At least every five years, the Spider-Man line of comics does some kind of reimagined Sinister Six storyline.
The Gauntlet, a Spider-Man event that’s been promoted for several months now, is the 2010 version. It’s Secret Six on steroids. There’s a lot that works here. First, it departs from the formula. Typically, some villains (usually at least half are from the original Sinister Six) get together and argue a lot before tacking Spider-Man head on and, inevitably, losing because they can’t work together.
Also great: The covers have corner boxes!
In the Gauntlet, each villain attacks Spidey one-at-a-time without any knowledge of the fact that, in the background, Kraven the Hunter’s mother and daughter are engineering it so that all of Spidey’s major foes attack him seriatim, wearing him down. It’s kinda like a rope-a-dope. Kraven’s relatives also have captured Madame Web and Spider-Woman (Mattie Franklin version), and are using them as part of their master plan.
This first block of issues is the Electro block and it’s great. The creative team is about as good as you can get for this era, and the story is quite different.
It starts with his powers being on the fritz and sporting a new look…
…A face tattoo, instead of his trademark “starfish” lightning mask.
Electro’s powers aren’t working as well as they used to (due to the fact that he’s getting old), so he begins a viral video campaign he calls “Power to the People” that enables him to inspire New Yorkers to simultaneously turn on all their appliances–given Electro a massive power source to power a machine that will re-power him, thanks to a partnership with Mad Thinker.
But Spider-Man has tech of his own, and tracks Electro to his lair using a surge detector. I love that.
In the big finale, the building hosting Dexter Bennet’s DB! newspaper is destroyed, Bennet is seriously injured, and it looks like Jolly Jonah may be returning to publishing.
Peter looks over the wreckage and wonders how he’d handle it if his other enemies attacked him again. Which they will, of course. That’s the point of this Gauntlet storyline. Also, if you count Electro having been arrested, those are the key 6 villains (minus Doctor Octopus) who most often recur in the various versions of this villain team.
Electro is taken to prison, where corrupt prison guards introduce him to Ana Kravenoff and Chameleon, who are there to make him an offer.
At the end of issue #612, you’ll find a short story by Joe Kelley and JM Ken Nimura about Black Cat.
It explores whether a hero who is motivated almost entirely by guilt (over failing to save Uncle Ben) can possibly enjoy guilt-free sex. It’s worth reading–a nice little character piece.