I don’t often review individual comic books that are part of an ongoing series, but I feel like I should make a special exception for this one. Written by J. Michael Straczynski and published shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, it deals with Spider-Man (and other Marvel characters) dealing with the immediate aftermath of the towers’ collapse.
Spider-Man, of course, famously has the bulk of his adventures within New York City (as do many other prominent figures from the Marvel universe), so it makes sense that there’d be a story which addressed this. I suppose they probably could have just acted like it never happened, but I think this was the right thing for them to do – I imagine for younger readers in particular, it give them a feeling of solidarity as they dealt with horror beyond anything they could ever have imagined.
Spider-Man has always been a figure of hope and optimism, and in some ways, it’s really upsetting to see him trying to save lives after an enormous terrorist attack. It starts with him in shock that this even could have happened and how nobody was able to stop it, which of course mirrors the feelings of many people at the time.
What I particularly liked, is that not only does Spider-Man reflect on the evil of the terrorist attack itself, but also how he hopes this will encourage people to come together. He worries about how this could lead to division and how a frightened population might start turning on each other, but he sees people from all backgrounds coming together and help one another side-by-side, and that fills him with hope.
I know some people find it quite cheesy, and others have also described it as overly patriotic. I think there’s something quite beautiful about having the characters of the Marvel universe go through the events of 9/11. The message of this comic is that the people of New York (and indeed America) are all united in their support of one another – and the comic feeds into this, by having the Marvel character process what has happened too. Even villains like Kingpin and Dr. Doom are deeply affected by it and trying to help survivors, and I thought that was particularly profound.
I always find it quite moving to see fictional characters respond to real life events, and I think this comic goes a long way towards showing how important it is for fiction to help people with real-life trauma. It’s such an interesting slice of history and something I recommend all Marvel fans read, and if you’re interested in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, it’s probably something you’ll appreciate reading too.
Rating: 9/10
