- Written by: Dan Slott
- Art by: Paco Medina, Ty Templeton
- Colors by: Erick Arciniega, Dee Cunniffe
- Letters by: VC’s Joe Caramagna
- Cover art by: Humberto Ramos, Edgar Delgado
- Cover price: $4.99
- Release date: January 31, 2024
Spider-Boy #3 delivers two juvenile tales of spine-tingling adventure for the price of one. First, Spider-Boy battles an uber-rich brat with the world’s most destructive toy. Then, Spider-Boy lends Thor a hand by revealing a hidden superpower.
Is Spider-Boy #3 Good?
After three issues, is Spider-Boy really the breakout character Dan Slott keeps telling everyone he is? No, not really, but Marvel is determined to get Bailey Briggs over with the YA crowd, so Slott is doing everything in his power to appeal to the middle-grade reader set. On the plus side, Slott does make it feel like this series is designed to appeal to younger readers. On the negative side, Slott’s stories are dripping with “Hello, fellow kids” energy.
Nonstop Action Figure
In the previous issue, Spider-Boy helped Captain America foil Taskmaster’s mercenary mission to steal the Super Adaptoid. The Taskmaster only got away with the adaptable android’s hand. Now, Taskmaster turns the Super Adaptoid’s hand into his employer, Killionaire, who uses his chief scientist, Dr. Stillwell, to craft the ultimate action figure. What’s a Spider-Boy to do when facing a pint-sized antagonist who can morph into miniature versions of Earth’s mightiest heroes?
This story is the c-word. No, not that c-word, the other c-word. That’s Corny with a capital “C.” Dan Slott moves mountains worth of try-hard dialog and current-year trendiness to get this story moving. Killionaire is the ultimate “kid with a punchable face” whose more spoiled than mega-rich, and he spares no hashtag or social media livestream to brag about how great he is.
To be fair, Slott injects a moderate amount of wit in the timing, and there’s plenty of action to keep your eyeballs engaged, but I can’t see any young readers thinking this story is anything but corny, and it will age horribly.
Spi-lingual (Backup)
Baily and Christina encounter the Mighty Thor battling a giant spider from another realm. Bailey reluctantly leaps into action, unveiling his hidden superpower – he can talk to spiders. In the end, the fight was just a big misunderstanding, but the media coverage gave Madame Monstrosity a wicked idea.
Ehh, this is fine. Slott uses the backup to “justify” the higher cover price and introduce one of Bailey’s hidden talents in a cute little adventure involving Thor. Ty Templeton’s cartoonish art makes this short feel like it belongs in a Scholastic book, but it suits the tone of the story.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
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Bits and Pieces
Spider-Boy #3 aggressively chases the YA readers with two kid-friendly stories about Bailey’s adventures reintegrating into an Earth that doesn’t remember him. The tone and style of each tale are certainly appropriate for younger readers, but Slott tries too hard to be relatable, resulting in a corny, eye-rolling set of adventures.
Weird Science Marvel Comics 