Villains Square Off With Spider-Man Trapped In The Middle In ‘Sinister War’ This July
by James Ferguson
This July, it’s villains everywhere as Sinister War begins. The event sees Spider-Man’s biggest bad guys square off with their own versions of the Sinister Six. It’s Doctor Octopus, newly revived in his own body after an encounter with an evil Norman Osborn Spider-Man from an alternate dimension (Comics, everybody) and his team against the Vulture’s Savage Six with New York City stuck in the middle. I have to wonder what’s up with the the Syndicate, led by the Beetle as that’s another team that could get in on this action.
The event kicks off in Sinister War #1 on July 14th, 2021, written by Nick Spencer and illustrated by Mark Bagley. The first issue of the four-issue mini-series features a main cover by Brian Hitch and a wraparound variant cover by Bagley. Here’s the info from Marvel:
Ock’s got a new Sinister Six and if you think he’s thought big in the past, think again. What Ock DOESN’T know is that the VULTURE has a sextet of his own: THE SAVAGE SIX! It’s an all-out WAR between two of the greatest villains in the Marvel Universe, and the only person they hate more than each other is SPIDER-MAN! Spidey’s in deep trouble with the toughest battle that he’s ever faced. Nick Spencer and Mark Bagley team up for this epic Spider-Man story guaranteed to shock readers everywhere!
Sinister War continues in Amazing Spider-Man beginning on July 21st with issue #71. Also penned by Spencer, it’s illustrated by Federico Vicentini and features a cover by Bagley. Kindred seems to be making a play in this one, adding another monkey wrench to things.
“Nick Spencer always goes big,” says Editor Nick Lowe, “and this is his biggest story yet through this series and the concurrent issues of Amazing Spider-Man, so clear some room on your ‘Best Comics Ever’ shelf.”
My problem with this run of Amazing Spider-Man is that it’s been all over the place. Spencer introduces some great ideas, but never seems to tie any of them together. They’re left hanging without any closure. This is another example of that, although to be fair, it’s built on some of the events that popped up earlier in his run, such as the Vulture’s’ rise to power. I’m reserving judgment until we get more info, but I don’t know why this has to be an entire event when this sounds like a normal day in the life of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
