Amazing
Spider-Man # 525
Title: The Other – Evolve or Die
Part 3: Rage
Writer: Peter David
Penciler: Mike Deodato, Jr.
Inker: Joe Pimentel
Plot:
We open on Aunt May dreaming about pulling the plug, medically speaking,
on her mother years upon years ago. She wakes up screaming, only to look
out the window and see the real horror of the city being devastated by
machines. She fears Peter is out there risking his life.
To disprove this fear, she bumps into Peter in the hallway.
He is acting strangely, arguing with MJ about whether or not he should
go out there and help. When May asks him what’s going on, Peter yells at
her to go back to bed. She now knows something is wrong with Peter
personally, but he won’t tell her. He just webs off into the battle.
She sits down to the kitchen table and begins talking to a
mental image of Uncle Ben about Jarvis. Very quickly, this mental image
becomes a real live Tracer sitting across the table from her. And since
Aunt May has never seen Tracer, he dupes her into thinking he’s a
reserve Avenger, left behind to watch over those in the tower.
Out in the city, Spidey falls off of a wall he was sticking
to, and finds himself flat on his back facing Morlun. Morlun sees his
condition and says he will not fight him now, he’d rather watch his
deterioration. Spidey tries to climb after him, but falls again. This
time he’s caught by Wolverine, who is surprisingly concerned with his
well being and sends him back to the tower so as not to get himself
killed.
Back at the tower, Tracer tells Aunt May that he is a
machine god. He says the machines created him to worship just like (he
says) humans created their God to worship. They continue on a heart to
heart, and just as May is about to reveal Peter’s identity, he bursts in
and knocks the spit out of Tracer. It turns out that Tracer really is
something of a machine god, and is responsible for this whole night of
mayhem, setting his “followers” loose on the city to thrash around the
Avengers before he kills Spidey. So obviously, he and Spidey get into a
bit of a tussle. During said tussle, Tracer jabs Spidey with needles
from his fingers that assess his full health status. Tracer becomes
offended that Spidey would dare fight him in this state (whatever this
state is) and refuses to fight any longer.
Spidey gets so ticked off that he begins to strangle Tracer
to death with webbing right in front of May. Tracer says he’s going to
reign in his followers and go away for awhile, as a gesture of respect
for the dead (referring to Peter), and his skin melts off to reveal a
robot.
As the issue ends, Aunt May is fed up and demands Peter tell
her what’s going on. He pulls off his mask to tell her what is wrong
with him…
Likes:
- The art! The art! The art! After Pat Lee’s horrendous pencils in part 2, Deodato looks extra amazing here. He’s really in absolute top form, and seeing him draw Morlun and Tracer is a real treat. Kudos to Deodato for stepping up what was already great!
- Peter David really delivered on his plan to tell these three issues from three different perspectives. This issue is almost entirely focused on Aunt May, which would be hard anyway, but is especially hard in the middle of a giant suspenseful crossover event. He pulls it off beautifully, though. Her characterization is flawless, and he moves the story along perfectly with it as well.
- The opening flashback sequence with young May and Ben was excellent. Especially notable were Pimentel’s colors, which were a little browner than usual, giving it an unobtrusive old photograph feel.
- Still, Morlun’s introduction is slow but excellently done. He’s staying creepy and in the background, and it works very very well.
- Tracer’s story comes to an end (for now) here, and I think that was perfect. He was something to get us started, a good story to be going on while all of this was first happening, but this was a good time to get rid of him. I enjoyed his story, and am glad it isn’t taking over the main themes of this arc.
Dislikes:
- While it was well done, I did think the opening sequence got a little political for my taste, discussing the merits of pulling the plug on the patient.
- Wolverine seemed a bit out of character. Yes, he had a line saying it was all about being on a team, but he just seemed to be too fatherly toward Spidey.
- I definitely thought Tracer was a much cooler villain when I thought he was human. Robots just aren’t as unique and exciting. It does make for an easy return whenever the heck you want him, though.
Favorite Quote: Jarvis: “I’m going to have to clean this up, aren’t I? Ah well, at least I’m not required to wear spandex.”
Rating: 4 webs out of 5. Really solid issue here. I enjoyed the heck out of it, but it wasn’t quite spectacular enough for a fifth web.
Reviewed by: Morbius
Amazing
Spider-Man # 524
Title: All Fall Down
Writer: J. Michael Staczynski
Penciler: Mike Deodato, Jr.
