Amazing
Spider-Man #57 (#498)
Happy Birthday Part-One
Writers: J. Michael Straczynski
Penciler: John Romita Jr.
Inker: Scott Hanna
PLOT: JMS is back on writing duties for
Amazing Spider-Man. This is the
first issue of a three-part story-arc, which will be concluded, in a
historic issue #500. This book has
a bit of everything. It begins with
a hilarious interaction between Peter, his students, and the school
administration. It leads to an
interesting dinner conversation between Peter, Aunt May, and MJ about the
nature of people. Peter and MJ are
a lot more comfortable with each other, and there is red lightening. Yup,
red lightening. While in bed, Peter notices the weird lightening and knows
that there is something amiss in New York City.
He quickly suits up and scurries off to see an awesome display of
Earth's mightiest heroes try to push back an army of The Mindless Ones.
Peter joins in on the battle, but even the heroes continue to have great
difficulty with the sheer numbers of these transdimensional creatures.
Reed Richards comes to the battle scene with a plan to send these
creatures back to the dimension they came from.
With the help of his machine, and the powers of all the heroes,
they zap the creatures into a black hole. Once
that is done, a worried Doctor Strange comes in and informs them that they
have made a grave mistake. They have in fact brought back the dreaded
villain known as Dormammu.
DISLIKES: First, I thought we were told
that Ezekiel would play an important part in these next three issues, but
he was nowhere to be seen. Also,
this book felt like a crossover issue rather than a Spider-Man issue with
all these Marvel heroes involved, and even though I like Dormammu, I hope
he is not the main villain Spidey will be facing in issue #500.
Hes more of a Doctor Strange villain rather than a Spider-Man
villain. I would personally prefer
a new bad guy than him. One last
thing, Thor did not look like the Thor that we are used to seeing in the
books, and what the heck is a shirt and tie Cyclops doing in the middle of
all this?
RATING: 4
and 1/2 webheads out of 5. Well, we
definitely got started off with bang towards the road to Amazing Spider-Man
#500. I can't wait to see what the
heck Dormammu has to do with Spider-Man.
Reviewed by AC-WEB
(Ariel Chaidez)
Amazing
Spider-Man #56
The Revolution Within
Writers: Fiona Avery & J. Michael
Straczynski
Penciler: John Romita Jr.
Inker: Scott Hanna
PLOT: A
weary and tired Peter Parker continues to keep tabs on his student,
Melissa. He shadows her, while she
searches for information about her brother, Joshua, who has not shown up
since his release from prison. Joshua
was in prison because Spider-Man had caught him carjacking, and left him
webbed up for the police. Peter
finally is able to get some inside information about where Joshua may
possibly be. According to an
informant, a group of recent released and escaped prison mates have been
getting together in a certain area of the city.
When Spider-Man goes to check it out, he finds that Joshua is
indeed with the group, but is surprised to find out that this group of
former delinquents is run by Ezekiel. Ezekiel
tells Spider-Man that he has much to learn about being a mythic guardian.
He tells Spider-Man that he doesn't think about what damages he is
doing when he puts a criminal away, and he doesnt do enough to help
people not become criminals. They
talk, but do not come to an agreement, and finally Spider-Man decides to
leave because there is no evidence of illegal activities going on.
Before he goes, he tells Joshua that his sister has been looking
for him, and that it is important for him to go home.
He eventually does meet up with his sister, and we have one happy,
warm, fuzzy ending.
LIKES: What I enjoyed most about this
issue was that Avery was able to bring home the point that there are
consequences for every action. I
always saw Spidey, as well as the police, as stopping the bad guys from
doing illegal stuff and throwing them in jail.
But after a criminal is locked up, they are most often forgotten
about. The truth is that one day
that person will be released and out in public again.
If nothing is done to assist this individual in bettering
themselves; they will most likely re-offend once again, and this cycle
continues. I also think that it is
always good for Peter Parker to get involved with a supporting character
whenever he can. This makes the man
behind the mask even more present
DISLIKES: What
the heck is Ezekiel doing with all these kids???
We never got a real answer of what was going on with them.
Also, Ezekiel seems like he is no longer a father figure to Peter,
and is acting more like a competitor. He
challenges Peter's way of thinking, but not in a way you would describe as
constructive criticism. Also, the
writer mentioned that Mel's brother's name was Jack in the first issue of
the story, but in the second issue, his name is Joshua.
RATING: 3 webheads out of 5.
This issue was not as strong as the last, even though it was still
a pretty solid read. Will some of
the unanswered Ezekiel questions be answered in the next story-arc, which
will be leading to issue #500??? Hopefully,
but for some reason, I doubt it.
