Spider-Man vs. Electro


See my review of Spider-Man vs. The Vulture for a background on HarperCollins and their learn-to-read Level 2 line of books. Suffice to say here that these Level 2 books are 6" x 9", 32 full-color pages on quality print stock. Glossy card covers, also available in a robust hardback "Library Binding".

Story Details

After the disappointment of Spider-Man vs. The Vulture and the complete and utter disaster of a story offered by Spider-Man vs. Kraven, I really can't imagine that Spider-Man vs. Electro has any more to offer. But I'm a sucker for punishment, so let's see what we have here.

Once more, we open with a two-page summary of characters. Peter is a clever student, who is also Spidey. Flash is at Peter's school and isn't always very nice to Peter. Electro is the latest villain in town, and he can control... wombats! No, not really. He can control electricity.

But more of Electro later. First, at school, where Flash throws a water balloon at Peter. Peter doesn't even use his spider-sense to duck. What a doofus. But Peter doesn't want to be a bully. He wants to use his Spider-Man powers for good. Umm... wouldn't ducking a water balloon come under the "good" category, Peter "smeg-for-brains" Parker?

After school, Electro broadcasts his face on Times Square's giant screen and says he's going to turn the whole city dark. So Peter becomes Spidey, and looks for the nearest power plant. Spidey grabs a lift on a helicopter, but Electro zaps the copter with lightning. Spidey spins a web safety-net and finds Electro inside a power plant, charging himself with power.

There's no explanation of how Electro zapped the copter from inside the plant. Did he go outside for a few seconds, then zap, then return? But why zap copters if you've just given yourself a five minute deadline to power down the city? And why Electro at all? There's no indication that Electro needs his special powers to shut down the power plant. He just sneaked inside. Then a stick of dynamite in the main transformer would suffice. What do electricity powers have to do with destroying a power plant. It's just a complete coincidence.

Spider-Man and Electro fight, with first points going to Electro. So Spidey finds the janitor's closet and borrows some rubber boots and gloves. He knocks Electro down, but the lightning-kid just jumps back up again. So Spidey uses the handy 6-inch water-main outlet situated inside the main control/computer room to squirt Electro and short-circuit him.

Yes, remember that, kids. Every high-tech computerized control room also contains a super-size high-pressure water outlet pipe. A few thousand gallons of water are just the kind of thing you need to keep every electrical power station running smoothly. Spidey saves the day!

General Comments

Must... not... think... about... plot holes...

Must... resist... brain... damage...

Overall Rating

I failed. I thought about the logic in this story, and now I have permanent mental scarring. Darn you, HarperCollins! Darn you to heck!