Avenging Spider-Man: My Friends Can Beat Up Your Friends

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Avenging Spider-Man: My Friends Can Beat Up Your Friends (Avenging Spider-Man #1)

by Zeb Wells (Text), Joe Madureira (Illustrator)

3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 · rating details · 123 ratings · 23 reviews

This is what you've been waiting for! The return of legendary artist Joe Madureira (X-MEN, Battle Chasers) and fan-favorite Spidey writer Zeb Wells in a brand new Spider-series that teams the wall-crawler with some of the greatest heroes in the Marvel Universe! Spider-Man and new Avengers teammate Red Hulk kick things off by taking on a Moloid army during the New York Mara...more

Hardcover, 120 pages

Published June 27th 2012 by Marvel (first published January 1st 2012)

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Mar 22, 2013 Kenny rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novel

This is basically Spider-Man teaming up with another superhero, type of story. This book consists of five parts. I would give the 1st part to the 3rd part a 2-star rating, the 4th part a 3-star rating, and the 5th part of the story a 4-star rating. Thus the whole book would be a 3-star rating from me.

The first three parts has Spider-Man teaming up with Red Hulk to save Manhattan and a kidnapped NYC mayor, J. Jonah Jameson from subterranean Mole Men. Then the second part has Spider-Man teaming up...more This is basically Spider-Man teaming up with another superhero, type of story. This book consists of five parts. I would give the 1st part to the 3rd part a 2-star rating, the 4th part a 3-star rating, and the 5th part of the story a 4-star rating. Thus the whole book would be a 3-star rating from me.

The first three parts has Spider-Man teaming up with Red Hulk to save Manhattan and a kidnapped NYC mayor, J. Jonah Jameson from subterranean Mole Men. Then the second part has Spider-Man teaming up with Hawkeye and they go on patrol and stumble upon an evil plot by the villains, The Serpent Society. Finally, the last part has Spider-Man teaming up with Captain America as they try to stop The Serpent Society from msking another poison gas attack on NYC.

The writer of all three parts is Zeb Wells. The three parts were illustrated by the following:

Spider-Man & Red Hulk team up: Joe Madureira
Spider-Man & Hawkeye team up: Greg Land
Spider-Man & Captain America team up: Leinil Francis Yu

Joe Madureira's style is cartoony and very exagerated. The action sequences are good, it has dynamic force in it. He delivers art that is over the top and larger than life type of visuals. There's monsters, strange denizens from the depths of the Earth, deep rock caverns as if you are somewhere in a fantasy world where there are strange creatures. I am not a fan of his work, I find that some of the art had too much shading, and lacked some inking so sometimes the color blots out the lines. To me, at times, it came across as too shady, or smudgy at times, sort of like a rushed art, where it looks somewhat "dirty" because of all the unnecessary shading.

Greg Land's illustrations are photo referenced figures. Therefore it is more realistic and lifelike when you look at it. The drawback is he draws Spider-Man as if he is a model. They're beautiful to look at but with no dynamic or kinetic energy from the heroes when they are in action. Spider-Man and Hawkeye look like they are posing for a photoshoot instead of looking dynamic in their action sequences, especially Spider-Man when he is webswinging across the street. Don't get me wrong, the action sequences are good, except that they come across as posing or stills from a photo shoot of a supermodel. The facial expressions on Hawkeye sometimes doesn't match what action he is doing in the scene. Fortunately, Spider-Man is wearing a mask. If you are new to Greg Land's art, you will like it. It has clean lines and very beautiful to look at.

Leinil Yu has a unique style. He draws a leaner Spider-Man, sort of like Andrew Garfield-type that appeared in 2012's summer blockbuster, Amazing Spider-Man movie. The best part is Leinil Yu's double page spread of Captain America remembering his times in World War 2, featuring a pallette of action packed sequences spread across the double page from Cap riding a rocket and culminating with him punching Adolf Hitler's face at the end of the spread. The faces of the characters in this part are very nuanced and tell a lot about how the character is feeling. Leinel's facial drawings make them come across with various feelings, as if they are brooding, surprised, disappointed, etc. I loved his work.

The stories were entertaining but very short. I finished reading this whole graphic novel in one sittung and in under 1 hour. Even though the stories were entertaining, they were like routine stories, that somehow a reader of comic books/graphic novels would have read something similar in the past. It's basically, here's a problem, then the teamed up heroes go to action and take care of business while having banter between them, and then clean up the villains in the end. Finally, it is followed up by a brief quiet moment between the two teamed up heroes. Although I will give Zeb Wells credit that the end of each part showed a little more depth about the character of Spider-Man that makes it endearing to readers, and I enjoyed those couple of pages more than the rock'em and sock'em action in the book.

