Spider-Man #6 Comic Book Review/Recap

Spider-Man #6 – Civil War II Tie-In!

Spider-Man #6 Comic Book Recap

At the Brooklyn Visions Academy, Miles is talking to his new roommate Fabio. As a mutant, Fabio goes by the codename Goldballs, and, wanting to welcome the young man to the school, Ganke told Fabio about Miles being Spider-Man. This has infuriated Miles, which Goldballs understands. When the mutant went public, he was nearly killed, so he promises not to tell anyone about Miles and his secret identity. Fabio tries to be consoling, saying that Ganke feels terrible about letting Miles’ secret slip, but Miles is having trouble getting used to all these changes.

Unseen by both young men, they are being watched. The principal catches the observer and demands an explanation. She gets nothing, and the stranger drives off without saying a word. It turns out this woman was a private investigator hired by Miles’ grandmother, who is worried about the young man’s falling grades. Miles’ parents Rio and Jefferson, are not at all comfortable about this, and feel like they are betraying their son. Rio knows nothing good can come of this. Jefferson says nothing, but, seeing Nova flying by, knows his wife is right.

Later, Miles has cooled down a bit when Ganke comes by, though he is still annoyed with what his friend did. They try to brush past things, and instead talk about a girl Ganke likes, until Miles gets a call… from Tony Stark, who wants to talk. He suits up and takes off, wondering how long it will take before this Avengers stuff stops scaring the crap out of him. He tries to psych himself up but… well… there’s nothing quite like Iron Man. Tony greets the young hero and asks where Miles stands on the precognitive Inhuman. Miles hasn’t given it much thought one way or another.

Tony says he’s going to have to. Things are coming to a head over this. Captain Marvel wants to use this kid for good, but what good? Tony’s biggest concerns are about Ulysses and his powers. The kid can see the future, but the future hasn’t happened. It just has to be an interpretation of the future. The way he sees it… it’s a form of profiling. Not racial, obviously, but if you’re arresting somebody for doing something they haven’t done yet, by definition, that’s profiling. If Banner was viewed as dangerous… well, is it any surprise what happened, when you look at it this way?

Tony can tell a war is coming. He’d love to be wrong. But he’s smart. He can see what is happening. Both him and Carol are determined and have faith in their side of the argument. Things are heading towards conflict, no matter what. Stark asks if Miles is willing to side with him, but only if he sees things his way. He only wants the kid’s help if he understands what he is doing and accepts it. Miles then asks a pointed question – is Tony using the word profiling because he knows Miles is not white? Stark replies no, this is the only word he can think of to describe what is happening here. Miles explains that it is a big issue in his house. His dad has had problems with this in the past. Stark, being rich and white his entire life, can only imagine. Miles agrees to think on it, which Tony understands, and Spider-Man thanks his friend for taking the time to contact him.

It’s a shame, though. Stark admits that he was hoping the boy would show him something he hadn’t thought of: a less cynical view of the world, perhaps. The next day, Miles has a talk with his dad about the Inhuman. Jefferson mentions how he was arrested twice for something he didn’t do, each time quietly let go after the fact, which Miles says he alluded to in his conversation with Tony. This is new ground for the father, as his son has never come to him with a superhero dilemma before. It’s new territory for them both, as Miles has never really had a dilemma like this either. Jefferson asks what his son thinks, and Miles says Tony is way smarter than he is. He kind of thinks Stark is right, but doesn’t want to get into a fight over this. His father says sometimes you have to fight for the right thing. He is also certain that Miles’ mother and grandmother wouldn’t approve. Eventually, he’s going to have to tell them the truth. The longer he waits, the harder it is going to be.

At Alias Investigative Services, Rio asks Jessica Jones to call off the investigation on her son. Jones says she can only do so if Rio’s mother, the person who hired her, gives the word. Rio offers to pay the woman quite a bit of money, which amuses Jones, saying nobody has ever tried that before, but she still refuses as a matter of professional reputation. She apologizes, but Rio says it’s not like the detective is going to find anything anyways. A look crosses Jessica’s eye, and Rio realizes she did find something. As she begins to panic, Jessica promises Miles is a good kid, but the mother won’t let up. She begins to cry, and begs the woman to tell her son’s secret.

Spider-Man #6 Comic Book Review

Hello and welcome to Comic Island! My name is Arden, and this is my recap, and review, of Spider-Man #6!

So here we have my latest Civil War II tie-in to cover and it’s a fun one! It’s been a while since we’ve checked in on Miles. He’s made a nice home for himself in the prime universe. His mom is back to life thanks to Molecule Man, he’s made some new friends, and is even an Avenger now! Spider-Man has been a fun series ever since it started post-Secret Wars that I’ve been personally enjoying but I haven’t had a chance to talk about here on the channel yet.

I liked this issue, for the most part. It starts out slow, to the point that I just want to slap Marvel and just say “will you get on with this stupid fight already?! It’s been nothing but weeks of build-up with this Civil War II stuff!” But then Tony shows up and things started clicking for me. This profiling business is quite an interesting take on the events so far, especially considering this comic is written by Bendis, who is handling the main story of Civil War II as well.

I don’t know if this is the direction they are taking with the core series, but, if Bendis managed to sneak in this political message in an ostensibly personal story like this one, well, good for him. I was all for a non-political or at least a politically neutral story, but this is pretty clever and interesting. Oh, I’m sure the usual shrill corners of the internet will gnash their teeth and stomp their boots but, yeah, I find this profiling angle pretty clever and well done. It adds a lot to everything that happened to Bruce Banner, and I like the ideas behind it.

Even if they are only being explored here, it’s a cool discussion. Banner would be looked at like a violent, dangerous threat, so maybe Ulysses’ powers, or the Inhuman himself, profiled Banner as a threat. Hawkeye, in turn, may have been on edge and acted when he didn’t need to. Given the current political climate in the US, that’s quite the little bit of nuance to sneak into your story. So I like this comic, and recommend it. It’s a bit hard to get a handle on unless you’ve been reading this series, so I do suggest you go through the Spider-Man issues that have come out so far, but it is worth it. Not only are some great ideas explored here and some fascinating little hints are dropped of what may be coming, but there’s some pretty cool drama, too.

I’m curious to see what happens with Miles and his mom. Is she going to find out about him being Spider-Man? We’ll have to find out next time.