A heatwave is bad enough, but then people keep popping up without their skin, making for a rough day for Peter Parker. Your Major Spoilers review of Predator Versus Spider-Man #1 awaits!

PREDATOR VERSUS SPIDER-MAN #1

Writer: Benjamin Percy
Artist: Marcelo Ferreira
Colorist: Frank D’Armata
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Editors: Sarah Brunstad, Lindsey Cohick, and Martin Bird
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $5.99
Release Date: April 23rd, 2025

Previously in Predator Versus Spider-Man: New York City is suffering from a horrible heat wave that has put the city on edge. The Yautja are a race of aliens whose entire society and culture are based around the act of hunting. One such Yautja is now hunting on the boiling hot streets of New York.

THE SKINNER RISES

Predator Versus Spider-Man #1 starts off at a crime scene where Detective LaPearl and a crime scene investigator are looking at a trio of victims who all have been hung up, skinless, with specific body parts missing. The CSI officer then sneaks out, and it’s revealed that it was actually Peter Parker, who promptly calls The Daily Bugle about the possibility of a new killer on the loose. On his way to the office,e Peter comes across a robbery and has to swing into action to save some kids who are caught in the middle. He tracks the crooks to their hideout but finds that they’re in the same shape as the victims from the last crime scene he was at. In the subway, MJ is on a train when the power in the city goes out. While peering out of the window, she sees The Predator, wearing the skin of their previous victims. At the Daily Bugle, Peter and J. Jonah Jameson decide to go old school and start printing papers and selling them on street corners to get the word out about a killer they’re calling The Skinner. This gets the attention of someone else lurking in the city.

KIND OF CHEESY, KIND OF DISJOINTED

Admittedly, with a title like Predator Versus Spider-Man #1, there’s not a lot of room for surprises, but even so, this issue plays out in an incredibly predictable and uninteresting way. While it doesn’t take its time introducing The Predator via its deeds, it definitely doesn’t seem to be in a rush to get the “versus” aspect of this going. What this leads to is an issue where it feels like there are two disjointed plots going on, with any ties to each other being coincidental and forced. Now, separately, there’s some fun stuff going on. We do get a classic bit of Spider-Man style heroics that’s always a good time to see. Also, The Predator is adequately violent and brutal, which brings about the biggest bit of intrigue that this issue has going for it. This particular member of the Yuatja race seems a bit more deranged and savage than what has been depicted in other places, which raises some interesting narrative questions.

EFFECTIVE BUT WEIRD

The visuals in Predator Versus Spider-Man #1 nail it in a few very key areas. It captures the feeling of heat exceptionally, without resorting to gimmicks like heat waves. Also, Spider-Man looks great swinging around and snatching up people with his webs. But then, there are moments where characters get distorted in cartoonish ways, especially during moments with The Predator. For example, when The Predator reveals itself by the subway track, it’s supposed to be this sort of jump scare moment, but the longer you look at this image, you realize how hard it is to discern what exactly is going on with facial feature placement and general body composition.

BOTTOM LINE: IT’LL BE FINE FOR SOME

If what you’re looking for is to see Spider-Man and The Predator in the same comic book, then Predator Versus Spider-Man #1 delivers. There are some cheesy kill moments from The Predator and some fun web-slinging from Spider-Man. These things just don’t really jive well with each other, and there’s not a lot of effort to push these two characters together in a satisfying and natural way. Also, some visual oddities stick out like a sore thumb in an otherwise well-drawn comic. 2. 5 out of 5 stars.

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