Friendly
Neighborhood Spider-Man #24“Spider-Man: One More Day Part 2-The Other Side of Darkness”
Writer-Peter David
Pencils-Joe Quesada
Inker-Danny Miki
Colorist-Richard Isanove
Letterer-Chris Eliopoulos
Peter travels to all his friends and enemies to see if anything’s possible, but all of them give the same reply as the doctors and Strange. Strange, knowing this would happen, tells Peter to accept the inevitability that May will die and walks out of the room. Pete is still desperate, and using his own knowledge of Latin, mutters an incantation to use the same magic he used before to travel back in time to when May was shot. Spidey arrives in a ghostly form, but finds that he can’t physically interact with anything, whether it would be taking down the sniper or pushing Aunt May out of the way of the bullet. Peter still won’t give up, but he is soon confronted by demons who can also travel through time. Realizing they can hurt him but not vice-versa, Spider-Man flees into the motel room where May is. He arrives just in time to see May be shot again.
The time-traveling demons find Peter again, and try to kill him. Luckily, an agitated Dr. Strange arrives, banishes the demons (he calls them “Nightwalkers”, saying they exist to prevent destiny from being changed), and takes Spidey back to the Sanctum to heal his spirit form.
Doc give Peter a pep talk, telling him that it’s May’s time to pass on and that he should merely accept her death and be there for her when she dies. Peter leaves, sober and melancholy, but spies a suspicious looking orange bird flying by. Remembering Doc’s words about the Nightwalkers (“Their whole existence being to prevent destiny from being changed. Only a great power can defy them.), Peter darts after the bird, till it turns a corner and changes into a sinister-seeming girl. She tells Pete that he can’t change May’s death, but she herself can.
∙It may be interesting to see how One More Day plays out completely. There’s the possibility that it’s some silly clicheˊ of getting Aunt May back to normal health (and possibly erasing the Peter-MJ marriage as it’s been hinted at by Marvel and suspected by posters on the board), but there also might be a chance this could end up as a decent story and contribution to the Spider-Man Mythos.
∙The extra summary of Mary Jane’s life (including a reprint of her revealing her past to Pete in “Amazing” #259) is good for those who are new to Spidey, but it doesn’t really offer anything for long-time readers. The only other extra feature is a couple of “before-and-afters” of Joe Quesada’s art for the ish and the finished product.
∙As far as advancing the plot goes, Spidey went in circles until the last two pages, and even that was just a cliffhanger. All this issue did was reinforce the concept that Aunt May’s death is inevitable and part of the natural order of things...
∙The art! I know J.Q. can draw an okay Spider-Man (even if it is a little too muscular in my opinion) but he’s messed up half of the art for the issue by putting too much effort into creating an “emotional and realistic” Peter. Most of the drawings of Peter’s face (even in the Red n’ Blues) look contorted and overly shadowed. It doesn’t make much sense, considering most of the other art in the book looks decent.
Rating: 2 out of 4 webheads
Spideydude
Review Prologue:
As hyped and talked about in our Podcast, we
have Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man in it's 23rd issue. It's a
real final issue in many sorts, as the title goes out the way it
came in, in a huge storyline. With the first issue being the
lead off of "The Other" which went everywhere but
where the story was meant to go. The next issue, 24, is
Part Two of 'One More Day', which by reading other reviews, goes
nowhere.
Perhaps I have a certain sentimental
value to the story, as it was me who asked if we'd ever see a
confrontation between Jonah and Peter. Peter
David assumed that it'd be handled by JMS in Amazing, but
to the credit of the man, the idea stuck with him, and thus,
Friendly 23 was born.
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man 23
Writer: Peter David
Pencils: Todd Nauck
Inks: Robert Campanella
Story: So Joe Robertson is fired,
and we begin with JJJ meeting with Robbie to talk about things
over wine. He looks beat up and says he ran into a door. We go
back earlier that day and find JJJ's Office filled with Webs and
a note: 421A Broadway. 6 PM Just to talk. Come alone. Your F.N.S-M.
