Rating:  -
Right off the bat I want to make this clear: this story has nothing to do with Avengers Disassembled. Captain America is prominent, and Iron Man as well as a few other heroes, including the X-Men, show up towards the end, but that's where the connection ends.
As far as a Spider-man book goes, the story is so-so, focusing more on new villainess The Queen, a human-bug hybrid, than on our Spectacular hero. When he does make his costumed appearance it's nothing short of spectacular, it's just that those appearances are found only in the beginning and briefly in the end of the book. Far too few for a Spider-hungry fan.
Of main importance here is Spider-man's transformation into more arachnid than scientist when he's given the ability to shoot webs from his arms rather than from ingeniously created web spinners.
If you are following the Spectacular Spider-Man books, pick this up. But if you're interested in The Avengers Disassembled, stick to the main arch.
Rating: -
I blame the movie. When Spider-Man was retooled for his big screen theatrical debut one of the big changes was that instead of having web shooters, this time Peter Parker would have the natural (so to speak) ability to shoot webbing out of his wrists. On the one hand this nicely sidesteps how Peter would have the knowledge to invent not just his webshooters but also the miraculous web fluid (which apparently has no commercial use that would make him even semi-rich). In "Ultimate Spider-Man" it is Peter's late father the super scientist who invented the web fluid instead of a teenager, so I can appreciate the impulse. But you tell me is wrong with this picture: a teenager boy has sticky, white fluid shooting out of him in a major motion picture (#6 all-time on the U.S. money making movie list).
Let me interrupt this rant to point out that it is engendered by the fact that by the end of "Spectacular Spider-Man, Volume 4: Disassembled," Spider-Man no longer needs his webshooters because he is now shooting webbing out of his wrists. This trade paperback collects issues #15-20 of "The Spectacular Spider-Man," the first two making up the two parts of "Royal Flush" and the last four being "Changes" (or, should we saw Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes since there are four parts?). Now, back to the rant.
Granted, there are some flaws in the initial conception of Spider-Man by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. The idea was that once bitten by a radioactive spider Peter Parker acquired the human equivalent of a spider's power: i.e., strength, speed, agility, the ability to walk on walls and ceilings, and his "spider-sense." To capitalize on his new powers, Peter invented his webslingers and the web fluid to go with it. In nature the hunting spider has the ability to walk on walls and stick to surfaces and while all spiders spin silk they do not al make webs. For that matter, spiders do not have unusual strength, speed, or agility (hard to run fast with eight legs). So shooting the web is something that Peter could have gotten from the radioactive spider, but "ICK!"
Anyhow, the story begins when a mysterious woman named Ana, who insists on calling herself the Queen, arrives in New York City and turns half the population into mindless drones. While the government sends Captain America after Ana (they have a past), Spider-Man is drawn to her as the source of the shooting pains he is getting in his head. By the time Cap gets to the top of the skyscraper where the Queen has set up her throne, Spider-man has already been rendered helpless by her powers. The Queen wants Spider-Man to be her mate and in lieu of a wedding she kisses him, after which wackiness ensues beginning with Peter suddenly having four eyes (just like a you-know-what).
Eventually Ana reveals she has a bomb and Nick Fury and Captain America have to enlist the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, and the X-Men to try and rack down Spider-Man before things get really bad. How bad? Well, you would not believe me if I told you what else Spider-Man can do that he could never do before. The "Royal Flush" part of the story is written by Paul Jenkins, drawn by Michael Ryan, with color art by Studio F. Jenkins also writes "Changes" but the distinctive art is Humberto Ramos with inks by Wayne Faucher.
I agree with the idea that Spider-Man should have a new villain(ess) who reflects the evolution of the character into the Lord of the Spiders as engineered by J. Michael Straczynski in "The Amazing Spider-Man." It is even interesting for Captain America to warn people that Ana is more dangerous than a dozen Hulks. But this whole point of "disassembling" Spider-Man this way was a bit much, and to rub salt in the wounds the icky idea was the subject of all four of the "Changes" covers. Fortunately, you are spared that series of covers being reproduced in these pages. But longtime fans of Spider-Man are going to be flashing back on what happened with "Spider-Man" #100, and the century mark aside, that was not a high point in the series. Since I was not thrilled with Straczynski's "Sins Past" story-line in the main Spider-Man title at this same time I am getting worried we are hitting a major dry spell with the character.
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