For decades Spider-Man was a loner in the Marvel universe. Over the last few years since his moneymaking movies came out about twelve or so years ago, Marvel changed directions in handling the Spider-Man character. Instead of a loner, he is now part of The Avengers, and interacts more with other superheroes, and has an extended family in the form of The Avengers. He doesn't have money problems anymore. His supporting cast in recent years does not consist of civilian people like Aunt May, Mary Jane, etc. They now consist of The Avengers both as superheroes when they are in action, and The Avengers as civilians when they are back in their headquarters.

If you want a quick entertaining read, give this one a shot. But don't expect a thought-provoking or some story with depth in between these pages. I'd borrow this from your local library if it is available. It isn't worth the $ 24.99 U.S. Dollars price on the hardcover edition. If you want to buy it, you better wait for the trade paperback edition when it comes out, at least that should be about 40 percent less in price.(less)

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Aug 08, 2012 ***Dave Hill rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: illustrated

Not every comic book needs to be witty and entertaining and fun and hip while still telling good done-in-one or done-in-two tales.

But I'm really, really glad this one does.

Peter Parker was for decades the quintessential outsider / loner. One of the more remarkable evolutions in Marvel Comics in the last several years has been making Spidey part of teams -- FF and Avengers in particular. By resurrecting "Marvel Team-Up" with his Avengers team-mates as the guests, we get to see a side of Peter tha...more

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Jul 13, 2012 April (CSI:Librarian) rated it 5 of 5 stars

I usually don't believe blurbs or agree with them, but this blurb is right. This is exactly what I've been waiting for.

I often despair and occasionally rant about the fact that comic book series not designed for kids twelve and under are severely lacking in the Fun Department. I understand the dilemma and the desire for some dark grit. Or just the avoidance of too much levity because with humor and quirkiness, there has to be a balance. A little nonsense now and then is fine. Too much nonsense i...more I usually don't believe blurbs or agree with them, but this blurb is right. This is exactly what I've been waiting for.

I often despair and occasionally rant about the fact that comic book series not designed for kids twelve and under are severely lacking in the Fun Department. I understand the dilemma and the desire for some dark grit. Or just the avoidance of too much levity because with humor and quirkiness, there has to be a balance. A little nonsense now and then is fine. Too much nonsense in not-so capable hands can become boring or, at the very least, not as entertaining. But this new series is absolutely perfect. I laughed out loud and really felt for all of the characters and I cannot wait for more.

The first story and the main one involves dealing with the Mole and his army as well as rescuing an irate Mayor Jonah Jameson who is not and will never be a fan of Spider-man. The Red Hulk goes with Peter, and there are plenty of whacky hijinks to be had. The stories after that are one-shots. They're both hilarious in a lot of ways but also moving in others.

The fourth issue deals with Hawkeye and actually does a great job on touching on a source of angst without spending too much time dwelling on it. Basically Hawkeye struggles with the difficulty of being a person without superpowers on a super-powered team. Peter has powers, of course, but he understands Clint's struggles and Peter's actions at the end of the issue were pretty touching.* The last story deals with Captain America's reluctance to return to drawing, which was a source of great to Steve before he became a Super Soldier. Peter helps him find a way to reconnect with his passion without seeing it as a weakness, and it was really sweet.

In conclusion, awesome and fun ~~and liberty bonds~~. While this particular graphic novel is not really a great starting point for new fans who are more familiar with the movies, it will greatly appeal to fans looking for something character-driven and (mostly) lighthearted.

* And it will be interesting to see if Clint's concerns factor into Spider-man storylines later on. I will also be very surprised if none of them get brought up in the Hawkeye's new series, which starts coming out in August, considering that Matt Fraction is writing it.(less)

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Sep 17, 2012 Coaxial Creature rated it 4 of 5 stars

Loved this one. Zeb Wells is an amazing writer, and Joe MaI hdureira matches him with the art. (I borrowed this one, and have returned it; the later issues are drawn by other artists, but I was equally impressed by those artists.)

I'm a Marvel girl - no matter how many times people tried to get me into the mainstays of the DC universe, I love the Marvel characters, who seem to have more human flaws of character. I could just always relate more to the Marvel characters. However, I tended to gravi...more Loved this one. Zeb Wells is an amazing writer, and Joe MaI hdureira matches him with the art. (I borrowed this one, and have returned it; the later issues are drawn by other artists, but I was equally impressed by those artists.)

I'm a Marvel girl - no matter how many times people tried to get me into the mainstays of the DC universe, I love the Marvel characters, who seem to have more human flaws of character. I could just always relate more to the Marvel characters. However, I tended to gravitate towards X-Men, Daredevil, and the Punisher, despite Spider-Man having been the every-man of the Marvel universe for so long.

