Spider-Man/Deadpool vol. 3: Itsy-Bitsy

I really enjoyed the first volume of this series which had the creators of “Deadpool’s” first solo series, Joe Kelly and Ed Mcguinness, teaming up again to see if they could recapture some of that magic.  It was a very funny romp with fantastic art from McGuinness and acknowledged continuity in a way that most current Marvel comics fail to do these days (some might see that as a negative — me, not so much).  Now, Kelly and McGuinness aren’t the fastest creators out there so vol. 2 wound up consisting of uneven but amusing filler and we’re only now getting back to the main plot with vol. 3.  Was it worth the wait?

That all depends on whether or not you wanted this story to turn into a drama with some comedic bits.  While the volume starts off as funny as you’d expect with Spidey and Deady taking on a group of hapless animal-themed villains, things quickly take a turn for the serious with the appearance of the title character.  Itsy-Bitsy is a woman who has been spliced with the genes of these two heroes and is determined to take after them in a more extreme fashion:  By killing ALL bad guys.  This doesn’t sit well with Spidey and the newly-reformed Deadpool so they make plans to stop her, with the former declaring that they do so BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY!

Now, if you just went, “Hey, that doesn’t sound like something Spider-Man would say” then you’ve recognized the biggest problem with this volume.  While having the character get worked up over taking on a particularly aggravating villain isn’t anything new, Kelly pushes here to the point where it really starts to feel out of character for him.  Admittedly, this leads to some good material for Deadpool to work through, but it doesn’t feel worth it.  The grim, depressing tone established by Spidey’s actions as the comic goes on works against all the worthwhile stuff in it.  Yes, even McGuinness’ amazing art.  I’d say this is still worth picking up to all of the people who bought the first volume so they can see how the story ends.  Yet it’s hard to imagine them, or myself, going back to re-read it anytime in the future.