Spider-Girl & MC2 – Collected Editions Reviews

“May “Mayday” Parker (aka Spider-Girl) doesn’t have her father’s over-whelming sense of responsibility, or his skills, or his street smarts.

But she was born with super spider genes and she’s doing her best to make her parents proud. Her learning curve is harsh, but that’s what makes this series so much fun.

A fresh take on the Spider-world that grabs you from the start. The second person POV dialogue parts are a bit weird at first but I got used to it after a while.

This volume left me wanting more. (Good thing as the series goes on for a loooong time after this collection ends)

I’m saying that only 3 of the 6 issues I’d say are essential here, but the rest are still fun and add to the overall story.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5

—Lee Reed, @Reeds_Reads

“Great stories here as Spider-Girl continues to grow as a character including more details on how Spider-Man retired to take care of family and the injuries that caused him to hang up the webs. 

Peter growing to accept May in the role, while still being very overprotective is a nice touch. 

We get a time travel story with Mayday travelling to the 1960s and meeting her father back when he was “puny Parker” in school.  

The following team up with Spider-Man, Spider-Girl and The Human Torch was just silly fun. 

And really that’s the easiest way to explain this series. It’s fun, light and a breeze to read. 

This collection was a lot of fun. It read like an old Spider Man comic, full of teenage drama and hokey villains. The father/daughter element adds an interesting touch to a standard superhero romp.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5

—Lee Reed, @Reeds_Reads

“These comics are so well-written. It’s remarkably easy to fall into the story for a few hours. Spider-Girl’s third volume hits a great turning point in the series with Mayday Parker’s family (adult Peter and Mary Jane) finally coming around to fully accepting their daughter’s heroics.  

There’s always a nice mixture of action and emotional scenes. They balance out brilliantly. But, of course, what would a great storyline be without an amazing lead protagonist? I’m so in love with Mayday Parker. Her character is so fantastic. She has a few cringe-worthy moments, especially some boy moments, but, hey, she’s a teenager. It’s bound to happen. 

Plot wise, after meeting and auditioning for the new lineup of the Avengers (a fun What If style future team), Mayday faces off against the single greatest threat she has faced thus far: Kaine.  

The rapidly aging, but still ferociously strong clone of Peter Parker has returned and has a secret connection to Mayday beyond being her father’s clone. With Peter worried about his clone’s return and the mysterious Darkdevil advising that she avoid the man, May decides to try and prove herself against this new threat.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5

—Lee Reed, @Reeds_Reads

“I greatly enjoy Tom DeFalco’s Spider-Girl adventures, and this collection is no exception.

And as the title suggests, it’s a turning point as “Mayday” Parker proves herself as a hero (even to her worried dad) taking out Kaine and going up against the third-generation Green Goblin, not to mention meeting supporting heroes Wild Thing and Buzz (both of whom got brief spin-off series).

Good fun, though May’s potential boyfriends are less interesting—I honestly can’t tell one from the other (later on they got a little more distinctive).

There’s an additional issue thrown in here (issue 1/2)comprised of one off stories, which is of much lower quality which sadly brings the rating down.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️out of 5

—Lee Reed, @Reeds_Reads

“Throughout these issues we see Mayday, May, Parker – daughter of Spider-Man – her own Savage Six.

That, however, is just a small battle compared to the plan that Funny Face (yep that’s the villain name he went with!) has in store for our young Spider-Girl.

He puts together the Savage Six in order to take down Spider-Girl once and for all.

That’s still not all, though. Normie, the great-grandson of the original Green Goblin, is back.

Him and May face off near the end of the book, to follow on the family tradition.

There’s even more going on with May facing the struggles that come with growing up as well as, oh no!, loosing her spider powers. Will she win her battles? Or is she done for good?

Another brilliant Spider-Girl volume. I love everything about this series. It’s quick reading. It’s fun. It’s tension ridden. It’s diverse. This series has got it all.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️out of 5

—Lee Reed, @Reeds_Reads

“Having a superhero cope with power loss is an old trope in comics. In this collection a depowered May Parker stubbornly fights on, refusing to abandon the people she can help even though she’s now just a girl in a Spider costume!

May finding ways to help despite being powerless (and without revealing the fact she has no powers to those she combats) is not a surprise but they way it’s shown is still very fun and handled well.

Plus the usual humor and several new subplots, such as a mysterious new Spider-Man and a strange figure working for Tony Stark keep the non hero stuff intriguing.

Another solid entry. Not top shelf but very entertaining and keeps the plots rolling enough to keep this reader hooked.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️out of 5

—Lee Reed, @Reeds_Reads

“As usual, this Spider-girl book includes a healthy mix of action, suspense, and drama

Lots of fun with recurring villain/thorn in May Parker’s side; Funny Face and his brother Crazy Eight being the main bad guys.

There is a feeling of danger all the way through this volume, as people look like they may be betraying May.

The books asks many questions and even answers a few. Has Normie Osborne (i.e. the third generation Green Goblin) really reformed and if so why does he looks so shifty all of the time?

Mary Jane Parker has been having a series of bad health spells and we finally find out why. (It doesn’t take a doctor to work out why).

We are slowly seeing the integration of the Fantastic Five and The Avengers of the MC2 becoming a normal thing as we get more familiar with both team’s characters.

A welcome addition and I shall hunt down their spin off titles for an expanded view of this iteration of the Marvel Universe. Hopefully just as fun as Spider-Girl has been.

Another great entry, while there is no shocking cliff hangers, the drama constantly builds and builds as some subplots come to the forefront while others simmer in the background.

Just great sequential storytelling and character development you can’t go wrong with this series.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️out of 5

—Lee Reed, @Reeds_Reads

“This book collects Spider-girl Issues 39-44 and stays true to form in its high quality.

Many of the same problems that Spider-Girl (May “Mayday” Parker) faced in Spider-Girl – Volume 7: Betrayed continue in this series of stories and head towards something of a resolution.

The Gang War between Kingpin and Canis (the wolf/dog crime lord) continues as does the adventures of the new fake Spider-man and once again Peter Parker puts on the webs again and comes out of retirement.….again, Peter can never get out of the game for long.

The book is marked by excitement, action, and fun characters, as well as a good lesson or two along the way.

This one took Spider-girl to new places and new struggles for her as she deals with a death of one of her earliest super villains and a new threat that comes as a result of it, leading her to form her own superhero team.

One of the artistic highlights of the book had to be Issue 41 which featured only pictures and no words in telling the aftermath of the death. It was a beautiful piece of art and even with no text showed a lot of character growth for our titular heroine.

Issue 44 features a bit of retelling of the Spider-man legend as Peter makes a momentous decision as he shares with May the tale of the Scarlet Spider Aka the G.O.A.T Ben Reilly.

The downside of the book is that a lot of time in the book is spent on the confusing yet also uninteresting love triangles going on at May’s high school. And if you want to be picky on the art, May’s inexplicable glasses in Issue 42 really did not look good.

Minor points to consider in light of this great series.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️out of 5

(The Ben Reilly fan inside me nearly gave this ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for the loving retelling of Bens history and legacy.)

—Lee Reed, @Reeds_Reads