Writer: Benjamin Percy
Penciller: Marcelo Ferreira
Inker: Jay Leisten
Colorist: Frank D’Armata
Cover Artist: Paulo Siqueira (Cover A)
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Cover Price: $5.99
Release Date: April 23, 2025

A brutal killer is loose in the hot summer streets of New York City as Peter Parker chases down one hell of a story. Can Spider-Man or the city cops catch the killer before they strike again? And what’s with the missing body parts of the victims?

Plot Summary

The issue opens in New York in the middle of a heatwave. We see a cop and a couple of forensics staff checking a shockingly gruesome murder scene. The victims have been skinned and strung up and are missing random body parts. It’s as if the killer took them as trophies. One of the forensics team was Peter Parker in disguise and he swings away with photo evidence of the homicides. I didn’t know Peter was one to pull the old Bruce Wayne disguise trick.

Peter’s working for J. Jonah Jameson in this story and he calls Jonah to say he has a heck of a scoop. The panels of Jonah screaming down the phone at Peter took me back to happier Spidey times. Before Peter can get to Jonah’s office, a bank robbery delays him and we get some cool Spidey web-swinging action through the hot city streets. Spidey tracks down the robbers to their hideout, but they won’t be answering any of his questions. The brutal killer has struck again!

Jonah seems delighted by the prospect of a serial killer roaming the streets; hey, bad news always sells. But a sudden power cut hits the city and leaves Mary Jane stranded in a subway train. She sees what she hopes is help approaching from the dark outside the train carriage. As the figure peers in through the window, we see it is an horrific face and the screams begin.

Sharp Points!

It’s an intriguing opening to the story that gives us a confident Spider-Man who has been missing from recent Spidey comics. The art is mostly very good with some nice scenes of web-swinging action contrasted with a few scenes of bloody body horror. MJ looks great when we see her and there is a big cliffhanger involving her that makes you want to keep reading.

Dull Points!

It’s a little disappointing that we don’t get a clear look at the Predator in this first issue. There is also a lack of Predator action. The brutal moments we do see are made up of the aftermath of the creature’s attacks. Also the motive of the Predator is unclear. If it’s just hunting trophies then why is it in New York, a huge populous city where it has much more chance of being spotted?

Final Thoughts

Predator vs. Spider-Man #1 is a solid opening issue to the mini-series which surprises with its gory art. It almost feels like a red-band edition at times. The art and coloring are impressive with some nice scenes of Spidey swinging through the New York neighborhoods. We don’t get a clear look at this particular Predator yet, but what we do see isn’t pretty! And there’s also a surprise appearance by a classic Spidey villain right at the end of the issue.

7.5/10

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About the reviewer: Wakizashi Gray has a YouTube channel where he reviews comics. It has the rather bizarre name of Wakizashi’s Teahouse. He also keeps a WordPress blog called Wakizashi Teahouse Blog.