A Leisurely Stroll Into the Heart of Spiders

Is that not a normal outfit for a 15-year-old?

After picking the first 12-issue series for Arana two years back, I thought I'd track down her origin story, which appeared in the same early 2000s relaunch of Amazing Fantasy that gave us a new Scorpion and I think Amadeus Cho.

As far as origin stories go, writer Fiona Avery seems to take the decompressed, Ultimate Spider-Man approach, as Arana doesn't put together her full costume until the sixth and final issue of the story (after the disastrous attempts shown above), though we do see a version that's halfway there in issue five. Not that the pages until then are wasted. Since this is a whole new character, with a power and history not really established previously, there's a fair amount of world-building to do. We have to learn who Anya is as a character (headstrong and protective, impulsive and inquisitive, a little awkward around guys), and what she's found herself tied up in. 

Who is this mysterious group that she's working with now, and what are they after, and what are some of the people like she's working with? Even if it's just that Miguel uses magic, saved her life, and is the dark, brooding mysterious type, and Ted's your typically spastic hacker type, there's at least a little fleshing out of the supporting cast.

 

Since her powers appear to come about as a result of a precise magic ritual that's part of a centuries-old struggle between two shadowy groups, rather than a seemingly fandom spider-bite, it's not just her sort of fumbling about trying to learn about her powers on her own. Instead, she gets to fumble about trying to understand her powers in highly dangerous tests initiated by the gent who's supposed to be her partner.

Mark Brooks draws the first two and last two issues, and Roger Cruz handles the 2 in the middle. Not sure what the reason was behind that division of labor. Brooks' versions are a little more squared off. Broader shoulders, sharper jaws and noses. The shading is a little heavier, more detailed than in Cruz' issues. Brooks' version of Miguel has some dissolute grunge stubble going, while Cruz' looks older and more weary. There's less manga influence in Cruz' work, so the eyes are smaller, which makes them look pinched in comparison. Larry Mollinar and Jeannie Lee handle the color work, which feels a little muddy at times, but does maintain a consistent feel through the shifts in artists.

Still, I can't help comparing this story to Fred van Lente's Scorpion origin story in the next six issues, where the main character is running around in costume by halfway through the second issue. It feels like preamble mostly. Dropping hints towards future mysteries. It's at least presented in such a way that Anya doesn't know much more about what's going on than we do, so she's just as confused. Maybe they already knew there was going to be an ongoing series, so there was less need to hit the ground running.