REVIEW: ‘Sinister War,’ Issue #3

Sinister War #3 is written by Nick Spencer and Ed Brisson, penciled by Mark Bagley with Carlos Gomez and Ze Carlos, inked by Andrew Hennessy, Andy Owens, and John Dell with Gomez and Carlos, colored by Brian Reber with Andrew Crossley, and lettered by VC’s Joe Caramagna.  It is published by Marvel Comics. In this issue, Spider-Man is barely clinging on to life after the events of Sinister War #2, yet the various villainous factions are still fighting to claim his head. To make matters worse, Kindred has resurrected yet another faction of super-villains who intend to end the web-slinger’s heroic career.

A factor in good Spider-Man stories is that Peter Parker will almost always be outclassed. His foes often are stronger, have better weaponry, or strength in numbers. The joy in reading these stories is seeing how Peter’s will and intelligence allow him to triumph over these villains—but Spencer and Brisson subvert that trope in the space of 22 pages. Thirty villains are just too much to handle, even for the Amazing Spider-Man. In perhaps the cruelest twist, the writers appear to bring help in the form of Black Cat, the Human Torch, and Wolverine. However, it turns out to be one of Mysterio’s illusions, proving that the wall-crawler is truly on his own for this battle.

The issue once again features a splitting of artistic duties, as Bagley handles the fight between Spidey and the army of villains while Gomez and Carlos tackle the resurrection sequences. Of the three artists, it’s Bagley who has the strongest art style as he lends weight to Spidey’s suffering. The issue begins in the middle of a graveyard on a dark and stormy night, perfectly setting the scene for things to come. It then tracks through the cobbled path, which is speckled with bloody footprints, before finally centering on Spidey leaning against a tombstone. The web-slinger definitely looks the worse for wear as a patch of webbing is wrapped around his midsection and growing dark red with blood. The following pages feature Spidey electrocuted, punched, kicked, and tackled by not one but two reptilian monstrosities in the form of the Lizard and Stegron, with Bagley making sure the reader feels the impact of every blow the web-slinger takes.

Carlos and Gomez add to the horror element of the book with their depiction of villains being resurrected. Glowing red energy sinks into the ground, reanimating bodies and giving them a more sinister look-especially with a villain who has suffered immense head trauma. They also continue to draw Kindred as a supremely terrifying being, giving the decaying villain a close-up in a panel that makes it look like he’s staring into the reader’s soul.

Rounding out the artistic team are Reber and Crossley, with their muted color palette adding a gloomy tone to the proceedings, including Kindred’s dark blue word captions and the jagged speech balloons of Stegron and the Lizard.

Sinister War #3 delivers what may be Spider-Man’s darkest hour as the web-slinger fights against an army of villains. With only one issue left to go, Spencer’s run on Amazing Spider-Man is looking to end on a high note and I’m eager—though a little sad—to see how it all ends.

Sinister War #3 is available wherever comics are sold.