Reviewed by AC-WEB (Ariel Chaidez)
Amazing
Spider-Man #55
“The Balancing of Karmic Accounts”
Writers: Fiona Avery & J.
Michael Straczynski
Penciler: John Romita Jr.
Inker: Scott Hanna
PLOT: Now that the “Digger” storyline
has been resolved, JMS takes a bit of a break, and Fiona Avery comes in to
help out with the writing. The
story revolves around a student with a cast on her leg named Melissa, who
attends Peter school. Peter
bumps into her in the morning and takes a special interest in this girl.
Through all her anger, Peter finds her smart and intuitive.
He finds that she is having trouble getting into Bio-Honors, and
Peter pulls some strings to get her into his class.
While walking her home, people encounters three thugs who have
broken into her apartment for a burglary, and he is able to “clumsily”
beat them up with some bags so not to give away his secret identity.
Peter meets Melissa’s mom, and finds out that she is a single
mom, and that Melissa’s older brother was put into jail by Spider-Man
while carjacking. There is a
lot of anger in Melissa because of this, and Peter vows to help Melissa
out in attaining a better future. A
fully bearded Ezekiel also makes a surprise appearance at the end of the
book. They briefly talk about
Peter’s current situation, but nothing eventful happens.
LIKES: Some people may consider this a
filler issue before the Amazing #500 blockbuster coming up, but I actually
think that it adds to the character of Peter, the educator.
Seeing how Peter interacts with some of his students and school
staff really enriches his character and makes him even more
multi-dimensional than he already is.
Some people may not enjoy Ezekiel and JMS’s totemistic angle, but
I rather enjoy it. Even
though Ezekiel’s appearance was brief, the mood is getting darker to
what seems to be an upcoming turns on Zeke’s and Pete’s relationship.
Even though he sounds just as friendly his appearance and the beard
make him look sinister.
DISLIKES: Not
much to dislike about this book, except that there maybe wasn’t enough
actions. RATING:
4 and ½ webheads out of
Five. It may not be the most
important story ever told in the Spider-Man universe, but it is a very
good human story non the less.
Amazing
Spider-Man #54
“The Balancing of Karmic Accounts”
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Penciler: John Romita Jr.
Inker: Scott Hanna
PLOT: Spider-Man continues his quest to
defeat the gamma radiation made monster known as Digger.
He adds up all the scientific research that he has been doing on
Digger to figure out a weakness. Digger
is not able to recharge as the Hulk would, and is therefore becoming
weaker after each battle. To
defeat him Spider-Man needs to take the fight directly to Digger and not
let up until he falls apart. Spidey
goes to warn Forelli on what he plans to do.
He asks Forelli to tell him the truth about everything concerning
Digger in order to have a better chance of defeating him and saving him
and his daughter. Forelli
eventually does fess up. At
the same time, Digger finally comes after Forelli and his daughter and the
final fight between he and Spider-Man begins.
Spider-Man goes for the jugular and lets his Spider side take over.
Spidey is down right vicious on his attack against Digger, and
Digger eventually falls apart and dies (again).
Spider-Man collects the money Forelli is paying him, but then turns
him over to Lt. Lamont and the NYPD.
It turns out Spider-Man was wired when Forelli told him of his
involvement with the Nevada murders that led to the creation of Digger.
Forelli is arrested and Spider-Man uses the money paid to him to
build a library in the name of his first love, Gwen Stacy.
LIKES: A wonderful title and a great
conclusion. There were many
questions about the morality of Spider-Man taking money from a gangster or
Spider-Man killing that were answered.
Yes, Spidey took money from a mobster, but the money itself was
clean and he did provide a legal service.
He also balanced the morality issue of the money by donating all of
it. Spider-Man also killed
Digger, but Digger was technically already dead, and killing him was the
only way to stop him. Also,
even though not discussed much in this review, the conversations between
Peter and MJ added more depth to both characters, especially the
discussion about Gwen towards the end of the book.
DISLIKES: Why do all of JMS’s
characters always die? So
much for creating memorable character and adding to the rogue list.
There was also a lot of totem talk about Peter the scientist doing
his part, and then Peter the Spider doing his.
I’m indifferent about the totem angle, but it is evident that JMS
is leading us to a possible conclusion to the long running Ezekiel plot.
RATING: Five webheads out of Five.
I think the story arc was one issue too long, but I really enjoyed
the conclusion. I added
nothing about the art, but that’s because it was flawless.
If JRjr is listening, he better never leave the Spider-man
universe.
Reviewed by AC-WEB (Ariel Chaidez)
Email: ac3131@yahoo.com
Amazing
Spider-Man #53
“Parts and Pieces”
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Penciler: John Romita Jr.