Which makes it kind of ironic that I'm getting into him years after he's kind of over that phase. Part of the Avengers, making lots of money, having been married to a super-model and then divorced. I'm not sure why I picked this up in particular, other than after a long hiatus from comics, I'm getting back into one of my favorite characters - Wolverine. Knowing he was in the Avengers, and this was a Spider-Man/friends in the Avengers team up type series, I kind of crossed my fingers that Wolvie would be in it, and gave it a shot. (He isn't, not really, by the way.) Spider-Man teams up with Red Hulk against the Mole - and while I loved Spidey's optimism at the end and how it's a contrast to Red Hulk's cup-half-empty view, I wasn't captivated as much by this story as the rest. The humor did keep me reading, and again, Mads art was too beautiful not to continue. This was a three issue kick-off (I believe), by the way. Enjoyable, but I think there was far more depth in the following issues. (It only bothers me in retrospect, since I couldn't know that reading the first two issues; while reading them, I was giggling, captivated, and figured the rest would be more fluff pieces than anything.)

It also kind of amuses me that Wells fit much, much more into the last two issues than the first three. The fourth issue focuses on Spider-Man, and Hawkeye. Their personalities put them very much at odds, and I felt like there was a lot more of the friends than Spider-Man in this one, but it worked. It worked because Hawkeye had legitimate anxieties, and because they're teammates, both Hawkeye and Spider-Man rose above their differences when push came to shove. It also worked because despite the fact that it focused on Hawkeye's insecurities, and regrets, it's those flaws that allow Spider-Man to shine at the end. It only takes a couple panels at the end, too, although it means nothing without the pages that come before. There's just so much here - character conflict, depth of character, action, sacrifice - not a huge sacrifice, but it felt like a really big moment to me. (Also, the credits were brilliant, including a writer's note that both my sister and I were giggling over.)

The graphic novel ends up with Spider-Man and Captain America. It's a nice story, that takes Spidey and Cap back to their roots, and shows room for growth by taking that step back. It's a nice way to connect them, with Spidey convincing Cap to draw again, and him trying to grow up a little by throwing out his past - until Cap comes around and convinces him not to. It's interesting to see them flip positions, partly because Spider-Man is doing so only out of peer pressure, and a desperate need to impress Cap. (Haweye's 'You're a dork' note on Spider-Man's door is a nice touch; it fits into the anxiety of acceptance theme in this story.) I feel like this was a nice balance, dealing with issues that both Captain America and Spidey feel, and again, uses the one-on-one approach to deal with them, with a little more input from the others in this issue. I feel like Spidey had a bigger ending moment in the Hawkeye issue, so that one definitely left the biggest impact on me, but overall, this story was a nice ending.

I'm looking forward to the second graphic novel in this series. (less)

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Dec 28, 2012 M rated it 2 of 5 stars

Zeb Wells and Joe Madureira team up for a new Spider-Man Team-Up with this volume. Our first story sees Spider-Man and the Red Hulk battle it out with the Moloids and their latest threat in order to save Mayor J. Jonah Jameson. Cocky archer Hawkeye is paired off with Spidey to take out an assassin, showcasing the insecurity of Hawkeye as a "mere human" amid the powerhouse Avengers. Finally, Spidey teams with Captain America for a mini-mission; the major arc deals with helping the super-soldier r...more

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Aug 12, 2012 Kyle Michaud rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was pretty great.

Got to see Spider-Man interacting with a few different Avengers and how he impacts their lives.

Spidey's definitely a good guy and it really shined through in this book.

We see him trying to show Red Hulk that you don't need to be told to do the right thing in order to be a hero. He empathized with Hawkeye and helped stroke his ego at his own expense. And he helped bring out the kid/creative side in Cap.

Not to mention he took down a bunch of bad guys and even got a little re...more

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Aug 10, 2012 Viridian5 rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: marvel-comics, comic-books, super-heroes, graphic-novels

I really liked #1-3, the storyline about Subterranea, but really disliked #4 and #5. #1-3 has good art, an amusing wisecracking wallcrawler, and a good and fun plot. #4 features a really dislikable version of Hawkeye and art by Greg Land. At least there weren't any women in the story so I didn't have to see Land's porn faces. #5 featured a version of Captain America I also don't recognize or like.

If not for #4 and 5, I would have given this a higher rating.

