Peter Parker, Spider-Man, Vol. 2: One Small Break

Peter Parker: Spider-Man (Collected Editions) #2

by Paul Jenkins

The friendly neighborhood web-slinger's chosen profession is a series of unrelenting tests, forcing him to ponder how his life as Peter Parker influences his actions as Spider-Man.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Spider Man, Marvel, Graphic Novels Comics, Superheroes, Comic Book

160 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2002

About the author

Paul Jenkins is a British comic book writer. He has had much success crossing over into the American comic book market. Primarily working for Marvel Comics, he has had a big part shaping the characters of the company over the past decade.

Reviews

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really, really liked this volume. Art was outstanding, you can always trust that Mark Buckingham is going to deliver - his style feels so modern compared to anything else at Marvel at the time. And I really like Faucher's covers too. Issue #34, the one about Uncle Ben, was so pretty.

Paul Jenkins is also becoming one of my favourite Marvel writers of all time. Everything I've read from him I've really enjoyed. He might be a bit too serious for Spidey, but I really like an introspective character study through small, down-to-earth adventures. There's nothing here that's going to change the in-universe continuity, but it's so worth spending time with these issues. If you do, you'll get: a look into Peter's opinion of euthanasia and Aunt May's preferences for when she grows old, another villain who uses mind tricks and might break Spider-Man, a look at one of Peter's traditions on the anniversary of Uncle Ben's death, and another "villain" passing in front of Spidey once again.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a weird run cause some stuff I love (Pete dealing with having to decide to kill, his guilt of being a hero, fusion a interesting villain, and his uncle issue) but then the last issue is pretty bad, the fusion storyline doesn't get a proper finish, and it feels like we can do grander stories. But still, an enjoyable spidy read.

[Trevor Ortega]

I think that a possible theme of the book is that anything's possible with determination because spider man managed to stand up to fusion even though his neck was broken.

[Carrie-Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't read many Spider-Man comics, so I don't know how this stand up to any other runs or iterations. I enjoyed most of the arcs in here bar one - I just don't really care for the baseball section, I found it boring and pointless. I know we were meant to see it as a way for Peter to mourn Uncle Ben, but I was over all the baseball language 2 pages in.
Other than that though, there are three separate things that happen n here and enjoyed reading about all of them. They all had different vibes, so it was an interesting mix.

[Mads · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was pretty cool. The best of the stories was the one with Uncle Ben's tradition of going to a ballgame with Peter and him honouring it every year on the day of his death ❤

[Ian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Depressed over his break-up with MJ, Spidey is forced to question his very role as a hero after an encounter with new villain Fusion leaves three-hundred people dead.

There's a lot about this book that I really didn't like, so I'm just going to run down the list.
First of all Fusion is just awful. His backstory is horribly cliché and aside from that he's not even particularly visually impressive or engaging as a character.
The second worst thing about this book is its dour tone. Sure, it's important to have Peter be a bit reflective from time to time, but what makes him unique as a hero is his ability to be upbeat despite all the reasons he has not to be. Here, however, Jenkins seems to be trying to take on the concept of What If... Spider-Man Was Miserable?.

After Fusion bows out of the book (not with a bang, but with a whimper), we get an extended sequence in which Peter goes to a baseball stadium and has an in-depth flashback to having gone there with Uncle Ben. I've often wondered if Americans can ever really understand just how tedious they sound when they enthuse about baseball, apparently convinced that everyone else will totally be onboard with it. Perhaps the fact they have a World Series has left them blind to the fact that most other countries couldn't care less. For my part, as a British person, this whole sequence in the book was boring and mawkish (to balance my criticism of Americans and baseball, I will respectfully admit that many Brits can be just as tedious about cricket - not me though).

The book finishes out on another downer, with a story about a mutant whose power has made them miserable to the point they're willing to die just to see the stars for the first time.
I've enjoyed some of Jenkins' grittier takes on the Marvel Universe, but Spider-Man is definitely not a character which needed this treatment.

* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.com *

[heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

So angsty. Tons of emotional hurt and zero comfort 😭 I'm not a fan of the MJ-and-Peter-get-divorced plot device but I guess they both needed a fresh arc for character development or whatever.

