Astonishing Iceman #4 (of 5)

Comic Watch

Astonishing Iceman #4 continues the trend of the previous issue by introducing Spider-Man in a cameo appearance. Unfortunately, this takes away from the titular character enough for this issue to feel like filler content.

ComicBook.com

As a longtime fan of Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends, I will support any opportunity to get any combination of the band back together, and that fact alone rocketed Astonishing Iceman #4 to the top of my reading list. As expected, the reunion of Iceman and Spider-Man was a delight (as was the addition of Chantal), though we could do with a few less puns. Writer Steve Orlando is clearly having a grand time with Spider-Man in the mix, and his exchanges with Iceman later in the issue are some of the book's best moments. We rarely get to see these two characters get into more vulnerable topics, and it's easy to just stay on the surface and litter their battles with puns. There's plenty of that mind you, and some of them unfortunately fall flat, but Spider-Man's interactions with Chantal rarely do, and I grew to love their dynamic. Meanwhile Vincenzo Carratu, colorists Java Tartaglia and Chris Sotomayor, and letterer Travis Latham make for a brilliant team on Bobby Drake, as his ice slides, ice drones, and fight scenes overall consistently steal the show. The villain storyline woven between everything isn't as compelling as Iceman's own story, and there's a lengthy block of text in the form of a letter that slowed everything to a crawl, but those are relatively small issues that don't bring down all the things that clearly work. Hopefully we get more teacups down the line, but even if this is the only one, it's one I truly enjoyed.

Henchman-4-Hire

The writing, and especially artwork, are otherwise very strong, but the status quo and overall X-Men storyline is leaving this comic in the lurch. I wish an Iceman comic from Orlando could be more free.

Weird Science Marvel Comics

Astonishing Iceman #4 nearly repeats the same plot from the first three issues but throws in a final twist to give the illusion that Steve Orlando had more story than a one-shot in mind. The action is fun, and the last-page twist at least moves the story in a new direction, but the issue is largely a waste of time and money.