The Lizard is killing random people in New York - but whyyyyy?
That really is all there is to Spider-Man: Torment, written and drawn by Todd McFarlane. And he doesn’t even really do all that good a job of explaining the why either!
Still, the art is SO good. Maybe I’m biased because I remember looking at McFarlane’s art on Spider-Man when I was a kid so he’s kinda imprinted on me as the definitive Spidey artist, and looking at the art again here, damn it kicks ass.
Well, looking at it now I can also see a lot of weird, funny details. Like the abundance of webs Spidey has as he soars across New York - why does he have so many webs; is he gathering them as he’s swinging?! And they’re such thick and twisty webs, like ropes - are his web shooters as big as shotgun barrels?!
It’s strange (not to mention convenient) that so many ordinary people wind up in the same dingy alley that Lizard hangs out in. In McFarlane’s hands, Pete never wears a shirt at home and MJ is constantly clamped onto him! And I’m pretty sure metal doesn’t splinter like wood.
Knowing that McFarlane would go on to create Spawn, his own superhero at Image, a company he would also co-found, you can really see Spawn in his Spidey run. The webs are Spawn’s chains, and their masked heads even look alike. There’s a short Prowler backup included in this edition and that character is even more Spawn-y, especially with that insane cape.
As much as I enjoy McFarlane’s highly stylised and instantly-recognisable art, he isn’t a very good writer. The story here is one of the flimsiest ever for such a big title: Spidey and Lizard fight until they don’t. There’s another baddie - a voodoo witch - but her motivations and connection to Spidey are murky at best and mostly arbitrary. It’s essentially a case of bad guy being bad for bad’s sake. Lizard doesn’t speak at all - he’s simply a cipher, there to punch Spidey.
Meanwhile, MJ goes dancing - yup, that’s literally the B-story here! And that’s all she does. No idea why other than maybe to parallel the “magical rhythm” of the voodoo witch, but again, there doesn’t seem to be any reason or connection between these characters. It’s the most pointless subplot - and I’m being generous here calling it a “subplot” - I’ve ever read.
If you have an interest in superhero comics, you’ll know Todd McFarlane’s name, and I’m glad I finally got around to reading one of his books. But, if Spider-Man: Torment is anything to go by, it’s obvious why he’s famous for his art rather than his writing because this was the most pointless, forgettable, and unimpressive story you could imagine for Spider-Man.
Who knows though - maybe this is all set-up for something that pays off later in McFarlane’s run. Maybe he even gets around to naming the voodoo witch! Either way, I’m glad to have reacquainted myself with his Spider-Man art which is still as awesome as it ever was (that iconic cover!). It’s worth a look for that alone but don’t expect anything else but great art from McFarlane’s Spider-Man.
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