Spider-Man Black Suit and Blood

Thoughts

I’ve had this series on my wishlist for a while now. This four part mini-series tells tales back when Peter first got the symbiote suit. It’s dark, gritty, and each story is unique to one another in each of the books. Each issue has 3-4 stories recanting some times when Peter was first wearing the suit. It’s a great arc for each story, because the main character of each, is primarily the symbiote suit itself or what it symbolizes. Many of these untold tales, have Peter coming to grips with himself, the suit, or that early part of trying to figure out what’s gotten into him.

The stories don’t hold back. There are shootings, murder, and they show what every person or even Peter thinks while beating up on the bad guy brutally to the point when those that he saves need to ask him to stop. It’s the part of the suit that adds a little complexity and has Pete addressing his own morals and getting influenced by the symbiote. There’s plenty of panels with the series that show the symbiote feeling what Peter felt, and encouraging all of the rage and fury to be let out when he’s fighting. More so too, it demonstrates just how powerful the suit was for him when he had it on, from swinging, creating holes in walls, and straight out-muscling any of his foes when he got mad, almost like the Hulk. When it succumbed to the rage of the symbiote was when all his power really came out.

These short stories, are primarily less focused on the villains, while never fighting a major foe, the battles are quick and show the back and forth in Peter’s head while wearing the suit. There was one story regarding an encounter with the Shocker, when Peter wakes up after beating the Shocker near death. On the last panel we find out while Peter was asleep the symbiote was controlling his body and killed his partner without him being aware. A little twist for the reader, and so intriguing to see what they’ve done together.

Overall a really well written book and subset of stories. Each one dealing with the mental and emotional side of Peter during his black suit days. It exemplifies the fury and rage that the suit had over him.