And so the Confrontation begins. Talking, More talking, Then
Peter does the unthinkable: Tells him to hit him, then goads
him, then he hits him some more, all on film. Which Jonah then
destorys, while seconds later, really hitting a door. Thanks
Betty. Robbie is rehired, and Peter swings off as JJJ says he
HATES that F.N Spider-Man.
Thoughts:
A great way to end an era. In a run mired with other
storylines, I felt that PAD's second run with a quagmire of
cleaning up peoples messes. This was one of the few instances
where i felt that PAD was being PAD. Sure, he was ending the
Back in Black saga, but He gave us something that fans, and
myself have been waiting for, a confrontation. Todd Nauck
delivers a stelar performance in his final act as well, and
black spidey looks pretty. Jonah is displayed prefectly, and it
makes me miss the ol' geezer even more.
Anyone notice the Gym's name? Lieber's
Gym, which is the real name for Stan The Man Lee? That was a nice nod to the past as well.
Sure, we could've had a whole arc centered around this one plot,
but one issue is good for now. I want to see it picked up more
in the future, and I hope it does. That last line was
priceless.
Although, I wonder, did Todd Nauck do
the cover was was it Pablo Rivera? That is a No-Prize for anyone
who figgures it out.
Hats off to Peter, Todd, Pablo, Steve, and most
importantly, Mike Ringo, who tragically died this year. His work
will be forever in our hearts.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Spideydude
heads.
Guest Reviewer: Spideydude
Friendly
Neighborhood Spider-Man #22
“Predator/Prey”
Writer-Peter David
Pencils-Todd Nauck
Inker-Robert Campanella
Colorist-John Kaliz
Letters-VC’s Cory Petit
Back at the church, Arrow is about to shove her egg sac (insert disgusted shudder here) down Peter’s throat, but like any great super villain, decides to talk a bit before ending Spidey. At the last second, Betty Brant comes to the rescue brandishing a shotgun and pumps the eggs and Miss Arrow full of lead. Spiders are all that remains of the ex-nurse, but they soon reform into their usual shape. Fleeing, Arrow vows revenge on Betty, prompting Peter to go after her.
Spidey finds Arrow flying away on a web chute of sorts and leaps to stop her. Bitter words are exchanged as normal before Spider-Man uses his stingers to cut down the chute. We can plainly see Arrow thinks Parker’s an idiot, but soon realizes she’s wrong. Peter cut down the chute over a zoo’s aviary and before long birds attack arrow leaving one spider to scurry away before Spidey’s foot crushes it.
The small group of friends is back at Flash’s apartment, Flash relaxing with a beer, Betty calling someone on her cell, and Pete bandaging his wounds. Betty interrupts Peter and Flash’s conversation to tell them that Robbie Robertson was fired by Jonah over an argument about Spider-Man. Suddenly enraged, the next thing on Peter’s agenda is now a chat with the Daily Bugle’s publisher.
●Moments of utter coolness when Betty blows up Arrow and when Peter’s chasing her across the sky. The scenes are perfectly illustrated by Nauck.
●A slightly unsatisfying end to the whole “Arrow” arc. I was hoping for more answer’s about “The Other”, such as who exactly are the beings controlling Peter’s fate, how did Morlun return, etc., etc..
3.5 webs out of 5. If Peter David had been able to answer more of the questions that have arisen these past couple years the issue would’ve been a lot better. Still, the story’s solid and has some very awesome action sequences.
Friendly
Neighborhood Spider-Man #21“Consuming Passions”
Writer-Peter David
Pencils-Todd Nauck
Inker-Robert Campanella
Colorist-John Kalisz
Letters- VC’s Cory Petit
Pete tells Betty that Ms. Arrow is made of supernatural spiders. Peter hangs up and spies the aforementioned officer digging through his “junk in his trunk” as Peter refers to it. The cop grabs a shotgun and demands Spidey give up. This infuriates him and Peter gives a several-panels-long speech about giving up, snaps the shotgun in half, and swings away to find Flash (a onlooker catches the whole “giving up” speech on a camcorder).