Inker: Scott Hanna
PLOT: The third book of this four part
series begins with Aunt May and MJ talking about the big changes in both
of their lives as of late: Aunt May dealing with finding out that Peter is
also Spider-Man, and MJ working on re-establishing her relationship with
Peter. Peter, who is in
Vegas, interrupts MJ and gives her the rundown on the happenings in the
“Digger” storyline so far.
He tells her he is coming home, and they spend some quality time
together. MJ decides to stay
with Peter at the end of the night instead of going back to her hotel, and
they consummate their second union. Digger
continues on the prowl plotting his revenge on Forelli and the other mob
families. Peter gets paged
when Digger attacks when of Forelli’s guys.
Spider-Man and Digger battle until they are interrupted when a
group of mob guys, who begin ambushing Digger with bullets.
This hurts Digger pretty bad and is forced to flee and recover.
Spider-Man is ticked at Forelli for not informing him of the trap
they had set for Digger, and tells him not to ever do something like that
again without informing him. Spidey
also raises his price on protecting Forelli and his family from ten grand
to twelve grand.
LIKES: The biggest thing about this issue
is that MJ and Peter are officially back together.
Not only did they “hook up” but also Mary Jane called Peter
“her lover and her husband.” This
is huge since I had no knowledge when Marvel would use the marriage label
with these two again. Also,
the morality issue may be becoming a bigger factor for Peter.
The lines between doing the right thing, and working for a mob boss
are becoming blurred and it will be interesting to see how Peter deals
with this in the next issue. There
are also some good incidents of humor that are put in place at just the
right time. The one that
comes to mind is Digger’s reaction to getting shot up again.
DISLIKES: Even though the Peter and MJ
stuff was great, the Digger storyline didn’t really go anywhere in this
issue other than making Forelli and his men look even shadier.
The book had the feel of a filler issue, but maybe I just got used
to the three issue story arcs that Straczynski has been churning
out.
RATING: 3 webheads out of five.
I feel as though this issue maybe the calm before the storm.
I have no doubt that in the next and concluding issue, battles come
to a head, and questions hopefully get answered.
Reviewed by AC-WEB
(Ariel Chaidez)
Amazing
Spider-Man #52
“Dig This”
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Penciler: John Romita Jr.
Inker: Scott Hanna
PLOT: The beginning of the book begins
with a bang as Digger and Spider-Man go toe-to-toe.
Digger pretty much overpowers Spider-Man and smacks him around for
a while before disappearing into the night.
After the fight, Spider-Man and Lamont start piecing together what
this monster may be when Spider-Man gets a message informing him that Mr.
Forelli wants to talk to him. Forelli
has been the target of this bad guy named Digger.
Spider-Man goes and sees Forelli, and Forelli proposes to pay
Spidey $10,000 a day to protect him and his daughter, which is something
that he would probably do for free. Forelli
supplies Spider-Man with a pager so that he can contact him when he is
needed. Peter is contacted
one night, but Digger has already done damage to a boat that belongs to
Forelli.
The mob boss decides to send Spider-Man to Vegas to do some
more homework about this Digger character, and also fills Spidey in on
some of the details of the 1957 hit that took place.
Spider-Man is able to sneak his way into the army site where the
gangster bodies were dumped and the gamma bomb was tested.
He puts on a chemical suit and goes over to look at the site.
In the hole, you see hand and feet prints that show that
“something” came out. One
of the scientists explains the findings so far.
Twelve males with bullet fragments were dumped alongside with some
chemicals at the site. The
chemical preserved the body parts of these individuals, and the gamma bomb
had some adverse effects on the body’s causing an amalgam of the
different body parts to come together into one super powered, walking
corpse. The book concludes
with a shot of Digger on the prowl.
LIKES: This book has everything: action,
story development, character development, and new intriguing ideas.
Unlike last issue in which the jokes felt forced, this issue, the
drama and comedy are well played. The
scene in which Peter is in the private jet flying to Vegas had me
chuckling for a while. The
most interesting part of the book is when Spider-Man actually accepts
money from Forelli to protect him. I
can see a new “Hero for Hire” book being released starring Spider-Man,
j/k. Peter will most likely
return the money next issue, but it would be interesting if he decides t
keep the dirty money. We also see Peter and MJ’s relationship continued
to be explored, and the question of the morality of accepting the money if
brought up.
DISLIKES: The
only inconsistency I find in this book is that Forelli pays Peter all that
money to protect him, but then sends him away to Vegas for the weekend to
look for clues in the midst were that huge monster is looking for him.
Doesn’t make sense to me, but oh well.
RATING: 5 webheads out of five.
I don’t usually give out perfect scores, but his one deserves it.
