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Reviews
The Superior Foes of Spider-Man Omnibus by Nick Spencer, Elliott Kalan, Tom Peyer, James Asmus
john_iv's review
5.0
Striving to rise above their stations as B-Listers; makes for a fun story.
Amusing collection of B-list villains try to score a heist while in-fighting and keeping away from larger predators. Had heard some good things about this run so opted to pick it up in Omnibus form, I enjoyed reading it with the antics of the gang as they strive to rise above their stations while constantly backstabbing each other. Recommended. (j4.)
Amusing collection of B-list villains try to score a heist while in-fighting and keeping away from larger predators. Had heard some good things about this run so opted to pick it up in Omnibus form, I enjoyed reading it with the antics of the gang as they strive to rise above their stations while constantly backstabbing each other. Recommended. (j4.)
correctiveunconscious's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
joelkarpowitz's review
5.0
I enjoyed everything about this! A great read, and I’d love more series like this—well-written, self-contained, and lots of fun. Highly recommend!
jhouses's review
3.0
"Marvel tiene los mejoeres villanos" dicen sus incondicionales. Pues ninguno de ellos aparece en esta historia. Esta es la historia de los segundones, de los malos de relleno, los que hacen bulto en las grandes sagas. Los de nombre ridículo y disfraz penoso. Boomerang, Shocker, Overdrive, Speed Demon y la nueva Escarabajo integran los renovados Seis Siniestros (si, ya se que solo son cinco) y se traicionan sin piedad unos a otros intentando apoderarse de la legendaria cabeza de Silvermane (¿O era del misterioso retrato sin máscara de Victor von Doom?) Una historia depravada, criminal y muy alocada, a la que sólo se le puede criticar lo confusa que resulta a veces.
fallona's review
3.0
I unfortunately care about one Marvel character now, and for some reason it's Overdrive.
jenghs's review
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
ederwin's review
5.0
Nick Spencer's writing has a way of making me enjoy reading about really sociopathic characters. I normally avoid super-hero comics, but after getting hooked on the dark humor of "The Fix", I had to look for more work from the same author.
Spiderman does appear in this comic, but barely. He is on a little over 5 pages of the 17 volumes. This is all about the bad guys. Minor villains at that. Not knowing much about superhero comics, I assumed that the main characters here were invented just for this book, but not so! A little research on Wikipedia shows that even the craziest of them has appeared somewhere, sometime in the Spiderman universe.
The main focus here is on Boomerang, whose super power is, um, the ability to throw a boomerang? He considers himself the head of the Sinister Six though the other four don't agree. (Yes, there are only five members of the sinister six!) This guy is constantly scheming. He can't say two words without lying. He can't carry out the simplest sinister plot without backstabbing his co-conspiritors. And yet, it is fun to watch him work. He is constantly losing and yet picks himself up, learns absolutely nothing, and goes into the next caper with a big smile on his face.
Some of the other funny bits of the series include a subplot involving a support group for super villains who want to go strait, a running gag with one superhero always getting his wings caught on doors and windows, and the disembodied cyborg head of a mob boss.
If you only want to take Spiderman seriously, you won't like this. But if you can laugh at the ridiculousness of it and don't mind spending time with some hilariously selfish characters, it's a real hoot. You don't need to know anything about these characters in advance. I didn't. But you might get more out of it if you do.
I appreciate that this lasted 17 issues and had a definite ending that tied-up most of the plot points. No need to drag it out forever.
Spiderman does appear in this comic, but barely. He is on a little over 5 pages of the 17 volumes. This is all about the bad guys. Minor villains at that. Not knowing much about superhero comics, I assumed that the main characters here were invented just for this book, but not so! A little research on Wikipedia shows that even the craziest of them has appeared somewhere, sometime in the Spiderman universe.
The main focus here is on Boomerang, whose super power is, um, the ability to throw a boomerang? He considers himself the head of the Sinister Six though the other four don't agree. (Yes, there are only five members of the sinister six!) This guy is constantly scheming. He can't say two words without lying. He can't carry out the simplest sinister plot without backstabbing his co-conspiritors. And yet, it is fun to watch him work. He is constantly losing and yet picks himself up, learns absolutely nothing, and goes into the next caper with a big smile on his face.
Some of the other funny bits of the series include a subplot involving a support group for super villains who want to go strait, a running gag with one superhero always getting his wings caught on doors and windows, and the disembodied cyborg head of a mob boss.
