Spider-Girl #2 Review

 

Writer: Torunn Grønbekk

Artist: André Risso

Colorist: Java Tartaglia

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Designer: Stacie Zucker

Editors: Kaitlyn Lindtvedt, Nick Lowe & CB Cebulski

Cover Artists: David Nakayama; Javier Garrón & Jesus Aburtov; Nogi San; Chad Hardin & Alex Sinclair

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: July 16, 2025

 

Makawalu Akana, or Maka for short, is making a new start. After traveling around the world to compete in contests with Bullseye, the young Hawaiian is settling down. Maka is joining the Red Snow Dojo in New York City. She wants to demonstrate her indomitability. But her next challenge is to win friends, not trophies.

 

Even as Maka starts her first practice session with Sensei Barker, Dr Tramma paints a bullseye on Spider-Girl. After assaulting her with Vermin and the Squeak Squad, what will Dr Tramma hit the Hawaiian mutant with next? Let’s leap into Spider-Girl #2, and see, Brah!

 

Story

Like Druig, Dr Tramma wants powerful actors she can manipulate. Spider-Girl wasn’t her first choice. But after Hijack resists her chemical control, Dr Tramma fills Vermin with murderous rage and points him at Spider-Girl. Despite how Maka repels her attackers and saves the dojo, another person in the organization thinks Dr Tramma is wrong. So, while Dr Tramma continues to work on Hijack, a mysterious woman investigates Spider-Girl.

 

The world knows her as Ms Matsumoto. But when she dons her costume, the woman goes by another name. As a knife flies past her to stick in her bedroom wall, Maka gazes out the window. Spider-Girl sees the woman clutching more knives on a nearby fire escape. Maka wanted to spend the night on patrol in Spider-Girl #2, so this engraved invitation is too good to miss. But when Maka thwicks out to follow her, Lady Bullseye cuts Spider-Girl’s barbed web with a sword.

 

While Torunn Grønbekk introduces readers to Maka’s family, Spider-Girl meets Lady Bullseye. Lady Bullseye knows the difficulties that accompany enhanced fighting abilities. She may have expressed disdain for Dr Tramma’s judgment, but Lady Bullseye’s interaction with Spider-Girl seems motivated by compassion. She sees her troubled origins in Maka. The young Hawaiian had already failed to realize Bullseye was a villain who meant her harm. Lady Bullseye makes it clear that life as a vigilante will force Maka to choose her friends and allies carefully in Spider-Girl #2. 

 

 

 

Art

Orange cones and yellow police tape warn pedestrians and motorists of the metal barriers circling the broken asphalt destroyed by Vermin and the Squeak Squad. Windows glow gold and peach beneath a purple sky. Java Tartaglia makes the night glow in the city that never sleeps. As Maka enters her family’s shop, green and purple plants occupy a worktable. Then her aunt bustles into a brick room filled with shelves of boxes, trays, and vases.

 

André Risso gives Maka’s mother and aunt the same dark, edgy hair. Maka’s grandmother restrains her gray hair in a tight bun. Tropical leis hang on her bedroom door, while a Hawaiian flag adorns a pillow and a ukulele perches on a dresser. When a knife with a braided leather handle flashes past, Maka ignores the Spider-Man plushie on her bed. As Maka unzips her backpack, the metal teeth emulate Devil Dinosaur as she withdraws her costume in Spider-Girl #2.

 

 

 

While André Risso introduces us to Maka’s homelife, and Java Tartaglia helps the black-and-white villain shine, Joe Caramagna introduces Lady Bullseye with black uppercase letters in yellow narrative boxes. Maka's assessment of Lady Bullseye appears as red uppercase letters in boxes. Uppercase black letters in white dialogue balloons grow bold for intonation and occasionally shrink, such as when Maka whispers to her new friend Beba. Sound effects accompany web-thwicking and sword-swishing, while Lady Bullseye's throwing knives hiss like the shuriken Maka once threw at Spider-Boy and Daredevil. Thanks to Marvel for providing a review copy.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Maka Akana's mentor has let her down. Lady Bullseye knows the feeling. She doesn't want the young Hawaiian to make the same mistakes she did. Spider-Man ordered Bailey Briggs to relinquish his costume because the ten-year-old had robbed a bank. In Spider-Girl #2, Lady Bullseye delivers a warning. Drop the hero act now before life tempts or forces you to become a villain.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.