Ms. Arrow has wound up Flash in a cocoon of web back at the church where she was born. Flash inquiries about her intentions and Arrow elaborates: Peter committed a monstrosity by cheating death and must pay for it. Arrow has come as a sort of auditor (guess only villains would compare themselves to employees of the IRS) to “balance the books.” In a really super-freaky moment, she pulls a egg sac out of her torso and tells Flash to open wide. Spidey of course arrives just in time, and as the two arachnids engage in battle, Spidey actually uses his stingers!
Switching scenes, J.J.J. has gotten hold of Spidey-threatening-a-cop-video. Jameson tells everyone to find the cameraman who filmed it and milk the story for all it’s worth, but good ol’ Robbie flatly refuses. Robbie makes the world a little less dark by ranting they should help Pete, and stalks off to his office.
Back to the stinger fight, Arrow explains that the weapons Spidey gained in “The Other” only emerge when fighting someone who emerges from the primal forces of darkness and whatnot and the two continue fighting (Arrow continuously ranting she’s Pete’s opposite). Arrow finishes the round by delivering a stab to Spidey’s shoulder and decides that he should be the new host. It seems the wounded Peter has no choice in the matter...
Meanwhile, back at the ranch(always wanted to say that!), Robbie tries apologizing to Jonah for his outburst. It seems all is forgiven but as Robbie turns to leave until Jonah fires Rob.
●Our very own Sam Kerby changed the art for this issue. After starting the complaint that Spidey’s Spider Insignia looked like an ant, we now have a more shapely symbol on the costume, courtesy of a listening Todd Nauck! Pretty awesome way to leave your mark...
●I really can’t think of any...
5 out of 5. The staff does an outstanding job with this story. The only reason I can think of for not reading this is if you have no humor what-so-ever. Go out and buy it. Now!
Friendly
Neighborhood Spider-Man Annual #1
“Sandman:
Year One”
Writer-Peter David
Pencils-Ronan Cliquet
Inker-Rob Stull
Colorist-John Kalisz
Letters-VC’s Cory Petit
The
Story: A young William Baker is building a gigantic sand
castle, the current version talking to himself as he recounts the
memory. He discusses his mom, her alcohol problems, and how
Floyd Baker ditched the family, as Baker Junior runs to his mother
to show her the sand castle. He finds her passed out from
her drink and curls up besides her awaiting for his mom to come
to. When his mom wakes Will up, a thunderstorm is driving
the crowds from the beach. Fearing the worst, he sprints to
the sand castle, reassuring his following mom that it was
beautiful. Back to the solid monologue, Sandman describes
how he’d think of a way to make something last.
The memory transitions to a
fierce battle between Spider-Man and Sandy, our usual protagonist
hopping all over a ferris wheel, avoiding a movie-inspired,
giganto Sandman. A little more philosophical dialog from
Sandman talks about life being a wheel, always leading to
Spider-Man.
A new scene opens, a middle-school aged Sandman, crafting
sand sculptures in an
empty-except-for-the-cute-female-teacher-classroom. The
teacher praises his work, the dialog from William revealing he has
a crush on this Ms. Flint. Despair grips him though, when
she casually mentions her fiancé. Broken hearted by the
fact that her boyfriend is a stockbroker (which means only the
rich guys get the girls) Ms. Flint leaves the room for lunch,
letting Will bury his head in his arms. A small gang, led by
the jock Vic, comes in mocking his “artsy” ways, destroy all
his hard work, and mercilessly beat him.
The narrative cuts to a crying Ms. Baker trying to clean up
the wounds on William’s face, stating how her “little boy”
isn’t a man. Will resolves to defend himself and goes to
the beach the next day. He takes note on how those who
resist waves crash down, but those who “go with the flow” stay
up. He muses around, thinking that he should do this...
The next page is a fight between a
darker-looking Will and Vic ‘N Company. To cut a lot of
boring details short, Sandman-to-be whoops them. Will
notices that he likes the feeling he gets, how the girls stare at
him, and the rush of defying authority (a.k.a. the Principal).
The story progresses from middle school to high school and
Vic’s gang now follows Sandy. The now-named Flint, plays
football, loving that he can tackle and mangle people without
getting in trouble and the fact that he’s...erm,*cough*
“gettin’ lucky with the ladies.”
After a game of football, Flint is at a shabby motel with
his girlfriend.
