Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #1-3

Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #1-3

Originally released in 2017

Written by Chip Zdarsky

Art by Adam Kubert

I've enjoyed what I've read of Chip Zdarsky's work, so when I found out that he wrote a Spider-Man series, I decided to read that.  It's clear from the get-go that his friendship with the Human Torch is going to play a decently big role in this.

While stopping a robbery, Spider-Man is asked out on a date by the woman that he saved; as his love life is abysmal in the post-One More Day status quo, he accepts, even if it means attending the date as Spider-Man.

He also discovers a StarkPhone that has been hacked, when those are supposed to be unhackable.  Going to a new tech genius in town (Mason, brother of the Tinkerer, who saw what his brother was doing and wanted to bring some good into the world to counter that), he manages to find one other hacked StarkPhone in Chicago.

Traveling there, he is attacked by a suit of Iron Man armour, though this turns out to be Riri Williams, a.k.a. Ironheart. (she seems to be in her early days, as the armour isn't personalized and looks exactly like one of Tony's)  Meanwhile, Johnny Storm is waiting at Peter's apartment for him to show up for movie night, when he runs into Teresa Parker, Peter's long-lost sister.

I figured this was her introduction, though she had appeared before, as part of a storyline involving their super-spy parents and a cache of Nazi gold. (also, I feel like this is going to lead to Johnny and Teresa getting into a relationship, which Peter is going to hate)

Teresa is on the run from a rogue SHIELD group called the Gray Blade that's coming up with plans to kill all of Earth's heroes and villains.  She stole this data and is on the run, coming to Peter's house.  When she falls asleep, he leaves Johnny to look after her.  And Johnny leaves Karnak of the Inhumans to look after her, which is not a good idea. (remember Karnak? Everybody knows Karnak, right?)

Ironheart traces the phones to an area where near one of the Kingpin's hide-outs, making him the prime suspect.  Naturally, he hides behind a thin veneer of legality, claiming that the modifications were perfectly legitimate and approved by the government.

However, he does introduce Peter, Johnny, and Teresa to the one responsible for the hacking - the Tinkerer, who assumes that they're there for him and immediately goes on the offensive.  Meanwhile, J. Jonah Jameson is running an anti-Spider-Man blog when he's contacted by someone working for the Gray Blade, who involves Jameson about Teresa supposedly being a traitor to the United States.

These issues were all right; the plot about the hacked phones is a little thin (even Johnny admits that it's morally dubious, as Peter doesn't have evidence that the Kingpin is doing anything illegal with them; it's safe to assume that he is, seeing as it's the Kingpin of all people, but it comes across as Peter jumping to conclusions), but the dialogue is entertaining and I'm interested to see what's going to happen with Peter and his sister.