Tag: Superman

(2025 Update: The original version of this review erroneously stated this miniseries was published in 2004, when, in fact, it was Justice League: Another Nail – the sequel to this series from ’98 – that was published in 2004.)

Justice League: The Nail is an Elseworlds miniseries from 1998 that features an intriguing premise; the Kents runs over a nail that causes one of their tires to go flat, thus preventing them from discovering the Kryptonian rocket carrying its last son and negating Superman. The idea of a Justice League without a Superman of any kind is somewhat interesting and there’s a way to go about it that makes it compelling stuff.

And at first, it seems somewhat promising. A world where metahumans and vigilantism are viewed upon far less favorably than usual, the paths of various heroes, villains, and supporting players taking different turns ranging from drastic to not so far from the beaten path, and just an otherwise darker slant on the narrative of the DC Universe. I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a part of me that wanted to see this initial set-up go beyond the mere three-issue prestige miniseries format.

Unfortunately, by the time you get to the climatic finale in the last issue, the central premise of the book is basically undone and things somewhat take a turn towards the standard fare. I’m sorry if that comes off as a bit spoiler-y – not that it would matter since we already have a sequel mini whose covers spoiled the whole thing anyway – but sadly, once The Nail introduces another central character late in the game, it all becomes clear how this ends up going.

It’s a bit of a shame because The Nail is a really good story up to that point and Alan Davis’s art only compliments the narrative; a vibrant, colorful visual presentation with classical depictions of these heroes contrasting the less-than-cheery world they live in. If not for the final moments of the story, this could’ve been an interesting take on the lore.

As it is, it’s still a really good story and probably one of the better Elseworlds stories I’ve read, but it could’ve been so much more if it had stuck the course.

Well, this has been an interesting ride.

Since the start of Spider-Man’s Marvel Knights run, we’ve seen Ben Parker’s tombstone defiled, Aunt May kidnapped, Spidey get beat up, Spidey get beat up some more, and a guy who knows that Spidey is really Peter Parker, which makes one of a select few who has managed to acquire this information through some unknown means… or maybe he saw Spider-Man 2 too. Oh yeah, ol’ webhead was lying in a hospital bed without his mask and some jabronie manages to take a quick picture of our unconscious hero and sell it to good ol’ Jonah Jameson, the Daily Bugle editor.

Riveting stuff, isn’t it?

So now, we open up Issue 5 (the first chapter of the series’ second story-arc) with good ol’ Parker waking up and finding out that his face is plastered on the front page of the Daily Bugle, with good ol’ Jonah issuing a reward to anyone who can identify the battered face despite it being half covered in the mask. Of course, no one bothered to explain why said picture wasn’t taken when he didn’t have the mask on, but that’s another story in itself.

(Now, see, if Jonah were to have issued that bounty in the Spider-Man 2 movie, chances are a train full of people would have been rich by now, but that’s besides the point.)

So, for the first part of this arc featuring Venom as the main bad guy (not again), it’s seemingly a rehash of a classic plot device, but so was the kidnapping of Aunt May… and stories with no basis other than Spider-Man getting a big time @$$-kicking from the villain of the month is also nothing new. But I’m not complaining, because I’m actually enjoying this run. It seems a little darker than the other Spider-man titles, although not by much. The accompanying art is amazing; great detail, great choice of colors and tones, and panel layout is alright too. It doesn’t look as cartoony as the other Spider books and that’s probably a good thing considering the feel of this book, which is grimmer than the others. On the other hand, it is somewhat humorless, which is something that has been a key factor of Spider-Man. Maybe Spidey’s wit got transplanted into Superman for Action Comics.

In any case, Spider-Man’s venture into the Marvel Knights brand is a good contrast to the Amazing (which reveals Gwen Stacy was pregnant – sorry if I spoiled it for you) and the Spectacular (which has Spidey turning into a mutant spider – and also features a Klingon wedding). This issue is no exception. While it’s too early to tell if the second arc is any good, if it’s as good as the first, then it’s worth sticking around for the rest of the ride.