There’s a knock on the door and Vic is there, pleading for
Flint to throw a couple of games or else the local mafia will kill
him. Soon, the coach starts noticing Flint’s decrease in
skill, realizing he’s throwing the game. The coach takes a
step too far, setting off Flint’s fiery temper. Sandman
savagely pounds the coach, and from that point on, or so we’re
told, there was no turning back as Flint and Vic began to live a
life of crime.
Caught after a failed robbery, Marko is sent to prison,
where he recognizes his father, although Flint’s changed too
much for daddy to see him. Flint goes back and forth between
prison and the outside world, his girl and best friend waiting on
side, and his unknowing dad on the other. Eventually, Baker
Senior is set free, prompting Flint to stay out of prison since
there was nothing there anymore. Running away to Georgia,
Flint becomes the Sandman.
He returns to the Big Apple only to
find Vic sleeping with his girlfriend, Marcy. Realizing he
doesn’t need them anymore, Sandman almost kills them, but leaves
after knocking both of them unconscious. The familiar first
fight between a young Spider-Man and Flint arrives, but we’re
told Flint “stayed” in the vacuum since his dad was sentenced
to prison again. They soon bust out, escaping to Coney
Island. As Sandman is about to reveal his identity to Baker,
Spidey arrives resulting in the same fight that was in the
flashback earlier. The combination of rain and lightning
defeats Flint, and Spidey asks Baker about his relation to the
supervillain. Just like himself, Baker says he was just
asking the “stranger” for directions and proceeds to ditch his
son.
The final scene appears to be the next
day and Sandman has become a castle on the beach. A kid
walks up but then runs away as we see the small-scale ornament on
the fortress; Sandy breaking the Spider’s back.
Pros:
●The art still bears a resemblance to Nauck’s pencils but
has a feel more fitting for the darker story. Top notch job
on everyone’s part.
●This really helps to flesh out Sandman’s backstory, and P.A.D. did it in a way that makes sense and doesn’t wander too far off from what we might imagine the character’s story to be (although it is a bit cliched).
Cons:
●This is more of a simple gripe then a negative aspect, but
how did this only get an “A” rating. There’s people
“getting it on”, Flint bashes the coach’s head in.....
●I understand this is an annual, but it felt a bit too long, with the beginning being kinda boring.
Best Quote: (As Sandman tries to knock out Spidey at Coney Island) “Sorry Sandy! Close, but you’ll never win a stuffed poodle that way!”
Overall: 4 out of 5 webs. I seem to be giving these out a lot, but P.A.D. and the rest of the creative team certainly deserve it. If you’ve been avoiding FNSM because of it’s light-hearted tone or slightly bizarre stories, you might like the more mature feel of this ish better.
FNSM
Annual Back-Up Story
“Leah”
Writer- Peter David
Pencils- Colleen Doran
Colors- Jose Villarrubia
Letters- Todd Klein
The
Story: A homeless girl sits alone in an alley, snow
falling down. She is kept partially warm by her tattered
clothes and a Daily Bugle featuring a pic of Spidey fighting
Electro.
Suddenly, she spies Spider-Man and the Vulture fighting a
few stories up and her eyes widen, filled with joy. The
battle goes elsewhere and she returns to a cardboard box, the
inside decorated with paper hearts and hundreds of Spidey
newspaper clippings. She “kisses” the cheek of a
Spidey portrait before going to sleep. She wakes up,
Spider-Man waiting though. He whisks her away, swinging around
town, being yelled at by J.J.J., and ruling the skyscrapers with
Thor and Iron Man.
The first words are spoken through a caption box, “Liver
failed and the kidneys followed.” Sadly, it was all a
dream. Spider-Man and a doctor are talking about how he
might’ve been able to save her since he goes by the alley all
the time, the girl in a hospital bed. Knowing there’s
nothing they can do to save her, Spidey gives her a kiss on the
cheek. Even though her eyes are closed, her hand find her
face and touches the spot of the kiss.
In the last panel, Leah is soaring with Spider-Man, Ms.
Marvel, the Silver Surfer, and many others, over the ocean and
into the sunset.
