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by Dave Scrimgeour and Kevin McCluskey   Writer- J.M. DeMatteis Artists- Eder Messias & Belardino Brabo Brent Peebles Colourists- Neeraj Menon & Cris Peter Letterer- VC's Joe Caramagna Cover artist- Ryan Brown Designer- Carlos Lao Editor- Danny Khazem Published by Marvel Comics (21/12/2022) SynopsisTracy, sorry, Aja, dishes out her own brand of corporal punishment to her son, Gregor, sorry, Takhar, for trying to kill Spider-Man, sorry, Peter Parker. She also attempts to heal Peter, from the assault Takhar carried out on his psyche, however, she inadvertently completes her son's plan for him, drawing from Peter the mythological "Spider" which was Gregor's real prey all along. Dave What do you make of the cover for issue 2? Somehow it reminds me of one of those movie posters for 'Halloween III,' with the skull. This cover is leaning more into the horror element. Kev Definitely. I think this is a cracking cover by Ryan Brown. It’s one hell of an arresting image, and it gets right to the heart of this story. I love the soundtrack to 'Season of the Witch.' Dave As well as directing the film, John Carpenter had a big involvement in the production and soundtrack for sure. It pretty much had his hands all over it. Kev Yeh, when they wanted to make it an anthology franchise series, but went right back to Michael Myers for the fourth one. Dave True. I think 'Halloween 3' is such an underrated movie, but then again, Michael Myers is still the man for the 'Halloween' series. Kev Yeh, he's so iconic that he ended-up being the main character for the rest of the franchise. Dave So, the first page of 'Broken' is another good splash page. It's full of detail and it's got good colours as well. Kev Yeh, but at least Gregor fights a real, live animal here in Mishkin, as opposed to Kraven who fought taxidermy in a similar scene in ‘Fearful Symmetry.' So Gregor’s got Kraven beat there. Dave Well, you've got to go one-up in the sequels, it's traditional. Kev Ha, ha! True. Dave It's an unusual bonding process between Gregor and Mishkin, but what the hell? He is psychotic. Kev Yeh, similarly to Sergei in 'Fearful Symmetry,' I can't help but feel that all the potions have not done Gregor's mental state any favours. Dave Yep, it's probably not wise to accept a cup of tea from these lunatics. Kev No. I love a cup of tea, but I'd be very wary of having one round any of their gaffs. I’m really enjoying the Mary Jane stuff here. DeMatteis writes her so well. Her concerns over Peter’s mental health feel truthful. Dave Yeah, he writes her really well, and also shows you how strong a character she actually is, as basically Peter is having a mental breakdown. That's another great splash page on page 3, with the fragments representing the broken psyche of Peter and M.J. as well as their spiralling relationship.  "Never liked my new spouses, 'cause I crept from strange houses." Kev Yeh, there are some really nice splash pages in this issue. And you really feel for Peter too. His breakdown feels realistic. Dave It's interesting how he is writing a real in depth look at these two characters. The bulk of the interactions are between Pete and M.J. and of course the stuff going through Pet's head but, because he isn't Spidey, it can really focus on those two a lot more than what we have usually seen. Or at least I have seen. Kev Yep, so far, this has been a Peter Parker story, rather than a Spider-Man one. Dave Also, Pete is very much lost and the caption box narrative is coming from M.J. This is just as much her story as Pete's. Kev And it's all the better for it. As a heavily pregnant woman, I’m sure the last thing M.J. wants is to have to hold her husband together, to keep him from falling apart. She's got enough on her plate as it is. Dave "Peter smiles like a bewildered little boy." This is coming back to this maternal relationship between Pete and M.J. that I hinted at last issue, how he is still kind-of child like around her, even after all those years. Kev And he needs so much looking after here, because Gregor is picking away at his psyche. Dave I suppose it was the thing that Pete was punching above his weight with M.J, and it was written and drawn like that, even when she was first introduced. Kev Definitely. Although, I do think that DeMatteis is downplaying M.J.'s beauty here, to emphasise her insecurities. Dave And Messias, Brabos and Peeples are doing a great job in visualizing this. Kev Absolutely. Dave Even Pete looks so weary looking and troubled in every panel, except for that one where he flips out at M.J. Kev He really does, doesn't he? The concept of Peter having compartmentalised all the trauma of all the years of him being Spider-Man is a fascinating one. And it makes complete sense that, once he stopped being Spider-Man, all that bottled up emotion would come rising to the surface. Dave He just wouldn't be able to cope, yeah. Kev I don't think anyone would. And, of course, it’s no coincidence that as soon as Gregor mentions this presence he can feel, we see Tracy again, who is drawn by Eder Messias to look positively possessed here. Which she may very well be, to be fair. Dave I do like that panel on the 6th page of Gregor suited up with Mishkin. That's taking the pet out for a walk in style. Kev Hey, you've gotta look your best when you're taking your cat out on its lead. Dave The alarm bells are slowly starting to ring about Tracy, especially that panel on page 7. Again, I like how none of Peter's internal thoughts are captioned, it's all been Gregor and M.J. so we are left to try and figure out through M.J.'s thought process what's going on with him. And, of course, the two charmers, MJ and Tracy, would get along. However, I think M.J. has developed enough of her own spider-sense over those years with Pete, to start feeling that something is not quite right.  