Inker: Joe Pimentel
Plot: Peter is saved from his death
plunge toward the ocean by a fast-flying Iron Man. Tony gets him to the
Tower to heal quickly, where he promptly sleeps for 2 days. Tony has a
supply of anti-toxins for all the big weaponized viruses just in case
the Avengers need them in a terrorist situation, so Peter is easily
cured of the effects of the bomb. But Tony says his blood tests came
back extremely anomalous. If the symptoms predated the bomb, it would be
a problem. He lists off a set of symptoms, all of which Peter has felt
somewhere in Straczynski’s run on this title, but Peter says he hasn’t
felt any of them.
In other news, the evil twins of the Avengers escaped
because the Hydra base exploded, causing the Avengers to run to the aid
of the public up top. We also see an image of Lascombe at an airport. So
we have five villains introduced in this arc still alive.
Peter then has a gleeful reunion with MJ, where he’s
unfortunate enough to see Aunt May and Jarvis holding hands. They are an
item now. Let’s say it together: Eeeeeeeeew.
Tony leaves this early to go see the photographer who took
the MJ picture that led to the headline about he and MJ. He shows the
photographer images of him with a woman other than his wife, and tells
him that if he doesn’t retract the story and apologize for it, he will
grind him into dust.
When Peter goes to use the Jacuzzi in his room before going
to bed with MJ, he blacks out again. He is woken up by her yelling that
he’s been in there for an hour. He goes to bed with her and pretends
everything is fine. It is quite obviously not…
Likes:
- JMS’ writing doesn’t slack on this issue at all. It is absolutely chock full of Spidey one-liners and witty banter. This is how Spider-Man should be written.
- That being said, Spider-Man didn’t even appear in this issue. It was all Peter and what’s going on with him. You have to be good to craft an entire issue like that, and JMS delivers.
- I’m glad they didn’t do a quick end to the evil Avengers. They’re fun bad guys, it’ll be nice to see them pop up again later.
- Deodato continues to amaze me. This is one of his better issues which says a lot. The image of MJ that is now my favorite of all time is contained in this book if that says anything about the quality.
- I don’t know whether this is a like or a dislike yet, so I’m putting it here in between. This is not so much the last part of the Hydra arc as it is the prelude to The Other. This works in many ways, and I can’t fault them since this isn’t titled “part 6.” It just so happens that the same story has been running for several issues, they aren’t actually under a unifying title. (That being the reason there isn’t an Overall Arc Rating for this one, it didn’t feel right.)
Dislikes:
- I don’t know how I feel about putting Aunt May and Jarvis together yet. It seems to be just a way to cement the fact that Spidey is no longer solo, he’s an Avenger. Yet the other members get their own books that don’t involve the whole team. I just don’t know yet. We’ll see how it plays out.
Favorite Quote: Peter, trying to stand up: “What an ingenious idea, building a lab at a 45 degree angle…whoa…”
Rating: 5 webs out of 5. This is great JMS and Deodato, and really serves the reader. It works as both the end of the Hydra arc and the prelude to The Other, so it’s even pulling double duty well.
Reviewed by: Morbius
Amazing
Spider-Man # 523
Title: Extreme Measures
Writer: J. Michael Staczynski
Penciler: Mike Deodato, Jr.
Inker: Joe Pimentel
Plot: We open up on Spidey facing the Hydra versions of the Avengers with the “hordes of Hydra” beating at the door behind him. They exchange blows for a good amount of time, Spidey has the upper hand for most of it. But just when the villains realize they need to work together to beat him, the real Cap, Iron Man, Spider-Woman, and Luke Cage burst in and make with the hurtin’. Spidey’s little Hydra guy he saved from the others tells him where the missile is, and that there’s about 5 minutes until it launches, so Spidey gets a ride on Iron Man. There are only 2 minutes left when they get there, so Iron Man holds off the crowd while Spidey tries to disarm the missile. But when there’s still a good 1:40, a Hydra guy enters an override and ups the countdown to 10 seconds. Seeing no other option, Spidey hitches a ride. He finds the GPS while in the air, and redirects the missile far out into the ocean where it shouldn’t do much damage. Unfortunately, the altitude does bad things for him, and he passes out and falls from the missile when it’s near the water. We end on the missile making contact with the ocean, and a mask-less Spidey almost hitting the water not far from it.