Pros:
●The art was done terrifically. The clashing of
Spider-Man’s bright colors with the grays of Leah helped to
set the somber mood, along with a dim reality but lit up
dream-world.
Cons:
●This may sound like “The Boy Who Collects Spider-Man”
to some (just ask BD about the mess I had with the original
review...), but the story is actually a tribute to a friend of
Peter David’s that passed away in mid-January of this year.
It certainly confused me, but it proves the story isn’t a
rip-off.
Overall: 4 out of 5 webs. A solid backup with its own touching moments, but some may misinterpret it as copied material. This one is better than most backups out there though.
Friendly
Neighborhood Spider-Man #20
“Running Out of Time”
Writer-Peter David
Pencils- Todd Nauck
Inker-Robert Campanella
Colorist-John Kaliz
Letters- VC’s Cory Petit
The Story: Immediately jumping into a
church (the same church where the “Other” was born), Miss Arrow
is talking to a gigantic spider (really, we already know where this
is coming from and where it’s going right?). The arachnid
tells Arrow that she must reproduce soon or else their “natural”
enemies will attempt to kill her. Arrow states that Flash
Thompson will soon be “her mate, her host, and after that, her
sustenance.”
Spider-Man is now gazing in at Aunt May from a building a few
yards away, talking to himself about how he’s sorry Aunt May got
shot. He leaves to go back to Flash’s Apartment and soon
enough, Betty Brant knocks on the door to find a “Ben
Reilly”-disguised Peter. Betty is able to finally put two
and two together, deducing Reilly is actually Pete. They
embrace each other, both of them crying, Peter revealing his true
self.
A couple of hours later and Flash is taking another girl (this
one is Double K) on a date of sorts. They drive to the local
bowling alley so K can teach Flash’s bowling team a thing or two.
Unsurprisingly, Arrow is stalking Flash yet again, following the
couple into the bowling alley.
Betty and Peter are now discussing Pete’s identity.
Betty forgives Peter and one thing leads to another– (No, it’s
not what it sounds like!) they start chatting about the
inconspicuous Miss Arrow. Through a series of flashbacks and
Google searches that don’t need repeating here, Peter finally
comes to the actualization that Arrow is The Other (Ero, which is a
breed of spider sounds like Arrow!).
Meanwhile back at the bowl-o-rama, Flash and Double K, now
known as Ms. Kulick, are enjoying themselves when Arrow sneaks in,
attempting to lure Flash away. When Kulick and Arrow start
arguing about who essentially gets to “keep” Flash, Arrow begins
to reveal her true colors by shoving Kulick down. Flash tries
to reprimand Arrow, but a heated Arrow just pins him to a wall,
trying to convince him to come with her. While they debate
Kulick comes back with a bowling pin, smacks Arrow in the back, and
spiders start to fly everywhere.
Just as Arrow starts to work her magic with what I like to
call “spider-breath”, Spidey makes the dramatic
window-shattering entrance, tackling Arrow. They briefly
discuss that she’s his opposite before she leaves to capture
Flash. Flash and Kulick are already starting up their car,
when the Other pops up from the sewers, via a tower of spiders.
Spider-Man comes to save Kulick from falling to her death and leaps
down to the car as spiders enter the sewers. He finds Flash
gone...
Pros:
●Arrow is shaping up to be one of the best (and only) female
villains of Spidey. Hopefully, this arc will have a good
enough reaction to bring her back in a couple of years.
●Peter David still proves to be creatively using the supporting characters of yester-year– Betty and Flash’s roles aren’t just ones that exist in the most insignificant way as possible, but ones that actually work well with the story.
Cons:
●P.A.D. may be fantastic at writing comedy but you can’t say
the same for some of his “emotional” scenes. The part
between a crying Peter and Betty felt like it was cheaply tacked on
to provide “depth” to the story.
Best Quote– Flash: “Cripes Arrow,
calm down! You don’t have to bite my head off!” Arrow:
“Well...not yet.”
Overall:
4 out of 5 Spider-Webs. Aside from the aforementioned
Betty-Peter dialogue, this issue was a great read. The
pacing, story and action were all on target and the current arc was
begun with a great start. It seems to me that FNSM is the only
core title right now that is consistently fulfilling the job of
satisfying nerds’ cravings for Spidey each month. Then
again, I was one of the people who liked “The Other”.
