By J. Michael Straczynski (Writer)
Publisher: Hachette Partworks Ltd
Release Date: 2012
Genre: Sci-Fi – Superheroes
Goodreads
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Review
Something I really like about many of this Marvel graphic novels is you only really need a basic understanding of the character to pick up what’s happening. There might be stuff more long-term readers will appreciate, but as long as you know the basics of Peter Parker’s Spider-Man origin story and a small amount of the type of villains he’s come up again, you can easily get into something like Coming Home.
The start of this shows Peter at a bit of a loss; his life isn’t quite going as well as he would hope, and he’s looking for meaning outside of being Spider-Man. A mysterious figure appears, with the same powers as Peter, and poses an interesting question to him, making Peter reconsider almost everything since he was bitten by the spider. The man also has a warning, about an ancient evil that’s stalking Peter, and Peter’s own spidy-sense confirms there’s something not right in his beloved city.
Meanwhile, Peter passes by his old school, and although a lot has changed, he realises much hasn’t, and he wants to help.
***SPOILERS***
TW/CW
There is a school shooting incident portrayed in here, and annoyingly it falls into the ‘bullied kid shoots up school’ trap (trope?). In a way, the plotline of Peter at the school kind of shows how outdated this is by now, but it offers a nice chance to se Peter trying to do some good, at least.
***END SPOILERS***
It’s definitely an interesting villain for Peter to go up against, and the information he gets from the mysterious Ezekiel adds an interesting twist to his origin. It’s a solid story, a good view of the character, and has the trademark humour. This is one of those ones where it feels like no Spider-Man collection would be complete without it.
Unwrapping Words 