Likes:
- Wow, this issue is the definition of action packed! Keeps you on the edge and frantically flipping pages the entire time.
- When Cap runs in and sees Spidey going up on the missile, he has a flashback to Bucky doing the same thing. Kind of surprises me to have a deep, personal character moment for Cap in a Spidey book, but I’m glad it’s there. As long as Cap’s in the book, he may as well be a full character.
- Spidey’s reasoning the entire time he’s fighting the evil heroes (not as oxymoronic as it sounds, really) is absolutely perfect. Classic Spidey wit and intelligence.
- Deodato’s art is back up to where it should be. More excellent pencils from an excellent artist.
Dislikes:
- [insert cricket sounds here]
Favorite Quote: “I’m telling you now, if I ever see another clone again, I’ll throw it off the nearest bridge. Thus making an obscene clone fall.”
Rating: 4 webs out of 5. Spectacular issue. I am, however, very ready for this arc to end. Thus it receives 4 webs.
Reviewed by: Morbius
Amazing
Spider-Man # 522
Title: Moving Targets
Writer: J. Michael Staczynski
Penciler: Mike Deodato, Jr.
Inker: Joe Pimentel
Plot: Open up
with Robbie calling Peter to let him know that he’s there for him in
this difficult time (and to let the readers know he still exists).
Peter, of course, asks what difficult time that would be? He goes to
tell MJ it’s okay, throwing Wolverine out of an unbreakable window for
some smart comments on the way. Tony Stark arrives on the scene to keep
Peter from killing the photographer. He tells him that the Hydra “hit
man” he took down last issue was on Lascombe’s payroll. So a guy
covering for a Hydra guy must be a Hydra guy, therefore must be watched.
After
getting dizzy and nearly slipping off a wall because JMS felt the need
to plant some seeds for The Other, Spidey makes it into Lascombe’s
house and down into Hydra’s base with a Hydra suit on. In this time he
realizes his brain has also been a little fuzzy since about the same
time he got dizzy and nearly slipped off the wall. He changes back into
Spidey to rescue a Hydra man about to be killed, and gets all the info
from said lackey. As they are escaping, they run into the Experimental
Genetics Testing Room. Re-enter The Hammer, The Bowman, Militant, and
Karl…
- Robbie exists. This is good to know. Haven’t seen him for awhile in Amazing, and he’s always welcome.
- Peter threw Wolverine out an unbreakable window!
- When Tony Stark tried to physically stop Peter, Pete’s response was “You know you’re not wearing the armor right now, right?”
- The preceding two likes were a humorous way of recognizing the fact that Spider-Man is very powerful. He can hold his own against these people mentally and physically and he knows it. It’s good to see Peter showing what he is sometimes.
- The evil heroes are back! I was starting to worry that they were going to be dropped after their one issue, and that would be a shame. Of course, now Spidey gets to take them on alone.
- The tone of this issue is really phenomenal. JMS was always good at writing the humor of Spider-Man. Especially his internal monologues are brilliant. This issue is a return to that style. He hasn’t really done a full issue like this in a year or two now, and it’s a welcome return.
-
Not sure if the blatant set-up for The Other is good or
bad, so I’ll just put it right here between the sections.
Dislikes:
- That cover is atrocious. Seriously, there’s no less serious word that describes it.
- I’ll reiterate the two beefs I’ve had with this whole arc: No review, no unifying title.
-
Deodato’s art seems a little lacking in this issue.
He’s one of my favorite artists, but I admit it just isn’t that good
this time around. He must’ve been sick.
Favorite Quote:
Spidey to himself looking at the huge Hydra base: “No, it can’t be.
This whole thing it’s…it’s—non-union! The horror, the horror,
the horror…”
Rating: 4 ½
webs out of 5. Fantastic issue. I really want to give it 5 but the art
just isn’t up to Deodato’s usual standards.
Reviewed by: Morbius
Amazing
Spider-Man # 521
Title: Unintended Consequences
Writer: J. Michael Staczynski
Penciler: Mike Deodato, Jr.
Inker: Joe Pimentel
Plot: Peter is working hard at
figuring out just what’s going on with Hydra. Cap doesn’t believe
him that the robberies were just a front, so Pete feels like he’s the
young gun that has to prove himself now. But just as he is theorizing
exactly what happened in issue 519, he looks at the clock. Next thing
you know, MJ is receiving flowers and Peter is in the front row for her
play. (You know, the one she auditioned for at the beginning of Sins
Past?)
