Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine #4

Wolverine and Spider-Man's histories intersect again and again as two goons and the real mastermind finally show themselves and own up to this time-crossed predicament.
 

The Good

Aaron totally gets these characters and his spot-on characterizations anchor the book, even when it's at its wildest excesses. There's some really inspired audacity to the kind of ridiculous situations he puts these guys through - - whether it be Wolvie donning a luchador mask or Spidey running around with a coat of guts. Kubert's been amazing me for years and years, since his days on X-Men, and he continues to be an absolute gold standard for pencilers, as well.

The Bad

The two bad guys introduced in this issue put the whole arc closer to an edge bordering the territory of self-parodies like All-Star Batman. The twist reveal of the real villain might give a good explanation for all this craziness, but still, if you step back, these goons (one's an I-Pod packing midget and the other swings a jewel-studded baseball bat) seem like they're from a Robot Chicken sketch.

The Verdict - 4.5/5

This continues to be one of the oddest superhero books I've read. The time travel itself isn't that outlandish - - what's strange is that these circumstances are so atypical for Spidey and Wolvie to be in, yet they're acting completely in character. This isn't what I was expecting out of this Astonishing title, at all, and there's something truly, admirably ballsy about that kind of unpredictability.