SPIDER-MAN AND X-FACTOR: SHADOWGAMES #2 – June 1994

Shadowclash

Credits: Kurt Busiek (writer), Pat Broderick (penciler), Patterson/DeLarosa/Williams (inkers), Joe Rosen (letterer), Tom Smith (colorist)

Summary

Spider-Man takes a disc on Project: Homegrown with him as he tracks Mirrorshade. While disguised on a train following Mirrorshade to New York, Spider-Man is once again attacked by Shadowforce. X-Factor arrives to help, but Shadowforce suddenly leaves. On their way to New York, they grew out of the range of the government’s mental commands and are now on their own. Mirrorshade makes it to New York and stalks Flash Thompson.

Review

It’s almost an entire issue dedicated to Spider-Man fighting some generic villains no one could possibly care about. X-Factor’s role is negligible and could have been filled by any other superhero team. Pat Broderick’s art tells the story well enough, but it’s just as bland as every other aspect of the comic. I assume he’s going for a Ditko-style Spider-Man, but having never seen a Ditko comic when I first read this issue, I thought it was just weird looking. Kurt Busiek is a good enough writer to know that the best Spider-Man stories usually involve Peter Parker's supporting cast, so Flash Thompson is used to add some human element to the story. The setup, a villain mimicking and exaggerating Peter’s momentary anger at Flash, is pretty ridiculous, though. There’s also the odd moment when the mind-controlled Shadowforce move out of the government’s range to control them while tracking Spider-Man. Didn’t someone in the military think of this beforehand? Why weren’t they stopped from going on this mission if the government’s control didn’t reach New York? Why didn’t someone send them back before they got this far? And weren’t they fighting Spider-Man in New York in the first issue?