Comic Book Review - W.E.B. Of Spider-Man #1

Rob reviews W.E.B. Of Spider-Man #1...

W.E.B. Of Spider-Man #1 is an all-ages introduction to the world of Peter Parker, and his wall-crawling alter-ego. There's a lot of inspiration taken from both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Tom Holland in this opening issue. With the comic also serving as an introduction to a new Disney attraction - can the MCU's influence be a little too much?

W.E.B. Of Spider-Man #1 sees Peter team up with a group of teenage experts as they strive to prove their worth in the world. The Worldwide Engineering Brigade (W.E.B.) aims to give the next generation of thinkers an outlet to make their visions a reality. It all sounds a bit like Willy Wonka meets AIM, but thankfully the cast are more pleasant than Mike TV, Veruca Salt etc - the little shits! 

Team W.E.B. is made up of Harley Keener (the boy from Iron Man 3), Lunella Lafayette, Onome, and The Invincible Squirrel Girl. With Peter Parker being their newest recruit the youngsters have the brains. But do they have the brawn when it's needed? 

Writer Kevin Shinick brings quite an accessible Spider-Man tale to younger readers. Peter Parker is incredibly relatable and feels very much like Tom Holland's portrayal of the character. The rest of the W.E.B. members are also extremely likeable and each shares plenty of "page time". Even when Spider-Man shows up, the team are just as included exhibiting their skills rather than just backing up Spidy. The inclusion of Harley Keener came as a surprise - and is a welcomed one in bridging that gap between comic and MCU. 

Shinick also throws in early that we could be going down a more Peter Parker avenue than that of Spider-Man. With Parker himself musing over that fact. Naturally, this is going to be the premise of the series' future with Parker no doubt influencing the team whilst keeping Spider-Man's influence to one side. Of course, by the end of the issue, Spider-Man has appeared under that ever clichéd mystery of "where's Peter?". Whilst it necessary to drive the issue forwards, I could help but wonder why these geniuses didn't put two-and-two together...

Alberto Alburquerque treats us to some great art that mixes both the MCU and the traditional "Spidy-Verse". I couldn't help but feel an almost Ultimates vibe as Alburquerque gives everything a somewhat "normal" look. Rachelle Rosenberg also drives this somewhat MCU/Ultimates feel home with a gorgeous colour palette that feels fresh and unique to this world. 

The only real downside to W.E.B. Of Spider-Man #1 is that it doesn't yet touch on what the future holds. We do however see a cast of likeable characters go through their origin story in a world thats not quite comic - not quite MCU.

Rating 8/10

Rob Lake - For more comic book and video game chat why not follow Geek Culture Reviews on Twitter and Facebook @GeekCultureRev