Review: ‘Spider-Man’ #4 Deflates Like A Balloon

Ben Parker has taken up the mantle of his father, Spider-Man to fight the villainous Cadaverous. This is the same big bad that killed his mother, Mary Jane, so this is a personal struggle. Fortunately, Ben has help with his friend Faye Ito (The Marker), Riri Williams, and Tony Stark, but will that be enough to stop this frightening enemy and his growing army?

I’m going to be honest with you for a minute. I completely forgot this book existed. That’s understandable since the last issue came out ten months ago. Fortunately, it didn’t take long to get back up to speed. You have to love the recap pages featured in every Marvel comic.
This is a five-issue mini-series and now, in the penultimate chapter, writers J.J. Abrams and Henry Adams finally shed some light on the villain Cadaverous, giving us a glimpse into his motivations for his heinous attacks against the Spider-Man family. The thing is, this comes way too late so it doesn’t have much of an impact. Instead, it is a bloated explanation shoehorned into the story to provide some semblance of a meaning.

It doesn’t help that Cadaverous’ origin is essentially Mr. Freeze with a mix of Dr. Frankenstein. We’ve seen this kind of thing before so it doesn’t offer anything fresh. Artist Sara Pichelli, assisted on inks by Elisabetta D’Amico, does provide a saving grace in the design for the big bad and his minions. It is utterly terrifying. He’s clad in a huge cloak, hiding his monstrous form. What peeks out are sinewy bones with robotic pieces strapped to them. Is he man or machine or something trapped horribly in between?
This is a pretty horrific take on Spider-Man’s possible future. It’s dystopian in terms of just how hopeless it all seems. Cadaverous came in and just basically flipped the board over, sending any remaining heroes into hiding out of fear of what he could do to them. This doesn’t match up to the guy’s intentions so again, this falls flat.

Colorist Dave Stewart leans into that horror element with an impressive array of reds. This is featured in Cadaverous’ haunting form to the bloody tissue that pops up in an unsettling fashion. It also frames some panels, drawing the eye like a bolt of lightning.
Adding to the villain’s overall disturbing image is letterer Joe Caramagna, who uses a somewhat robotic font for the character’s voice. It comes across as broken and stilted, drained of any and all emotion.

This series started out with a strong premise, presenting an alternate and desolate future for the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. As we approach the end of the story, it leaves a lot unexplored and unfulfilled, relying instead on some quirky dialogue and a deflated villain. The mystery is gone and all that’s left is a some torture porn. What a bummer.
Spider-Man #4 from Marvel Comics is currently available at your local comic shop and digitally through ComiXology and Amazon Kindle.