When the host looks at you like YOU are dinner. Kev Yeh, Tracy looks positively insane in that panel. Could you imagine being asked round to hers for your tea, or drinks? Dave I think that's caption material right there, especially the brew that Gregor serves. Kev Ha, ha. True. Dave Nice house though. Or nice Wayne Manor lookalike though. Kev True. Academia must pay well in Makeba's field. Or rather, fields. Plural. Dave Even the positioning on the table; Pete's at the end, and Tracy and M.J. are sitting opposite each other. Kev That's a good point. We are very much on the outside looking into Peter's mind. Dave That panel on the bottom of the page, with his hallucination of the Sinister Six appearing at the table is pretty good. Kev Yeh, the rogues gallery taunting Peter at the dinner table is extremely effective. Excellent work by Messias and co. Dave 'Come Dine With Me,' Kraven style Kev Ha, ha! Dave I wonder if the Green Goblin is laughing because he's seen the portion of food Pete has been served. Kev Ha, ha! I love this little bit of character work that DeMatteis puts into M.J. here. “I’ve felt so isolated since we’ve moved to Portland. Oh, I love my job, teaching theatre at the high school. But friends? I have none.” That feels very real. I’m loving how he’s incorporating all these realistic, down-to-earth, character beats into this fantastical story about potions, magic, and supervillains. Dave I've just noticed that in that demonic looking panel of Tracy, she has the Medusa look going on there. Kev She really does, yeh. I really like this idea of M.J. being insecure that this woman, Tracy Makeba, who is educated, successful, well-travelled, and very, very attractive, can soothe her husband, whom she obviously has a connection with, in a way that she cannot. Again, good stuff. Dave The whole hallucination scene of Pete at the dinner table is very interesting. It's written and drawn well, as it, again, is not going for the horror so much as just the deep psychological effect. Also, it's good to see M.J. essentially meet someone who is an equal to her as well. Kev Yeh, and someone who, arguably, has more in common with Peter. Dave And is starting to be slowly revealed as not the person she appears to be. By far. Kev Not at all. She was too good to be true, and the mask is starting to fall away. Dave M.J.'s still got good instincts though. Kev Yeh, she may not be as educated as Tracy, but she's no dummy. Dave I do like that bottom panel of the dumbfounded drama kids as M.J. stands, "in the light"  'X-Factor: The Movie.' Starring Mary Jane Watson Parker as Simon Cowell. Kev Yeh, the more I'm reading of this, the more Messais's style is growing on me. Dave It's like a throwback to an episode of 'Fame,' especially the kid second from the left. Bruno Martelli is in the house. Kev The fact that Tracy had her hand on Mary Jane’s stomach on the last panel of page 10, literally hovering over her and Peter’s unborn child, is more than a little bit sinister. Dave Oh yeah, she is getting a bit too familiar with Pete and M.J. now. I wonder if Tracy has been deliberately drawn the way M.J. used to look when she was younger, and hence this is why M.J. feels some connection to her. Kev Ah. Good shout. That’s a fantastic panel of Peter leaping into action, at the bottom of page 13. It’s a Spidey pose without the costume. Again, superb work by Messias and co.  "Peter Parker, Peter Parker, doesn't do whatever "The Spider "can." Dave Oh yeah, it's a great panel. He will have some moves in the fighting repertoire after all those years. And he can still go, even without his super powers, well for a little bit anyway. Especially when the element of surprise, speed, and aggression, allows him to catch Gregor off guard. Kev Yeh, despite him getting a few early licks in, he then proceeds to get his arse handed to him by Gregor. “There’s no reason for us to do this! Bury the past, Gregor! Let the dead stay dead…” I do like that Messias has Peter at least attempting to keep his guard up as he’s being pummelled. Dave Gregor pulls the Terry Silver technique on the bottom of page 14, catching the fist, with a witty remark. It was obvious Pete was gonna get pummelled, but it's good to see him come back to his old self for a brief period. "Now the real pain begins, Danny boy!" Oh sorry, 'The Karate Kid Part III' is the wrong genre altogether. Kev Ha, ha! Does that