The book was smartly written and brilliantly penciled, but I would
not expect less from JRjr. Next
issue is the conclusion of this story arc, and hopefully the great work
continues.
Reviewed by AC-WEB
(Ariel Chaidez)
Amazing
Spider-Man #51
“Digger”
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Penciler: John Romita Jr.
Inker: Scott Hanna
PLOT: Peter and Mary Jane are back
together…so now what? Well,
MJ has been away for a while, and the couple is currently going through
that transition and re-getting to know you part of the relationship.
There is celebration and fancy dinners, but MJ is still staying at
a hotel. Also, even though MJ
wants to “hook up”, Peter is still reluctant until the time is right.
We also flash back to 1957 Las Vegas.
Rival mafia members had been fighting for control of Vegas, but
have decided to set up a meeting to settle the dispute peacefully.
One of the members, Morris Forelli has other plans, and puts a hit
on all of them to gain total control.
He then disposes the bodies in a mass grave in the Nevada desert.
We come back to recent times and find that the US military is
testing a new bomb in that same desert, at that same spot.
The gamma rays of the bomb has an effect on that mass grave, which
causes the deceased members of the mafia to forge into one super powered
bad guy looking for revenge on Forelli.
This monster finds his way to NY and causes major havoc.
Lieutenant William Lamont (from Amazing Spider-Man Vol. II #41-42)
is on the case and figures he needs some help, so he contacts Spidey.
The book concludes with an imminent confrontation between
Spider-Man and this creature at a local NY nightclub.
LIKES: The artwork is outstanding as
usual. Hopefully JRjr never
leaves the Spider-Man books because his art adds just as much character as
the script. The new character
is intriguing. We don’t
really see how much mayhem and damage he can do, but he can really tear up
a room. It’ll be fun to see
how he matches up with Spider-Man.
DISLIKES: I’m happy that MJ is back,
and I know that there is an adjustment period for both of them to be
together, but she is staying by herself in a hotel.
I know she’s famous, but if she is really serious about being
with Peter, but does not want to live with him yet, why not room with Aunt
May? I’m pretty sure she
has the room. Also, MJ is
inviting Peter up to her hotel room to mess around, and Peter says NO!
I don’t get it. Maybe
it has to do with Peter getting back at MJ for not messing around with him
in the ’01 Amazing Spider-Man Annual, before MJ took off.
RATING: 3 webheads out of five.
The artwork was great, and the new villain is promising, but
hopefully we start seeing so more positive Peter and MJ chemistry in the
upcoming books.
Reviewed by AC-WEB (Ariel Chaidez)
Email: ac3131@yahoo.com
Amazing
Spider-Man #50
“Doomed Affairs”
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Penciler: John Romita Jr.
Inker: Scott Hanna
PLOT: Fate
has brought Peter and MJ together in an airport in Denver.
Finally the two can have a conversation that has been long over
due. The only problem is that
Dr. Doom also shows up at that airport with two security guards, one who
is a disguised Captain America. Doom
does not play the antagonist in this book, though.
He is the target of a fanatic group of terrorists who wants to
bring down the Latverian monarch with a series of suicide bombings, and an
assault by mechanically enhanced individuals.
Spider-Man has to put his conversation with MJ on hold so that he
and Captain America can protect an unconscious Dr. Doom from these
extremists. After the fighting is over, Peter introduces MJ to Captain
America, and the two decide to give their relationship one more try.
LIKES: What is there not to like.
After a few years away as an important supporting character in the
Spider-Man books, MJ is coming back.
JMS did a wonderful job intertwining the importance of this long
overdue conversation with the action sequence of the team up between
Spider-Man and Cap. I thought
the idea of Spider-Man introducing MJ to Cap was a token and a symbol of
how Peter and MJ’s relationship will be different than before.
I foresee a more open relationship, which can be both positive and
negative. There is a one page
spread of Peter and MJ holding each other teary eyed that was really
amazing and touching, both artistically and literally.
DISLIKES: Having all of these character
meet up at the same place at the same time is a little bit hard to fathom,
but that is comic books for you. They
make the impossible or almost impossible happen.
Also, the suicide blast was strong enough to render Dr. Doom
unconscious, both his green cloak is undamaged and not even torn a bit.
I don’t know, maybe it’s also made out of metal.
One last thing MJ and Peter are looking very anorexic these days.
Spider-Man’s legs look like they could snap in half at any
minute. Maybe now that MJ is
back, she’ll cook him a hearty meal.
RATING: 4 and ½ webheads out of 5:
Maybe I’m just happy that MJ is back, maybe it was just a well
written book, but I really both enjoyed and was thoroughly entertained by
this book.
Reviewed by AC-WEB (Ariel Chaidez)
Email: ac3131@yahoo.com
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