It’s bad enough that Yu looks more like Peter, but to just use the last issue’s cover over and zoom in? That’s lazy…and terrible art.
Spider-Man: The Manga #29
Marvel Comics (March, 1999)
WRITER/ARTIST: Ryochi Ikegami
TRANSLATION: Mutsumi Masuda
COVER ART: Joe Madureira & Tom McWeeny
COVER COLORIST: Jeromy Cox
EDITOR: Dan Nakrosis
To spare Yukiko, Yu doesn’t tell anyone about Mitsuo, but when he learns the guard that was attacked died he starts having second thoughts. Then Mitsuo steal’s Yu’s Spider-Man costume and webshooters, going on an environmental rampage as Spider-Man. However, Yu sees through this, especially after meeting with Mitsuo, who doesn’t let on what he knows. Mitsuo, “Spider-Man 2”, is really just trying to hurt the company that ruined his family, which could mean deliberate killings this time. Now Yu has no choice but to stop him.
What they got right: Yu is really conflicted about this. On the one hand he’s fallen for Yukiko and still feels some form of friendship for Mitsuo. On the other hand he’s doing terrible things, now in the form of Yu’s alter-ego, and we know he wasn’t the nicest guy before gaining superpowers. The drama is handled quite well.
What they got wrong: So is Mitsuo playing with Yu? We know he knows Yu is the real Spider-Man. I’m not sure why he would take Yu’s costume and web-shooters otherwise. That’s fine and all, though I would have rather he came up with his own costume and replacement for the web-shooters so this wasn’t just Spider-Man Vs Spider-Man coming up…again, but does he think he’s fooling Yu? And I don’t care if this is the original Japanese or something messed up in the translation, calling Mitsuo “Spider-Man Two” and himself “Spider-Man One” just sounds silly,
What I think overall: Still beats the Clone Saga going on around the time this translation was put out. It’s one of the better stories in this series.
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