This volume contains four separate stories and I really enjoyed three of them. So it gets maybe a 4.5 rating overall from me.

Part I. Mendel Stromm — dark. Peter Parker contemplates euthanasia. The bit with Aunt May sharing her thoughts about death (possibly preparing Peter with hints of what she would want him to do for her in future) and a childhood memory of a cancer-stricken uncle gives this story more depth.

Part II. Fusion — this is the dud in this entire volume. I just find Fusion annoying and his “reason” for becoming a terrorist and wanting to kill Spiderman lame lame LAME. Like, get it together dude. We've all lost people we love. That's not a valid reason to be dropping bombs in public places yo.

Part III. Maybe Next Year, aka another anniversary of Uncle Ben's death — at first I thought it would be another sappy cliché… how many times are they gonna repeat this… but I finished reading this story with tears in my eyes. The emotional backstory ties together with Peter's current situation dealing with his divorce from MJ.

Part IV. If Thine Eyes Offend Thee — short but well-executed. A non-villain I can really get behind. Good choice to end the compilation with this one, because it sure has impact.

[Mr. Stick · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I GUESS I COULD ALWAYS IDENTIFY WOTH THE METS, YOU KNOW? A BUNCH OF LOVABLE LOSERS WHO HIT THE OCCAISIONAL HOME RUN BY ACCIDENT. JUST LIKE ME."
- Peter Parker

Got this on clearance, because I'm cheap. Below average reviews left me with low expectations. But, as it happens, some people just have to bitch about everything. Because I really enjoyed this. Front to back, a collection of short stories that show more that just one friendly neighborhood saving the world from super-villains. It shows us a person who's just trying to survive life.
First, Peter's bummed because Mary-Jane left him (no idea what happened, this time). The "Robot Master" asks Spider-Man to save the lives of millions by putting him out of his misery.
Next, Spidey fights way above of his weight class against a villain who, has the powers of quite literally everyone, and also blames Spider-Man for the death of his son.
Then, we get to relive Uncle Ben's death day with Peter, who talks about baseball and lovingly trashes the Mets.
Last, is a tragic tale of a young mutant who possesses an uncontrollable power and it's up to spidey to save Manhattan or save an innocent young man.
Three and a half stars.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Peter Parker: beating villains with the power of Nuh uh since 2002

The insights this comic gives you into the mind and doubts of Peter are great and make this a worthwhile read.
However, I had my problems with the baseball story, since it was a bit too drawn out. If it were shorter, it could have still portrayed the emotions it wanted to without making the reader drown in baseball.
The stories covered interesting topics, even if some could have used a more drawn-out ending.

If you are looking for a Spider-Man comic featuring Peter's doubt of his own abilities and morals as well as his grief, then you might still enjoy this.

[Jason Tanner · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Paul Jenkins run of Peter Parker: Spider-Man (not to be confused with his later, inferior efforts in Spectacular Spider-Man) was something of an overlooked gem. Running side-by-side with JMS's Amazing Spider-Man, Jenkins focused on smaller, character-centric stories rather than status-shaking mega-arcs. The stories that worked best had a nice mix of humor and melancholy, and Mark Buckingham's pencils paired extraordinary well with the writing.

[Taras Bezuhlyi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Цей том тільки зайвий раз нагадав, чому я не дуже люблю історії про павука і не розумію чому від нього пісяються люди.
Суцільне ниття, ниття і рефлексія. Відправте вже його хоч в якомусь коміксі до психолога...

[Cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's not often that I make reference to the value of a product when reviewing it, especially when it comes to comic trades. After all, on most occasions, the money you pay for a trade is pretty much what you would have paid for each individual comic, more or less. But with this particular trade, you're getting a lot of material for your money. Seven comics and four complete stories for less than 20 bucks is a pretty darn good deal. So, if nothing else, One Small Break is a very high value-low price product. Of course, that doesn't mean much if the stories aren't worth your interest. So lets dive in.