Still you should at least give this title a try!
Reviewed by: Janoe-42
Friendly
Neighborhood Spider-Man #19
Part 3/3 of “Sandblasted”
Writer-Peter David
Pencils-Todd Nauck
Inker-Robert Campanella
Colorist-John Kaliz
Letters-VC’S Cory Petit
The
Story: The issue opens with a flashback as the janitor at
Midtown High stumbles across the principal, who was hiding in the A.V.
Closet during the Mysterio Arc from a few months ago. The
janitor seems harmless until he breaks his mop in half and mortally
wounds the guy by stabbing him (off-panel of course).
We then cut to Spidey, Sandman, and Dennis, a teenager they
discovered with the late Spider-Man 2211's helmet. Together,
they are tracking down the person who really killed “Uncle Ben”
and framed Sandman’s father (A.K.A. Floyd Baker) for it. After
a humorous comparison of the group to “Scooby-Doo” we see Baker in
prison. The cops announce that his death sentence has been moved
up to midnight because of Peter and Sandy’s effort to rescue him.
To add to the confusion, Betty and Flash are driving home from
their date (where Ms. Arrow sneakily framed Betty for snorting cocaine
in the bathroom of a high-class restaurant) when Betty sees Ms. Arrow
out of the corner of her eye. This prompts Flash to glance back,
resulting in the car crashing into a police car. The last we see
of this is spiders crawling into the sewers from where Arrow was
standing (Can we say, “The loose ends from ‘The Other’ being
resolved by the only writer who still cares about after the flop it
had in Spider-continuity? Oh what, you didn’t catch that? Never
mind...).
Spider-Man and Friends arrive at the high school (where the
mastermind of the whole Uncle Ben thing is supposedly at) and ditch
Dennis as they rush in, the 2211 Helmet Spidey is wearing asking what
type of justice to administer to the criminal (Peter responds
“Poetic”). They find the principal where the target should
be, bewildering Spidey.
Sandman, not having any doubts though, attacks. In the battle,
the principal shape-shifts numerous times, giving away his alias to
the sharper readers out there. He reveals that he was
responsible for the death of the alternate timeline Uncle Ben and
Spidey 2211 from a few issues back, the framing of Floyd Baker, and to
top it all off, changes into his true form, the beastly incarnation of
Chameleon 2211. Throwing the Spider-Man Helmet (courtesy of a
just-in-time Dennis) onto Chameleon, Peter manages to perform
“poetic” justice, having Chameleon teleport places with Baker, who
is one second off from being executed by electric chair.
Almost everything is back to normal as the gang walks out of the
school, not noticing Ms. Arrow peering out of a vent along the
ceiling.
Pros:
-
P.A.D. constantly proves that old villains can still be fresh and finds ways of reinvigorating them in creative and imaginative plots. Chameleon was always a boring character for me, but, even though it’s not the same exact villain, it was fun to read his plotline and I look
forward to any return he might make.
-
Through the scenes with Miss Arrow, most of us can already tell that we’re about to finally get some answers to the questions lingering after “The Other”, so compliments to Peter David for being the only Spider-Writer to follow up on that so far.
-
This issue proved that even though the use of the black suit and Sandman is being used to promote the movie, they’re not just cheesy tie-ins. I felt that Sandman’s character was strong in this issue and it was like P.A.D. had been planning this for months on end.
Cons:
-
My only real complaint is that Todd Nauck’s Spidey doesn’t feel like Spider-Man. He seems a bit too muscular and lean and, like some on the message board have been ranting about, the spider seems more like an ant.
Most Disturbing Moment: When the impostor janitor kills Principal Harrington–with a splintered mop. Seriously, Chameleon 2211 is like Michael Myers, Jason, and Freddy Krueger rolled into one!
Overall:
4 out of 5 Spider-Webs. Peter David is able to captivate you
with his storytelling and this took me more than a few minutes to
read, unlike some other titles out there. The book’s mainly
comical feel is also enjoyable when most writers think that all dark
is all good. This has become one of my most anticipated titles
to read each month. I recommend that if you merely like
Spider-Man, you pick this up. If you don’t like it, then you
need to re-evaluate your tastes.