If you only want to take Spiderman seriously, you won't like this. But if you can laugh at the ridiculousness of it and don't mind spending time with some hilariously selfish characters, it's a real hoot. You don't need to know anything about these characters in advance. I didn't. But you might get more out of it if you do.
I appreciate that this lasted 17 issues and had a definite ending that tied-up most of the plot points. No need to drag it out forever.
Uber driver: You here for business, or vacation?
Punisher: My intel tells me the heads of every major crime organization in the city are going to be converging on one spot tonight. I am going to go there and execute every last one of them. I am going to purify this cesspool.
Uber driver: I hear ya -- You know what else you should do? Get one of them Cronuts. People line up all day for those things.
Punisher: I might also get a Cronut.
reanne's review
4.0
Review crossposted from Reanne Reads.
I don't read a ton of comics, largely because I like self-contained stories with a beginning, middle, and end, and comics are basically soap operas. That's why when I do read them, it's usually graphic novels of specific story arcs or full runs of series/mini-series that don't heavily rely on also reading other related comics. (This problem was why I eventually gave up on reading Spider-Man comics as a kid. Four Spider-Man titles, each with their own stories but also interconnecting ... I just couldn't keep track of it, and I still don't like having to try.)
So, comics like this are very much the sort of thing I enjoy. This omnibus is a complete collection of a 17-issue series starring characters who you don't have to know anything at all about going into it. I think the most I knew any of these characters when I started reading was vaguely recognizing Shocker. You don't have to know anything about Spider-Man or comics at all in order to read this omnibus, so it's very approachable.
I also don't usually tend to like stories where the villains are the protagonists, because I like to have someone to root for, but since this story is a comedy, that's an entirely different thing. The team of villains is basically like Oceans' Eleven, except more bad (I hesitate to go so far as to call them really evil--again, it's a comedy) and less competent. And instead of one big heist, the plot involves a series of heists and double-crosses and people having their own plans.
The plot definitely kept moving, with plenty of twists and surprises. The characters were well-developed and entertaining--and, while bad, they were still sympathetic enough that their victories and losses meant something to me as a reader.
The art was good (definitely serviceable and it never bothered me, but it didn't exactly wow me, either). The story and characters were funny and exciting, with a large number of places that made me laugh out loud. There were even smaller plot threads or moments which added some nuance and depth to the story.
Overall, I'd definitely recommend this comic for someone looking for an exciting, funny superpowers story. As long as you're not only interested in a story with big names, because the most any headliners get are brief cameos. This one's about the C-list, and that's part of what makes it great.
I don't read a ton of comics, largely because I like self-contained stories with a beginning, middle, and end, and comics are basically soap operas. That's why when I do read them, it's usually graphic novels of specific story arcs or full runs of series/mini-series that don't heavily rely on also reading other related comics. (This problem was why I eventually gave up on reading Spider-Man comics as a kid. Four Spider-Man titles, each with their own stories but also interconnecting ... I just couldn't keep track of it, and I still don't like having to try.)
So, comics like this are very much the sort of thing I enjoy. This omnibus is a complete collection of a 17-issue series starring characters who you don't have to know anything at all about going into it. I think the most I knew any of these characters when I started reading was vaguely recognizing Shocker. You don't have to know anything about Spider-Man or comics at all in order to read this omnibus, so it's very approachable.
I also don't usually tend to like stories where the villains are the protagonists, because I like to have someone to root for, but since this story is a comedy, that's an entirely different thing. The team of villains is basically like Oceans' Eleven, except more bad (I hesitate to go so far as to call them really evil--again, it's a comedy) and less competent. And instead of one big heist, the plot involves a series of heists and double-crosses and people having their own plans.
The plot definitely kept moving, with plenty of twists and surprises. The characters were well-developed and entertaining--and, while bad, they were still sympathetic enough that their victories and losses meant something to me as a reader.
The art was good (definitely serviceable and it never bothered me, but it didn't exactly wow me, either). The story and characters were funny and exciting, with a large number of places that made me laugh out loud. There were even smaller plot threads or moments which added some nuance and depth to the story.
Overall, I'd definitely recommend this comic for someone looking for an exciting, funny superpowers story. As long as you're not only interested in a story with big names, because the most any headliners get are brief cameos. This one's about the C-list, and that's part of what makes it great.
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