Getting Ahead
After witnessing a strange electrical surge in the middle of NYC, Spider-Man investigates it's origin. His search eventually leads him to the Robot Master, who has one simple request: Kill me, and save the lives of thousands. As you can no doubt see, this story is used as a means to comment on the morality of Spider-Man. Is it worth compromising your moral integrity, that which you base your entire life upon, in order to save thousands of lives? From a strictly mathmatical standpoint, the answer may be obvious, but, as it's brought out in a great scene between Spidey and Stromm, things like this aren't simply black & white. This was a really strong story and a great lead in to the similarly heavy themed "One Small Break". Spider-Man comes to a decision we've seen done before, but with a twist in the results that really made this story great.

One Small Break
The titular story features the villain Fusion, a man with a seriously huge chip on his shoulder that he wants to shove down the throat of Spider-Man. It's hard to go into what's great about this story without ruining it. It's made up of awesome moment after awesome moment which would get decidedly less awesome the more I explain them. So I won't. I can tell you that this is easily the best story of the bunch. It has a tragic story, plenty of twists and turns, a hero pushed to his breaking point and plenty of great action. Everything a great story needs. Much like the previous story, One Small Break features commentary on another key aspect of Peter Parker. That aspect being responsibility, adding another layer to this already deep collection.

Maybe Next Year
This is where things get a little rough. The story here revolves around Peter reminiscing about all the times Uncle Ben took him to Shea Stadium as a young boy and the lessons he learned from his time with him. It's a sweet and touching story and everything, but there are multiple points in the story that caused me to question what was going on. It's not that I question that Peter is a Mets fan, but I do question that he's the baseball aficionado that this story makes him out to be. He talks about Baseball as if it's his one true love and cites facts about the game and its history that I doubt is common knowledge even among fans. Perhaps I'm wrong about all this, but the out of character nature of this story is enforced by the very person who wrote it when he reveals in this very trade that Peter doesn't even know how many home runs Babe Ruth hit in his record breaking (at the time) season. Something people who don't even watch Baseball know. It's not a bad story, but the above issue really took me out of the experience.

If Thine Eyes Offend Thee...
Another shaky but still entertaining story. This one about a man named William who's basically Cyclops but without the glasses, which you can imagine causes some serious problems when he goes out and about. The twist is that the more he uses his powers the more his mind deteriorates. So he becomes less aware of the harm and damage he causes the more he does it. It's an interesting concept and I enjoyed reading about William. However, the big problem with the story is that it seems as though Paul Jenkins had the character and ending in mind as he was writing the story, but didn't have all the kinks worked out. For instance, it's revealed to Spider-Man that William's powers don't work if he's laying on his back, which explains why he isn't blowing stuff up all the time. Naturally, you would expect Spidey to use that knowledge to safely defeat him, but doing so would have resulted in a very different ending, so that doesn't happen. This seems to me like a story that needed to spend a bit more time brewing in Jenkin's mind before it was published.

Mark Buckingham's art is definitely pleasing to the eye. As are the inks and colors. Lines are clean and simple, colors are vibrant, and action scenes are all fun to watch (if a little crowded at times). Of particular note is the work in the first and last stories, where electricity and optic blasts are depicted in some astonishing ways. One Small Break too is notable, mostly for the character Fusion's powers probably being mostly an excuse for Buckingham to draw many of Marvel's heavy hitters like Thor and Hulk (not that I'm complaining).

Overall, One Small Break is a great collection. It features two fantastic stories and two entertaining ones for a surprisingly low price. There's a lot packed into this one and Spidey fans should be pleased.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Haven't read Spider-Man on the regular for years so this selection of fairly recent stories was a nice way to get a look at what;s going on with Peter.

[Timo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty basic Spider-Man thing. Nothing too thrilling, nothing too bad. Nice read.

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought I read Volume 1, but it turns out I read volume 1 of another title by the same author:

Spectacular Spider-Man, Vol. 1: The Hunger

No wonder I was so confused.

Boy, they really drop you into the middle of something and then ignore it so you never figure out what it was in the first place. Then the stories they actually tell are just alright. There's one long story where the "reveal" is not that surprising. And another story about baseball that's a big cliche. That's really what happens.