Imagine any heist movie and there’s the inevitable scene where each character is introduced. A unique range of ragtag characters, each introduced with a splashy nickname and a quick-cut montage highlighting their specific skill that will be innately valuable in the plan. It is the same with a superhero team—in groups like Avengers or Justice League, each member has their own unique set of powers that combined can take down the baddie of the week. Now, Spider-Man has his own team, but it is missing that one crucial element.
Spider-Man villain Kindred, aka Harry Osbourne, has been working overtime to terrorize Peter Parker. Having stolen and returned the sins and evil ways of the villains of New York, Kindred managed to find time to capture the wall crawler and torture him by killing and resurrecting him over and over until his friends and Mary Jane burst in to rescue him. In the mess that follows, Mary Jane and former Green Goblin Norman Osbourne capture the villain and save Peter.
In The Amazing Spider-Man #57 by Nick Spencer and Mark Bagley, Peter’s friends—the other spider-themed superheroes—decide to put their collective powers together when it becomes clear that Peter isn’t in a sharing mood. The group includes Miles Morales, Spider-Woman, Spider-Girl, Ghost-Spider, and Silk. Dubbing themselves “The Order”, the group agrees to band together to do some sleuthing and work together to help their friend, even if he isn’t being particularly helpful himself. The idea of all the Spider-people getting together is really cool. The characters are all super enjoyable and share the same dogged perseverance that seems to be a requirement for vigilante work. Having them sit down and cobble together a plan—such as it is—and decide on a name for their crime fighting club is a fun, light moment in an otherwise pretty intense issue. However, there’s one small problem with their team: they’re all the same.
If this were the afore-mentioned heist movie, having a room full of people with more or less the same powers and skillset, it would be like filling Ocean’s Eleven with just ten other Brad Pitts. Sure, that sounds like a great movie, but the fact of the matter is having a group of people with a varied set of skills makes for a stronger team. In the Order, every single member is a close-combat fighter with some solid gymnastics and parkour skills, meaning that if a villain is capable of taking out an opponent with those skills, then the numbers the group brings to the fight can only help them for so long.
With Kindred shown to be more than capable of taking on someone with spider powers, it will certainly be interesting to see just how well this new team takes to the challenge of working together and fighting baddies. Will they wield their specific skill with thought and planning, or will the Order be a case of too many Brad Pitts?