Two of Spider-Man’s greatest love interests tag team to save his life. The pairing of Mary Jane & Black Cat is something we never asked for but was needed!
If you’re not following the current Spider-Man run, here is what’s going on. Peter is in the hospital after a battle left him in a coma. Since then, Ben Riley has taken up the mantle of Spider-Man. As for Mary Jane and Black Cat, they have either been watching over Peter or stopping crime while he recovers. In this story, the women have to retrieve a magical cloak for Parker Robbins aka The Hood. If they don’t get it before sunup, both Peter and MJ will be shot dead. Let’s find out how the pair managed one another in the mission.
Felicia Hardy enters the hospital to see Peter. She knocks and calls out for MJ. Felicia is told to come in by a man holding a gun up to MJ. The Hood explains his reasoning for this. He also does this because he knows Felicia is the greatest thief in New York. Before keeping MJ hostage, she tells Hood that MJ is a part of her crew. Hood sees nothing wrong with this and lets MJ go.
Before leaving, MJ tells Hood to keep the gun away from Peter. In the stairwell, MJ is confused by Felicia’s actions. The reason why Felicia lied was to get MJ out of danger, knowing Peter would be angry with her. Felicia then tells MJ to hide somewhere safe, but MJ refuses and wants to help Peter. Felicia reluctantly agrees and the duo sets their sights on Count Luchino Nefaria. He is seen as a person of interest because he helped Hawkeye against the Hood.
While Count is watching a movie, Black Cat intervenes. She asks for his help, but he demands $3 million. She does not have the money and promises it at a later date. This Doctor Strange look-alike then tells her to leave. During the conversation, MJ interrupts and Count is stunned to see her. For those who don’t know, she is an actress. Anyways, Count bolts to her and worships her like a queen.
They talk about actor Sonny Diperna, while he gets her a seat. Black Cat then talks to her real crew in the van. The men actually looked over Peter once. They found other people connected to Hood losing his cloak. These names include Armadillo, Fancy Dan, OX, Mr. Fear, Shocker, Rhino, and Tombstone. For the next seven hours, the ladies get to work. Black Cat takes down Mr. Fear. The women then have a drink with Rhino. OX and Fancy Dan lose a poker match to Black Cat’s men. Armadillo is given a lot of money by the Cat. Finally, Shocker is humiliated by MJ, after she beats him with a bat.
Two hours to sunup, the thief and the actress are retrieving an item from Tombstone. This object is the very creature that took Hood’s cloak. Outside of his building, Black Cat looks on and tells MJ that he knows they are after him. Meanwhile, MJ teases Black Cat about being the best thief. Black Cat said of course she is. We also see Tombstone getting ready for this confrontation. The pair also get ready as MJ is told to suit up.
Black Cat scales the building and breaks in. She is greeted by the villain, acknowledging that he knew this would happen. Black Cat then tells him that she already stole from him. She clowns him while making her escape. However, we see Black Cat with the real item in the building. The “Black Cat” that ran off with the van was obviously MJ. That indeed was oscar worthy.
Thirty minutes later, the two talk with the bag. They promise the bag something if he coughs out the cloak. Over an hour later, Hood is going in for the kill. At the last second, Black Cat appears with the cloak on. The Hood is happy to be reunited with his property again. He is shocked at how they got it back for him but nonetheless is impressed.
This moment is quickly ruined as the demon bag comes to the left to devour Hood. The deal Black Cat and the bag made was that they would also take Hood with them. This paid off as a horrified MJ looked at this unfolding. Peter then wakes up, shocking MJ as he slept through this. Yet, Peter believed this all to be a dream.
On the rooftop, the dynamic duo reflects on their mission. The conversation then becomes deeper as Felicia does not like that she was referred to as the “bad girl”. She really cares about Peter because he cares so much about her. MJ then laughs and says that she had that role because of her irresponsible past. She even mentions Gwen Stacy, describing her as “perfect”. Showing that Felicia and MJ aren’t so different. She then tells Felicia that she is important to both her and Peter. Now sunup, the pair also laugh at the fact that Peter got with both of them. This is where the issue ends.
Jed MacKay continues doing a great job with the story! This is something none of us expected. It was a mixture of fun and love. I enjoyed seeing these two working together to save Peter. It shows how important they are to him. The moments in which they beat down Shocker, drinking with Rhino, and Count geeking over MJ were very funny. Tricking Tombstone was the main highlight of the story.
It showed that MJ really came in clutch. I also loved how in the beginning Black Cat tried saving MJ, even attempting to sideline her. This just goes to show how far Black Cat has developed as a character. The same can be said for MJ. She isn’t really damsel and distress anymore. She even acts like having a gun pointed at her is nothing. Additionally, telling Hood to stop pointing the gun at Peter made her more badass. This natural follow of these characters and their relationship was entertaining and gave them a lot of depth!
Next, the illustrations were great as well! Both C.F. Villa and Erick Arciniega did a fantastic job! The cover by Arciniega told a great story on its own. Two women for a long time were seen as only love interests. Now, they are the reason Peter lives to see another day. The beginning of the issue was interesting. Almost everyone in the hospital focuses on Felicia.
This may show how relevant she has gotten recently and how important she is to Spider-Man’s story. The detailing of each villain was beautiful too. Also, MJ’s revealed as “Black Cat”. However, it was The Hood being eaten that had the best visuals. This issue alone did well by displaying a lot of red. So much energy, life, courage, and love within the story. Great story, I want more of this tag team!
Want to discuss things further? Hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. And for more film, gaming, anime, and TV news, trailers, and updates make sure to keep it locked right here at The Nerdy Basement. While you’re here, please consider supporting us on Patreon! It’s an easy way of supporting us so we can keep providing you with your Nerdy News!