Writer: Nick Spencer & Ed Brisson

Artist: Mark Bagley. Diogenes Neves, Carlos Gómez & Ze Carlos

Colorist: Brian Reber

Cover Artists: Bryan Hitch & Paul Mounts

Reviewer: StoryBabbler

The Sinister War has begun. It’s all out free-for-all between Spider-Man and multiple teams of super-villains, including the Savage Six led by Vulture and the Sinister Six reformed by Doctor Octopus. However, the true mastermind behind it all is Kindred and as Sinister War #2 shows, he’s finally preparing to bring a reckoning upon Spider-Man.

Review:

So, the second part of Sinister War was Amazing Spider-Man #71, which primarily followed Kindred’s progress in enacting his master plan. But where that issue was Kindred’s issue, this issue goes back to the story event’s strong suit – the super-villain fights. Here, we see Spidey go up against the other supervillain teams: the Wild Pack, the Sinister Syndicate, and the return of the Superior Foes of Spider-Man. For the moment, Kindred is holding the Sinister Six and the Savage Six in reserve, to Otto’s irritation.

Unlike Amazing Spider-Man #71, the super-villain brawls lead the charge here. Right from the get-go, the issue begins where it left off in the first Sinister War issue, with Spider-Man surrounded by super-villains. The issue does a great job handling these different super-villains, Spencer and Brisson do a good job conveying their many different personalities, getting each of them a moment in the spotlight. What’s even better is how the comic conveys Spider-Man’s exhaustion at fighting so many super-villains all at once in the same night in his narration.

The comic also does a solid job of organizing the fights between Spider-Man and the different super-villain teams. One gets their shot, then the other gets their shot, and then soon the next team gets their shot. It’s delightful structured chaos. This way the comic doesn’t feel too cluttered with too many characters all at once, letting each of the different teams get their time to shine while facing off against Spider-Man.

Now, you may be wondering who’s who in these super-villain teams. Well, the Wild Pack consists of The Foreigner and Chance’s team with Taskmaster, Black Ant, Slyde, and Jack ‘O Lantern. The second is the familiar all-female Sinister Syndicate team from previous story arcs. The third team is the Superior Foes of Spider-Man led by Overdrive, though they’re never called that in the book. Out of the three teams, the last ones will surprise readers the most.

Now, for those hoping for any kind of explanation as to why and how the various super-villain teams are here fighting Spider-Man, you get your answers. The surprising thing here is how clear and straightforward it all is as they were all doing their own thing that matches up with each team’s interests and styles. Just another day for each of them, until Kindred comes into the picture.

When Kindred steps into the picture, that’s when the comic gets serious. The comic shows how Kindred enlists the different super-villain teams, it’s as weird as you would expect. The gnarly villain maintains a morbid presence, doesn’t waste time, and gets right to business letting them what he wants. Even how he controls them is a tactic we’ve seen him do before with others, and it’s horrific in a straightforward sense that I’m sure will scare and disgust readers for all the right reasons.

Final Thoughts:

Sinister War #2 brings back the super-villain brawl fights you might’ve missed in Amazing Spider-Man #71. Here we see Spidey face off against multiple super-villain teams each of whom have made appearances in this run from earlier story arcs. Their stories all converge here thanks to the machinations of Kindred. The action is great, the art looks good, and the fights are honest-to-goodness superhero fun. And judging by the ending, the best is yet to come.

8/10

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