Rate Gang War

[Triniking1234]

Damn.

Most positive reader of the run in these threads.

Indeed

The only thing Dark Web cleared was people's wallets.

[Chris0013]

It was a Spider-Man "event" where Spider-Man basically does nothing but be useless and crack jokes for pretty much the entire story while other characters carry the narrative weight and get to be the "adults" who drive the story.

Except Miles, he gets to be cool, kick butt, and drive his own book and even lead his own crew (while the "team" Peter comes up with pretty much immediately bails on him when the event starts).

Madame Masque as a "Big Bad" feels out of place in a Spider-Man book and doesn't even end up amounting to much in the end.

MJ's big debut as Jackpot is largely forgettable.

Some of the other heroes at least got decent tie-in's.

The original Gang War culminated in putting Wilson Fisk back on top while this comic puts Tombstone...back where he was at the beginning of the story, only he had to screw over his daughter in the process. So...basically nothing really mattered. And there's no emotional weight behind anything. But at least Randy is okay, I guess?

They have taken the "nostalgia for hard luck Peter" and turned it into Pathetic Parker.

[MisterTorgo]

They have taken the "nostalgia for hard luck Peter" and turned it into Pathetic Parker.

Seriously. Who wants to read month after month about their favorite hero getting beaten down and humiliated and not getting back up or only getting back up when bailed out?

Not I.

[Frontier]

Seriously. Who wants to read month after month about their favorite hero getting beaten down and humiliated and not getting back up or only getting back up when bailed out?

Not I.

Or like...not doing anything significant issue-to-issue.

This event is probably the most overt Wells has been that he'd rather be writing several characters other than Peter.

[comictimes]

It was OK.

[HypnoHustler]

It was OK.

Yeah, the original “Gang War” actually wasn’t that great (partly because DeFalco did the first half and Priest (going by his former name) did the second half). It was okay, but it’s a weird story to do a sequel to. Then again, it was practically KLH compared to the one by Wells.

[Man With No Name]

It wasn't worthy of an event. Nothing of value happened. It was padded out way too much. Could've been a single issue. That's honestly the nicest thing I can say about it without getting in the art, story, characters, or costume designs.

[Nero]

On paper, a gang war featuring classic villains should be an easy hit. Unfortunately, this was not the case.

A good number of the rogues shown were ultimately treated like afterthoughts (The Owl, The Rose, Mr. Negative, Diamondback, Crime Master, Black Mariah, etc) which defeats the overall purpose. The Kingpin vs Tombstone could've and should've been a bigger deal but was wasted with an awkward tussle between the two of them. Too much focus was on the Beetle and the Sinister Syndicate, they all came across more as wanna bee gangsters as opposed to the real deal. Spider-man came across more as a supporting character than the actual star in his own book and to add even more insult to injury, Wells continues to treat Spider-Man more as a lightweight than a heavyweight which is completely asinine.

After what happened to Randy, Spider-Man should've gone into serious ass kicker mode. About the only character who benefited from any of this was unsurprisingly Tombstone. So basically the crime lord who was already on top, essentially stays on top which makes this "war", pointless. Spider-Man was already played by Tombstone once, there was no reason to do it twice. Would've been better if a crime lord we least expect was the last one standing like Black Tarantula or Don Fortunato or even a new, mysterious player operating as the Big Man. Bottom line, the event wasn't terrible but it was definitely mediocre.

[comictimes]

Yeah, the original “Gang War” actually wasn’t that great (partly because DeFalco did the first half and Priest (going by his former name) did the second half). It was okay, but it’s a weird story to do a sequel to. Then again, it was practically KLH compared to the one by Wells.

Not a fan of DeFalco, but I'd point to Kupperberg as the main culprit.

[Konnik92]

This was a useless event that took too long and too many issues for nothing. Nothing really mattered, because there were next to nothing changes in the end except for that Fisk law being undone, but done "off panel".
Spidey was a mere witness through 90% of the time and the rest of the time he was weak and useless when he took action. Wells and Lowe for the up-teenth time portrayed Spidey as someone who cannot do things on his own and needs constant saving.
Tombstone just went to get his position back after he woke up in the hospital. That's it - nothing else. His "betrayal" was anything but "expected".
I don't see what was Fisk's purpose - one issue he fights/kisses(?) Tombstone and in the next issue he goes "Hey yo, I'm out! I don't want none of this s**t - I just came here to pick up my kid and go. Me fighting you was just for s**ts and giggles"
Madam Masque's plans were all for nothing - nuff said.
MJ's appearance was unnecessary if all she did was show up and beat up bad guys and interract only with Spider-boy. It was an insult as well as her "one-shot" and just adds more to how little they care about her character - as long as she's not with Peter, they don't give two s**ts about her. The costume, no matter who the artist is, cannot make it look good - it's cements people's opinion that the costume was a mistake. Also, what are her powers, really? Is it just energy blasts (Wells) or more elemental based (McKay and Bronfman)? Just pick one and stick to it.
I hate to say this, because he's one of my favorite Spidey artists, but JRJR is "past his prime". All of his previous work on ASM cannot justify how the art here is in the current run.
Again, this event was a huge waste of time.

[HypnoHustler]

Not a fan of DeFalco, but I'd point to Kupperberg as the main culprit.

I actually like him. Well, he’s no Stern, but he did some solid Spidey stories in the 80s (like “whatever happened to Crusher Hogan?”) and of course Spider-Girl. He seems a pretty decent guy but he had a big beef with Priest who was going by Jim Owsley at the time and was Marvel’s youngest editor. DeFalco thought he was arrogant and not experienced enough for the job. IIRC DeFalco left in a huff in the middle of the arc and Priest did his best to conclude it. Not familiar with Kupperberg? Who was that and what was his role?

[comictimes]

His role was "drawing".

[HypnoHustler]

Ah yeah. I remember the art was questionable.

[Alex_Of_X]

Damn.

Most positive reader of the run in these threads.

Now! Lest I be misconstrued: the Rek-Rap three-parter was delightful.

But yeah, if the point of Gang War was to let JRJR rip, then he was semi-wasted on the narratively deflated fight with Kingpin. There were so many characters the fights almost devolved to a nine-panel grid, because everyone needed a moment.

It was a story really about Janice and Tombstone, but even that got lost in the sturmm and drang of it all. Shame! There was something there, perhaps something yet to come.

Oh and saying that, no shot the final arc is anything but Spider vs Tombstone round 3 by JRJR.

[Garlador]

It was OK.

Darn, I was going to do this joke. Lol.

Anyway, can't say I was engaged with it. Seems like - and likely was - created as filler. Stuff "happens", but it's like a child slamming their action figures together. I don't need every event to give me some emotional payoff or catharsis, but I at least want to feel excited or connected with who and what is happening on the pages, and that just didn't happen.

The best I can say at this point is it didn't outright offend me (for the most part). Still giving the story side-eye for being the second story in less than a year that has a strong woman skewered through the back (thankfully, no terrible "Death of She-Hulk" this time).