Writer Dan Slott (writer), Mike McKone (pencils) Andy Lanning and Kris Justice (inks), Jeremy Cox (color)

Story: As Molten Man’s powers get out of hand, Spidey battles him in the  house, then the lawn, and then finally the street before Harry permanently finishes the battle. Following the episode’s aftermath, Liz and Harry reconcile.

What’s Good: This issue was printed in color and written in English in a medium called the “comic book.”

What’s Not So Good: Let me preface by saying, I’m not a “Brand New Day hater.” I don’t really care what happens to continuity as long as the story is good. I’ve never been a purist, so I a have no biases coming to this issue. Yet, this issue is simply bad. You have a villain– Molten Man, that Petey essentially treats like a punk the whole issue. At no point do you think, “Hey, Spider-Man might lose this one!” So, no real conflict dives the story. Then you have Harry and Liz’s relationship that is so inconsequential and boring that one wonders why the Spidey “brain trust ” decided to explore such a banal situation in the first place. Lastly, you have the one thing that I hate most about Spider-Man comics, which is when it is so obvious that any character with a heart beat and cerebral cortex would figure out that Spider-Man is Peter Parker. It shows an overall laziness on the writer’s part to make the secret identity switch believable and logical.

One more thing. Peter is endearing as a humble, spastic, and a yeoman super-hero. When he calls himself a genius in his inner monologue, all those attributes are totally negated.

Conclusion: Skip this two-parter. It’s becoming a rule of thumb that any issue that involves the new supporting cast warrants grabbing any other comic off the rack. Go for Sonic the Hedge Hog or Archie. You’ll probably enjoy those much more and feel much better after reading it.

Grade: F-

Rob G