J.J. Abrams’ Version of Spider-Man is a Twisted Horror Movie – Screen Rant

J.J. Abrams' 80s influences provide the unique addition of body horror to the Spider-Man universe in the miniseries he's penning with his son Henry

WARNING! Spoilers forSpider-Man: Bloodline #4

There's some nostalgia to be found in the newest Spider-Man: Bloodlines comic. Fans of high-concept film and television know that the unique mix ofthrowback sci-fi/horror that J.J. Abrams often brings to his creations is what makes his work immediately identifiable. Many of his works lean into that unnamable sense of 80s nostalgia that has permeated pop culture of late, while simultaneously pulling from elements of classic science fiction. Its no surprise, then, that the villain of the new Spider-Man: Bloodline series, written by Abrams and his son, Henry, feels like its been yanked straight from some forgotten notebook in David Cronenbergs desk drawer.

The story follows Ben Parker, the teenaged son of M.J. and Peter Parker, who has taken up his fathers web-slinging mantle. While Peter is not wild about his kid fighting crime, they dont particularly have a chance to hash it out before theyre interrupted by the cyborg villain Cadaverous. Now, with Peter kidnapped, Ben and his friend Faye Ito seek out help from a grown Riri Williams and a retired Tony Stark to rescue his father. Of course, theres a few roadblocks - including cyborg-zombie Avengers and Cadaverous former partner Minka Tross.

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In Abrams'Spider-Man: Bloodline #4, Cadaverous resurrects Minka Tross using Peter Parkers irradiated blood. Minka is less than pleased. She grows increasingly horrified as her body mutates in response to Peters spider-blood, becoming less and less human as Ben and company get closer. I can feel myself shifting, she tells Cadaverous. Bones stretching...cracking. Tross transformation is reminiscent of the body horror genre that had its pop culture heyday during the 1980s. Her description and the stages of her turning into the spider are not exactly Jeff Goldblum pulling his teeth out in a bathroom mirror, but the vibe is definitely there.

In addition to Spider-Tross, the desecrated corpses of the dead Avengers add an equally horrific element to the body horror that peppers Spider-Man: Bloodline. If body horror can be argued as the concept of a person no longer having full autonomy over their own body or that body betraying them in its shift into something other, then zombie-cyborg Avengers - their bodies being puppeted and controlled by Cadaverous - definitely fit the definition.

Some readers may see these deviations into Abrams playground to be unnecessary for a Spider-Man comic. The twist of genre, though, feels playful even in its horror-tinged moments. Ben and Fayes world - a world post-Avengers and post-Spider-Man - feels understandably more dangerous, making the body horror elements a fun and highly consumable, if not slightly twisted addition, to the Spider-Man story.

Spider-Man: Bloodline #4by J.J. Abrams, Henry Abrams, Sara Pichelli, Elisabetta DAmico, Dave Stewart, and VCs Joe Caramagnais available now.

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Bug Norman is writer, reader, and lover of popcorn television. A former ASL interpreting student, she's answered phones, scrubbed toilets, worked as an intern on a film set, and now writes comic news for Screen Rant. She currently lives in rural Washington with her elderly cat, McGonagall.

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J.J. Abrams' Version of Spider-Man is a Twisted Horror Movie - Screen Rant