The
play comes off beautifully, and the couple celebrates at the after
party. Also in attendance are jerk paparazzi photographer Vincent
Chambliss, and play financier Edgar Lascombe. Chambliss hassles MJ, and
Lascombe sets off Peter’s spider sense. So Pete must go flying off
into some webs.
He
tracks down Lascombe’s place, only to find a car outside from which a
guy with a gun and a Hydra ring emerges. Spidey engages, Hydra man gets
hit by a car. Lascombe shows up and acts the model citizen, offering to
testify and calling an ambulance. Even treats Spidey right.
Unfortunately the spider sense is still tingling like crazy about him.
MJ
returns to
Over
at Lascombe’s place, his butler tells him he’s sorry about his body
guard getting hit by a car like that and that his uniform has been
cleaned. His Hydra uniform, that is. Seems Mr. Lascombe is that scary
Hydra leader who was giving a speech the past two issues. Time for
another speech to some…delegates.
They
are people from several countries who have gathered to see if Hydra cn
actually take down the
MJ
wakes up early in
Likes:
- Peter’s mental abilities are being used in a way that is consistent with how intelligent the character is supposed to be.
- We get a sense of continuity and long developing story with MJ’s play. She auditioned in Sins Past, she was rehearsing in Skin Deep, and now she’s finally performing it.
- I think I say this every time, but no one writes the relationship between Peter and MJ like JMS. Masterful work.
- I wasn’t expecting to get a man behind the mask on the Hydra leader, but it’s definitely welcome.
- The real world issue of MJ dealing with the press is good to ground this over sized story.
- The foreign interests in league with Hydra is, unfortunately, a very real detail.
- The plan is frighteningly sound.
- Deodato shines as he always does. Exceptional is his status quo, and it is appreciated
- Why are we recycling story names? Unintended Consequences was the name of a two part arc JMS did about 25 issues ago.
- I’m not sure if Cap treating Spidey like a kid is really in character. Hard to pinpoint though really, he treats him differently every time they meet it seems.
- Still wish this arc had one unifying title.
Favorite Quote:
Spidey to a cat: “What’s wrong? Never seen a six-foot-tall humanoid
spider before?”
Runner Up: Wolverine to MJ:
“Looking for this, sweet-cheeks?”
Rating: 4 ½
webs out of 5. Really good material here, well written and well drawn.
Only thing holding it back from the extra half web is simply that it’s
the middle of the story, so it’s not terribly exciting.
Reviewed by: Morbius
Amazing
Spider-Man # 520
Title: Acts of Aggression
Writer: J. Michael Staczynski
Penciler: Mike Deodato, Jr.
Inker: Joe Pimentel
Plot:
Hydra’s fearless leader is making a speech to the hordes (picking up
from last issue). He unveils four super-powered villains in his control,
but we still can’t make them out. Back in
Long about the point where the baddies are
maiming innocents, they all beep (don’t ask me exactly where the beeps
are coming from; those suits are skin tight so I don’t really wanna
know). This seems to be their cue, as they all make their exit, leaving
their respective heroes utterly beat down. Back in the mansion, Pete
notices 3 photos of the failures in the Daily Bugle. Realizing that no
photographer is actually that lucky (except himself of course), he calls
Robbie Robertson. It turns out, the Bugle was informed of three of the
four crime locations before-hand. Peter realizes that the one location
left out was the dock, and surmises that the whole point of this was to
smuggle something into the country. The reader is inclined to agree,
since we are shown an image of several missiles on a ship when he is
saying this.
-
Mike
Deodato hasn’t flexed his muscles like this since…well I’ve never
seen it if there was another time. His art is at its absolute peak. This
is the best art I’ve seen in ages.
-
The evil versions of the heroes is a brilliant way to go.
The battles are dynamic, and the villains not only look cool, but they
are very recognizable. Hawkeye fans should enjoy The Bowman, just for a
chance to see someone that looks like Hawkeye in action again. Either
that or they’ll say it’s defiling his memory. But hey, whatever
works.
-
The characterization in every aspect of this is
exceptional.
-
The character interactions are the work of a master.
Seeing Wolverine get owned by Aunt May is absolutely priceless.
-
I said it last issue and I’ll say it again: I’m so
glad Hydra actually has some balls now.
