When you live in the Marvel Universe, you never know who you'll run into on a day to day basis -- especially if you've got one foot in the superhero world and the other in the mundane. For example, look at New York's friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, or as his family knows him, Peter Parker. One day, Spidey could cross paths with one of his offbeat but dangerous villains, and the next day he could reconnect with a superspy who may or may not be a long lost family member.
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In the opening issues of the new Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man series, by writer Chip Zdarsky and artist Adam Kubert, Spidey has done both. He's currently fighting alongside Teresa Durand, an intelligence agent who debuted in 2014's Amazing Spider-Man: Family Business graphic novel by Mark Waid, James Robinson and Gabriel Dell'Otto, where she was manipulated into believing she was Peter Parker's sister. And to make things more complicated, it turns out that she just might, in fact, be Peter's long lost sibling! But before they can figure that mystery out, the duo have joined forces with Spidey's best friend, the Human Torch, to take on his two most sinister (and geriatric) foes -- the terrible Tinkerer and the Vulture.
CBR spoke with editor Nick Lowe about Spidey's senior villains, Teresa's role in the book, and what kind of impact Peter Parker's post Secret Empire Staus quo will have on Spectacular Spider-Man. We've also got an exclusive first look at one of Kubert's art from upcoming issues.
CBR: With this initial arc of Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man it's obvious that Chip is really having fun with some of Spidey's older villains like the Vulture and the Tinkerer. What was your reaction when Chip pitched you a story with these characters? What kind of potential do you think they have as villains?
Nick Lowe: Chip loves old people, so it was the opposite of a surprise when he pitched the Tinkerer and the Vulture and Aunt May elements. All three have great villainous potential!
Another interesting character Chip has brought back into the fold is Peter Parker's possible sister, Teresa. What can you tell us about the role she'll play in the book moving forward?
Quite a big one! I was so pleased when Chip wanted to include her in this story, I love the Family Business graphic novel!
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In the most recent issue of Amazing Spider-Man Dan Slott introduced Peter Parker's post-Secret Empire status quo. Will we see that status quo reflected in Spectacular Spider-Man soon? How will it impact the direction of the book? Will both Amazing and Spectacular be focused on New York-based Spidey tales?
You will! Not just yet, as this story is moving very fast and a big time jump like the Secret Empire stuff would require some down time. The books will continue to be very different, but very much about the same Spidey!
Finally, last issue saw a fill-in artist step in to tackle illustrating Chip's story. Will Adam Kubert continue to collaborate with Chip on Spectacular Spider-Man for the foreseeable future?
Adam’s only taking a one-issue breather that Michael Walsh did incredible art for. Adam’s back with #297 (the issue formerly known as #7) all the way to #300!!!!
