Spider-Woman: Shifting Gears, Volume 2: Civil War II by Dennis Hopeless
Published: January 2017
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The routine these days for Spider-Woman has meant late nights of busting up the bad guys while the porcupine suit wearing guy babysits. Such is the case right now, as Jessica scraps with the Tiger Shark, Roger is on diaper duty. He’s pretty good at it too. Plus, he makes the best chocolate pancakes! And no Maury, he is not the father! That tidbit of information (the father) was revealed in Shifting Gears Volume 1, well after several rounds of “can you guess the baby’s daddy” was played by the Avengers.
Anyhow, Jessica is hardcore avoiding Captain Marvel and is doing her best to limit her involvement in extinction level events to let’s say, just one per year. Still, trouble has a way of finding her. When Carol finally catches up with Jessica, she’s in the middle of fighting cannibalistic, Abominable Snowman looking Wendigos in Canada but no matter, what Captain Marvel has to say clearly trumps that. You see, there’s a new inhuman on the scene (Ulysses) and he has these visions, and Carol needs Jessica to confirm their validity because if he truly can see future outcomes, well then why not eliminate potential threats before they even get the chance to do anything dastardly?! If this sounds like a crazy idea, that’s because it is; one that will divide a team and may very well lead to someone’s death! Jessica’s decision is clear but who’s side do you think she should take?
Although I did not write any reviews for it I read Civil War II (2016) by Brian Michael Bendis and seeing the story unfold from this angle in the Spider-Woman series is pretty neat. I don’t want to spoil anything though so I’ll just say that I did not agree with Carol at all. She was willing to go too far. Using Ulysses as her personal prophet and calling shots that were deadly. Her intentions may have been noble to start but not if it meant betraying someone on your own team. That being said, I did enjoy this volume, friendship rifts and all. And let me just point out that I appreciated the art. Especially the rainy panels. The effects, the colors, and blurred lines were cool. Putting some respect on their names: Javier Rodriguez, Álvaro López.
Shout-Outs
Dennis Hopeless | https://www.marvel.com/comics/creators/11901/dennis_hopeless_hallum
Borrowed from the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library
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