang. Of course, Parker knows about his friend’s other side, but he cannot take any step not to reveal his own secret identity. As if that were not enough, Fred makes an offer to spend the evening together. Their purpose? Bar for known criminals only. In addition, a Spider-Man knowledge contest is currently taking place in the restaurant, in which Peter decides to take part.
Knowledge competition?
On the one hand, I really like Spider-Man operating locally, not globally. That’s why I prefer him to world superheroes like Iron-Man or Captain America. This makes Parker’s stories seem a bit trivial, especially when compared to the cosmic journeys of other heroes at this point. However, this lack of seriousness is behind Spidey’s success. A trip to a bar with a friend, financial problems, the need to work and study mean that each of us can identify with the busy Peter Parker. If, however, this trip to the bar turns into competing with inferior villains in a tournament of knowledge about yourself, history very quickly starts to brush against the grotesque … Loose – by all means. Parody? I will thank you.
The return of the Black Cat
The second part of the comic becomes much more interesting. Black Cat enters the scene. As it turns out, the Thieves Guild has gained new leadership. To emphasize their importance, they steal the most important equipment of the world’s leading superheroes. Captain America’s Shield, Hawkeye’s Bow, and so on and so on. Spider-Man joins forces with his old love to regain his lost goods. There will also be heart dilemmas. The kitten does not hide his regret towards Peter, and Peter is now in a happy relationship with Mary Jane.
Support group
There is also one interesting idea in Friends and Foes that should be mentioned. The screenwriter came up with the idea to send the aforementioned Mary Jane Watson to a support group for close superheroes! Members can complain, tell about their fear about their loved ones, about their own experiences and meetings with arch enemies of heroes. Additionally, each of them is given anonymity to protect the secret identity of humanity’s defenders. A very well introduced theme, which I hope will be carried on in the next volumes.
Drawings are also at ease
We cannot forget about the very good line by Humberto Ramos. The illustrations are very nice, although they also bring out the spirit of lightness that Spencer introduced to the plot. The characters are not presented realistically, the whole thing is rather plastic. It fits the climate, but it differs significantly from the famous stories about the Spider from the 80s. It has its charm, I do not deny it. Sometimes, however, you have to guess that the hero in question is Peter Parker.
Good, but not really
All in all, this comic is really good. Funny, loose, it will allow you to relax after a day of work and so on. We love Spider-Man for this lack of seriousness. But it’s very easy to go overboard, as Nick Spencer did in this case. Pleasant reading for an hour free. However, it would be better not to go in the direction of knowledge about the Spider competitions, and to balance Parker’s humor, fight against evil and private life more.
