Spider-Man Vs. the Sinister Sixteen. // Review
Peter Parker shows-up at an expensive French restaurant with Mary Jane. They’re there for a nice evening. That’s when Dr. Otto Octavius shows-up. They instantly recognize each other. And they know what they would normally be doing if this sort of thing would happen, but they’re both just going to dinner and neither one of them wants a fight in Spider-Man Vs. the Sinister Sixteen. Writer J. Michael Strasczynski delivers a remarkably fun concept to the page with the aid of artist Phil Noto. It feels a bit like something that might have been executed in the past, but Straczynski and Noto do a brilliant job of making it feel new.
It’s not just Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus. That would be bad enough. Thor and She-Hulk also show-up. So does Loki. And Venom. And well...the entire place is populated by super-heroes and super-villains. That can’t be coincidence can it? It’s not like it’s a very big restaurant or anything like that ,but what are the odds that everyone there is somehow involved in relations between people with super powers? Even in Marvel Manhattan, there has to be some reason for the coincidence...
Strasczynski has a clever, working knowledge of the Marvel universe that works quite well in a relationship to a very, very clever story. The pacing is elegant. The delivery of the more complex end of the story is also really well rendered. Strasczynski’s dialogue is particularly crisp on a whole bunch of different levels that all work quite well. There's real wet here that seem to be among some of the authors better work. And that's really saying something given how much writing he's done over the decades in so many different formats. This really feels like one of his better works. Which is kind of weird.
A good portion of Noto’s work here simply lies in juxtaposing different iconic superheroes and supervillains and putting them into the context of an expensive French restaurant. Advance the majority of the joke that's being delivered here. Thankfully, if that's more than enough to keep the issue going visually. Noto has a genius grasp of delivering comedy in a minimalist format. There are so many unspoken moments that feel so totally natural and so totally bizarre at the same time. There really isn't much of a need to sell it beyond the fact that it's there. And that's part of the brilliance of the comedy. Of course, once action does actually start to flow on the page. It feels a little stiff. And awkward. But this is perfectly fine as most of it is simply a comedy of manners. And seeing a comedy of manners delivered in the Marvel universe is a visual feast.
Strasczynski knows perfectly well that this is an idea that we'll only fit between two covers. There's really no reason to make it any longer than it needs to be. It is actually an entirely enjoyable evening. And it's hell of a lot of fun for a single issue one-shot sitcomicbook.