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Apr 17, 2013 Alex Sarll added it

A delightfully ridiculous team-up with Red Hulk (in order to rescue J Jonah Jameson from subterranean nasties who think he's the king of the surface world) is followed by an issue each allied with Hawkeye and Cap. Neither feels quite like the character as generally portrayed, but they both have interesting angles to justify the inconsistency, so who's counting?

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Nov 07, 2012 Chris Lemmerman rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The opening three issues of this trade by Zeb Wells and Joe Mad are meant to be the hook for this series, and yet I found it hardly noteworthy. The art is nice, yes, but the story is barely enough for three issues, and never seems fleshed out at all. The final two done-in-one issues are much better, each looking at a sentimental side of Hawkeye and Captain America, and how Spidey's influence is positive for them. I'd much rather have had 3 more issues in this vein than the opening three parter.

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Apr 26, 2013 Angela rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: graphic-novels, marvel

This is a fun book. Think brave and the bold but with spiderman, not batman. In this volume spiderman teams up with red hulk, Hawkeye and captain america. The moliod story is fun, classic spiderman. Whereas the other two are more character driven and are really very good. A great read.

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Jan 25, 2012 Ash rated it 5 of 5 stars

I'm probably a little biased in giving this five stars because I had a preconceived idea that it was going to be great (isn't biased and preconceived the same thing?) Anyway, maybe I only made it great in my mind because that's what I was expecting, but I really enjoyed it.
You get to get a little taste of ALL the Avengers, and a big heaping helping of my favorite Avenger, Spider-Man. :3
The art was excellent and vibrant, the dialogue was crackling, and the plot was lively and fast-paced. just l...more

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Feb 03, 2013 Stefan Fergus rated it 5 of 5 stars

Great comic. Loved it. Right balance of zany humour mixed with heart and action. This was superb.

Read it because of #6, which was part of the Daredevil-Punisher-Avenging Spidey cross-over series, "The Omega Drive".

I'll certainly continue reading this series. I think I'm going to have to try more Spider-Man comics/collections, too. Just not sure where to start...

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Jan 17, 2013 Tanner rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If you don't care about the art.. This book probably isn't for you. This book has a 3 issue story and two single issue stories. The stories are okay.. The best probably being the last.. Peter bonds with Captain America by encouraging him to get back to his old childhood hobby of drawing super hero comics.

The reason I bought this collection is the art, or more specifically, the art of Joe Madureira. I want to keep my original issues in really nice condition, but i always find myself taking them o...more

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Mar 09, 2013 Jeff rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novel, comic-books

This pretty much what I want to see in a modern day, in-the-Avengers Spider-man comic book. Spider-man shows why he has what it takes to be considered one of Earth's mightiest heroes, and the book does a good job of showing how he can team up with such varied heroes as the Red Hulk, Hawkeye, and Captain America and serve as a partner with each. I thoroughly enjoyed this series and hope that Marvel heads back in this direction with the web head soon.

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Nov 28, 2012 Susan rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic_novel, superheroes

I was surprised I actually liked the story with Red Hulk and the Mole Man. The last two stories were just really stupid with eye-gougingly bad art though.

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Apr 14, 2013 Mike rated it 4 of 5 stars

Fun, breezy tales of slight adventures with no consequence - so plenty of room to relax and enjoy the characters. Love this style - and not at all what I was expecting from a book labelled "Avenging".

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Mar 09, 2013 Gabrielle Dewolfe rated it 3 of 5 stars

not to good

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Sep 13, 2012 Bill rated it 2 of 5 stars

Meh.

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Apr 23, 2013 Emily S. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: owned

I can't resist Spidey. Especially not wisecracking, geeky Spidey with a heart of gold. This one hit all my buttons: story, art, and Spidey.

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Dec 14, 2012 Lesley rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics-graphic-novels

Started out strong. The Hawkeye story was awful...does the writer hate Clint Barton?

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Nov 06, 2012 Tif rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics, graphic-novel, marvel

This book was good fun, but what was up with Hawkeye? The first few issues also employed some of the most appropriate uses of bold lettering.

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Jun 15, 2012 David Keith rated it 4 of 5 stars

Pretty decent Spider-book. Seemed really short. Should have waited for the paperback.

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May 23, 2013 Andrew Toth marked it as to-read

May 18, 2013 Jenna rated it 4 of 5 stars

May 17, 2013 Mohamed Tarek rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics

May 16, 2013 Drunkship rated it 4 of 5 stars

May 12, 2013 Piaa Kovač rated it 5 of 5 stars

May 09, 2013 Sofia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: comic-books

May 08, 2013 Muneeb Ziyad is currently reading it

May 14, 2013 Zac rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics

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Avenging Spider-Man: My Friends Can Beat Up Your Friends (Avenging Spider-Man #1)

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