make Pete, Daniel Laruso? Interesting that for all his ramblings about Peter not being honest with himself, Gregor is a complete hypocrite in blaming Peter for driving him mad. And I love the artwork on page 16. Great panel breakdown of the page, nice composition of the panels, and great storytelling in the last one, as Peter smiles, defiantly, at Gregor. Dave I like how he is grinning, even when defeated too. And also, what other comic books discussions can jump from 'Halloween 3' to 'Fame' to 'Karate Kid 3,' all in the same issue review? Yeah, it's a really good composition for a fight scene. Pete's taking a hell of a pounding, detailed by blow by blow panels. Kev If there was a 'Fame 3,' it would have been a perfect hat-trick. Dave "You're as insane as he was!" Pete is speaking sense here. Yeah, darn those 'Fame movies for not making two more sequels. However, we did get a long running TV series, so that could count somewhere. Kev True. And we got a remake movie too, so that kind-of makes it a trilogy. Of sorts. Dave Haha! Good point. That 'Fame' TV show ran for a while. Kev It didn't half. Six seasons. It was huge when we were young. Pete is right on the money here. Kraven and his acolytes are all pretty mentally unwell. And Gregor is lucky Peter doesn’t have his powers at this point, because that line, “And then I’ll turn my attention to your wife and unborn child” is exactly the sort of thing that would have Peter going after him like Luke Skywalker after Vader threatened Leia. Dave I really like the page of Pete hitting Gregor and slowly falling to his knees, that's some great artwork there. And colours. Kev I really like that page too. It's a great depiction of a guy just having nothing left, and being defeated. I also like the six panels a couple of pages later, of Pete still trying to get to his feet, through nothing more than sheer force of will. It really compliments the panels on the earlier page.  "You ain't too old, (You ain't too hip) (Get up)."  "I ain't asking for a cartwheel (A somersault), or no flip." Dave It's really pacing it well here, with Peter just getting more and more beaten down, and how he has not much left, but is still clinging on. Kev Totally, and it's only going to be all the more satisfying when Peter does eventually rise, like a phoenix from the ashes. Dave The panel of Gregor and Minchkin standing over him is superb. There's been some fantastic artwork in this issue. Plus, that transition of panels from Gregor to Kraven really works. It shows how well the composition and framing works in this scene. It looks pretty much like the end for Pete here. Kev Yeah, but then we get the save by Tracy Makeba, and the big reveal that she is Gregor’s mother, in an impressive splash page that we end this chapter on. We also get the call/flashback to when Kraven shot Spider-Man at the end of the first chapter of ‘Fearful Symmetry,’ “Mary Jane, I love you. I love y- -” BLAM!” And I love that Peter’s "last" words are always, “Mary Jane, I love you.” Dave Oh yeah, I suppose that is a good reveal, but the earlier sections were showing that "something is rotten in Denmark." There's a 'Last Action Hero' quote from the Jack Slater 'Hamlet' trailer there flung in for extra measure. Damn, she looks so good for his MUM!!! "Some mothers do 'ave 'em" eh? Kev Ha, ha! Y'know what they say, man, "Black don't crack!" Whereas I can confirm that white just turns to shi..... Never mind. Man, I LOVE 'Last Action Hero.' Dave All we needed on that last splash page which is another excellent panel, is for Pete to mutter, "Oooh, Betty!" Kev Ha, ha! Peter Spencer. Dave Haha, indeed. What're your thoughts on how this story has been so far, and in terms of the look and style of it? I'm actually liking this more than 'Soul of the Hunter' right now. It's not quite as good as 'Kraven's Last Hunt,' which would be very hard to beat, but it's been really unexpectedly good, and the writing and artwork have been consistently great. The colours as well. Kev Yeah, I’m really starting to enjoy this. It took an issue, or two, to adjust to the change in aesthetics, with it not being Zeck and co, but Messias et al. are bring their own excellent, more modern, style to proceedings, and I'm loving that it's a Peter Parker story (thus far anyway), rather than a Spider-Man story. Especially after me being a little down on 'Soul of the Hunter' too, this has been a pleasant, and welcome surprise to me. Dave I have to say, having not read a modern comic in over 30 years, this has been a good shout too, and I do like the modern style of artwork. I suppose it's much like movies and TV, even if the stories aren't as strong, one thing that consistently stands out is the visual aesthetic. Kev Totally. Comics being a visual medium, and all. Although, I agree, DeMatteis's writing has been really strong here, so far too. Dave He's doing a fantastic job of delving into the characters. Kev Definitely. That seems to be his speciality. The stuff with Gregor is mayve a little bit hokey, if you ask me, but the psychological stuff is all fantastic. (D) & (K) 
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