-
The feel of the entire comic is absolute perfection
Dislikes:
-
No recap. We come in the middle of a speech, so folks who
didn’t read last issue will be kind of confused.
-
Just not sure why this isn’t an actual story arc. This
doesn’t say “Part 2” and it has a different title than last issue.
Not much of a gripe, just confused.
Favorite Quote: Hydra leader:
“Time, now, for us to bare our teeth.” (I could have picked out a
million funny/great lines from this issue, but this line kind of sums up
what this story is about)
Rating: 5 webs out of 5. This is
almost definitely the best comic I’ve read all year. I actually
considered giving it a 5 ½, but I didn’t want to be too earth
shattering.
Reviewed by: Morbius
Amazing
Spider-Man # 519
Title: Moving Up
Writer: J. Michael Staczynski
Penciler: Mike Deodato, Jr.
Inker: Joe Pimentel
Plot: The Parkers are reeling from
the loss of all the places they call home. Peter and MJ’s apartment
and Aunt May’s house both burned to the ground. Just when they’re
thinking of going to a shelter or something, Tony Stark drives up in his
limo to save the day. He insists that all three of them come live in
Likes:
-
Hydra is back, but this time, they have balls!
-
Evil versions of the heroes can make for a very, very interesting story indeed.
-
The characterization in the conversation between Peter and Tony Stark is excellent. Peter can’t stop calling him “sir.”
-
Staczynski always writes the Peter/MJ relationship better than anyone.
-
Deodato does his usual excellent job at the pencils.
Dislikes:
-
I really feel like moving in with the Avengers basically tosses the secret identity out the window.
-
This is a publishing problem, but still a problem. This issue really needed to come out before Marvel Knights #13, because they were already living in
Favorite
Quote: Wolverine about Aunt May’s reaction to Cap: “Looks
like old red, white, and bloomers found himself a groupie.”
Rating: 4 webs out of 5. This looks like the start of a great arc. Excessively refreshing after Skin Deep.
Reviewed by: Morbius
Amazing
Spider-Man #515
Title: Skin Deep- Part One (Of Four)
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Penciler: Mike Deodato
Mark Brooks
Inker: Joe Pimentel
Jaime
Mendoza
Plot:
With Sins Past now…err, in the
past, Straczynski has decided to move on and further complicate spideys
beginnings by adding yet another character to the roster who has
apparently, even though this is the first time we’ve seen him, always
existed.
According to Straczynski, Charlie Weiderman attended Midtown High at the
same time Peter did and was apparently an even bigger nerd than Peter
was. Reluctant to befriend Charlie or even act civil towards him because
he was now no longer in the nerd limelight, Peter is very regretful of
his behavior and so when Charlie shows up at Midtown high many years
later (present day) to ask a favor, Peter can’t help but agree. It
seems Charlie has come up with a super-soldier-like solution which can
make a human invulnerable to harm by coating them head to toe in an
indestructible material (which kind of looks like red shiny plastic). He
wants to take his idea to Stark industries but needs Peter as a
reference. Unsure if Charlie can safely produce such a material, Peter
is once again reluctant towards Charlie but agrees anyway. With Parker
as a referee, Charlie wins the contract from Stark and everything
appears to go fine until Peter gets a call from Stark industries
demanding a progress report. Apparently Charlie has given Stark the
impression that Peter is more involved with the project than he actually
is. Peter then pays Charlie a visit only to find that things are
dangerously unstable. He threatens to go to Tony Stark if Charlie
doesn’t pull the plug but after he leaves a frantic and careless
Charlie makes a miscalculation and after an explosion, is coated in the
solution himself.
Likes:
• For the first time since I can remember, Straczynski has decided to
acknowledge continuity from another title (new avengers)!
• Peter actually shows up to his job (remember he’s a teacher).
• Artworks great, especially the flashbacks which were handled by
Brooks.
• The Charlie character is a nice opposite for Peter to play off.
Dislikes:
• Charlie’s sinister origin is a bit tired. Careless, vindictive
scientist angry at the world makes careless mistake and a super villain
is born. Sound familiar?
Favorite Quote:
“So you’re familiar
with his work?”
“You could say that”.
Rating:
3 out of 5 webs. A nice start to
what could be an interesting arc. A welcome change of pace from Sins
Past.
Reviewed by: Spyder_sam (Sam McAlpine)
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