I’ll admit I was skeptical when this book was announced. It’s a limited series team-up between Spider-Man, the Hulk and the Punisher, right before they’ll share the big screen in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and it’s being headed by a notorious long-form storyteller in Jonathan Hickman? If it seems forced, that’s because it is. What we get is a fun, if unnecessary, debut issue that promises big action with little narrative payoff.
Title: Spider-Man: Long Way Home #1
Creatives: Jonathan Hickman (Writer), Adam Kubert (Artist), Arthur Hesli (Colorist), Ariana Maher (Letters)
Characters: Frank Castle (The Punisher), Bruce Banner (The Hulk), Peter Parker (Spider-Man)
Villain: AIM, Hydra
Format: Limited Series
Our Rating: 7.5/10 Stars
The Punisher Encounters a Dangerous Foe
The story opens with the Punisher, and a team of special forces operatives arriving in the jungle. Their mission is to infiltrate a hidden AIM facility to secure an unknown device. They soon find that the terrorist group, Hydra, had the same idea and is storming the facility themselves. Artist Adam Kubert captures the grittiness of war, showcasing intense gunfights as bullets fly and bodies crumple to the ground. Frank and his squad mates sneak in amidst the chaos and stumble upon the device in question. AIM has built its very own Cosmic Cube.
This discovery is scary enough on its own, but the team quickly encounters an even more terrifying monster. The Hulk has arrived on the scene. The Green Goliath looks like a horror movie villain on a stunning page ten splash. He emerges from the shadows, tendons bulging and a scowl plastered across his face. His wingspan stretches across all nineteen Hydra agents, with knuckles the size of their heads. This isn’t someone you’d want to encounter in a dark alley.
The action spills out of the facility, with Frank and his team racing to escape the Hulk. Explosions and fires erupt all around them, with colorist Arthur Hesli wrapping entire scenes in violent yellows and scalding oranges. Letterer Ariana Maher captures the chaos, filling panels with bold RAT-A-TATs and DAKKA-DAKKAs that threaten to burst off the page. Kubert makes sure that the Hulk remains menacing, as the Jade Giant towers over and dismembers anything standing in his way.
Spider-Man and the Perils of Corporate Synergy
So where’s Spider-Man during all this? Even though the title bears his name, he doesn’t do much here. The crux of the issue focuses on the Punisher’s mission and confrontation with the Hulk. If you’re wondering where Spidey fits in, you’re not alone. The web-slinger himself poses that exact question upon arriving in the jungle. However, he receives little more than some nonsensical explanation about the government’s inability to function officially. I get that he’s got a movie coming out, but Hickman could have come up with a more interesting reason than that.
Verdict: Should you buy Spider-Man: Long Way Home?
Ultimately, Spider-Man: Long Way Home is a fun premise that’s bogged down by movie synergy. There’s no obvious reason for the wall-crawler to be part of the action, and that’s clear from the start. Kubert’s menacing Hulk, Hesli’s destructive colors, and Maher’s hectic sound effects do the heavy lifting, while Hickman’s razor-thin plot leaves much to be desired. Unless you’re starved for content from this trio of heroes, you’ll be better off picking up the trade.
‘Spider-Man: Long Way Home’ #1 Review: Holy MCU Synergy
Ultimately, Spider-Man: Long Way Home is a fun premise that’s bogged down by movie synergy. There’s no obvious reason for the wall-crawler to be part of the action, and that’s clear from the start. Kubert’s menacing Hulk, Hesli’s destructive colors, and Maher’s hectic sound effects do the heavy lifting, while Hickman’s razor-thin plot leaves much to be desired. Unless you’re starved for content from this trio of heroes, you’ll be better off picking up the trade.
