Comic books are known for team-ups. Solo comics are great, but there is something truly exciting about cobbling together a disparate band of super-powered individuals to fight the next big bad. Symbiote Spider-Man seems to be doing just that, but with some very strange choices.
Post-Secret Wars, Peter Parker is just trying to find a little balance in his busy life. His boss and his work as a photographer are demanding, his personal life messy, and his vigilante work disrupts all of that. Not to mention the mysterious origins of his new suit—a sleek, black get-up that Peter believes is of an alien design. The new suit is smart and seemingly reading his thoughts and responding to his crime-fighting needs. Definitely alien tech, then, right?
Symbiote Spider-Man: King in Black #1 tells multiple stories, all woven together. First, we are introduced to Peter as he is sent on an assignment with Ned Leeds to interview former supervillain Alistair Smythe, aka the Spider-Slayer, for the Daily Bugle. Then, readers spot time-traveling baddie Kang the Conqueror as he interrogates a Watcher, destroying his own spaceship in his attempt to extract information. Back on Earth, Peter goes to battle with a super-charged Smythe, who injects himself with a formula to allow himself to walk again, poisoned a building full of people, and christened himself “Mister E”. The battle gets messy and strange when Mister E embraces Peter as a “brother” and encourages Peter to join him in the usual take-over-the-world goals. Black Knight arrives on horseback to provide assistance and do some helpful stabbing, introducing yet another character to this comic, before the reader is finally shown Kang the Conqueror’s fate, as he is pulled from the empty blackness of space by none other than Rocket Racoon.
To recap: Spider-Man, a knight in shining armor, a talking space raccoon and a shady time traveler are all on a collision course towards each other and the big bad. That’s a lot to unpack for Symbiote Spider-Man readers, and it will certainly be interesting to see how such an odd group is brought together. After all, these characters aren’t exactly normal fare for a superhero team-up, and sound more like a set-up to the world’s most bizarre joke.
The comic is already setting the stage for the epic fight that’s sure to come with Marvel’s upcoming King in Black event. In the meantime, there’s a lot to enjoy about Symbiote Spider-Man and a lot of potential for more weirdness to come.
Symbiote Spider-Man: King in Black #1 by Peter David, Jay Leisten, Frank D’Armata, and VC’s Joe Sabino hits shelves November 18, 2020.
