Dalton's Music Reviews

Andy 'Alpha' Macguire will be introduced in 'Amazing Spider-Man' #692 as Peter Parker's new partner in crime fighting.

By Josh Wigler

"Amazing Spider-Man" comic

Photo:

Swinging on webs and catching bad guys can be a fun but lonely gig. Lucky for your friendly neighborhood wall-crawler Spider-Man then: He's about to get a new sidekick!

Peter Parker will find himself armed with a brand-new partner in crime fighting when "Amazing Spider-Man" #692 hits shelves in August, Fox News reports. In the issue, 15-year-old teenager Andy "Alpha" Macguire — who shares a last name with a Spider-Man of old — will make his Marvel Comics debut just in time to celebrate the "Amazing" comic book's 50th anniversary. And his origin reflects the iconic web-head's very own beginnings.

In the current "Spider-Man" comics, Peter Parker no longer works at The Daily Bugle as a photographer — he's now a scientist, and young Andy visits his lab as part of a student field trip. Andy finds himself the unwitting recipient of new powers when one of Parker's inventions malfunctions, leaving the elder superhero with the burden of teaching the youngster how to use his great powers responsibly.

"Part of it is that Spider-Man is grown up," Marvel Entertainment editor in chief Axel Alonso told Fox News about why now is the right time to introduce a Spidey sidekick. "He's older, more seasoned, but young at heart. He's still a young man, but he's been around. It's interesting because it flips the paradigm. Teen hero Spider-Man is now responsible for this teen hero sidekick. He's responsible because one of his inventions caused this kid to get his powers. He's directly responsible for the responsibility this kid now has with his new powers. He feels he has a responsibility to make sure this kid walks the right path, which won't prove easy."

Alpha doesn't have the same confidence problems that young Peter Parker did, however. The new character is described as brash and edgy, posing problems for Peter "as he molds a potentially unpredictable teen who's more powerful than he is."

"If you put Spider-Man and Batman in the same situation, you're going to have way more fun with Spider-Man," writer Dan Slott said of the new dynamic duo. "With Batman, he never really screws up the way Spider-Man does; he always seems to make the right decision. But with Spider-Man, he always screws up. He's us as a superhero. Batman is a paragon of what we'd like to be, but in reality, we're more like Spider-Man. He makes all the mistakes we make."

And Alpha is bound to make some mistakes as well. Exactly how big are those mistakes? That's anybody's guess, as the new character's power-set remains a mystery. Regardless of what he's capable of, Alpha's introduction is sure to raise more than a few eyebrows in the weeks to come.

Are you excited to meet Spidey's new sidekick, or do you prefer your wall-crawler to swing solo? Let us know in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @roundhoward!

For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com.

• MTV Rough Cut: 'The Amazing Spider-Man'