Reviewed By:Janoe-42
Friendly
Neighborhood Spider-Man #18 Part 2/3 of “Sandblasted”
Writer-Peter David
Pencils-Todd Nauck
Inker-Robert Campanella
Colors-John Kalisz
Letters-Cory Petit
A disguised Peter Parker and Sandman are at the local cop precinct, explaining to a Detective Collins that Ben Parker died years ago and couldn’t have possibly killed anyone. When asked about what Floyd Baker said in an interrogation, Collins reveals Baker had claimed to find Ben dead and that he didn’t shoot him, supported by the fact Baker didn’t have a gun. Collins goes on, explaining the police chased Baker, arrested him, and tortured him although they didn’t “...water board him or nothin’.” Sandman can no longer contain his rage and pins Collins to the wall with a sand-morphed hand. Realizing who he’s dealing with the detective insults Marko, and says his dad’s toast in two days. Peter’s holoprojector runs out of power revealing his costume and blowing his own cover. Sandman aims to kill Collins but Spidey tries to stop him, delivering a haymaker to Sandy’s jaw. Spidey’s hand gets stuck as the sand reforms around it, right as the police bust into the room. Sandman releases Spidey’s hand, letting him web up the cops. Maro busts a hole in the wall, releases Collins, and the oddly-partnered duo make their escape.
The narrative shifts to a fancy restaurant, where Flash has taken Betty on a date. After a humorous exchange about Betty’s “huge parts” and a talk about Nurse Arrow turning down Flash’s advances , Betty heads to the restroom.
The book dashes back to Spider-Man and Sandy, who have found a hiding place by a rooftop water tower. The two feud about saving Floyd Baker and decide to check Uncle Ben’s grave, just to make sure there’s still a body there.
Betty’s in the bathroom talking to Deb Whitman on here cellphone. Betty informs here to call her back and just as she hangs up, spider’s crawl up from the toilet. She leaps from the stall and barges into back into the restaurant to Flash and the manager’s concerned faces. Manager Kaufman politely asks what’s wrong and to his surprise, Betty shouts that there’s thousands of spider’s coming out of the john. Upon investigating the bathroom though, they only find a razor, a straw, and cocaine. The restaurant kicks out a befuddled Betty and disappointed Flash. Pulling the stall slowly open, Miss Arrow gives a smirk of triumph.
At the graveyard Spidey and Sandy only find burned grass (from where 2211 teleported). Peter’s Spider-Sense goes off and two wander until they find the teen from before (named Dennis) in an old van with the 2211 helmet. They question Dennis and find out not only is Spidey 2211 dead, but he was killed by Uncle Ben. Spidey puts on the helmet, witnesses Uncle Ben killing future Spidey, and agrees to have the helmet lead him to Uncle Ben, who’s in somewhere in a 200 mile radiues.
●An interesting build-up to the conclusion of the arc with just enough new questions thrown in. Other than that, this issue is pretty typical.
●At some points the shoulder muscles on Spider-Man make him look like the hunchback of Notre Dame! Let’s hope Todd Nauck is able to refine his illustrations of Spidey some more.
Best Quote–Sandman: “Why’re you always crouching on stuff? How come you don’t just stand up straight?” Spidey: “Because I don’t look cool just standing up straight...and don’t change the subject.”
Another 3.5 out of 5. A typical ish with an equal amount of good and bad. The judgement of the arc will have to wait until next issue, where we can see if P.A.D. creates a satisfying resolution or let’s the story fizz a little and then fall flat.
Friendly
Neighborhood Spider-Man #17Part 1/3 of “Sandblasted”
Writer-Peter David
Penciler- Todd Nauck
Inker- Robert Campanella
Colorist- John Kalisz
Letterer- VC’S Cory Petit
Enter Spidey swinging through New York at dusk, being hastily followed by a cop chopper. The helicopter goes out of control, nearly crashing into a news copter before Spider-Man makes the predictable save. The cops feel a sense of guilt after nearly trying to mow Spidey down, so they let him go.
We cut back to Sandman, who’s having a showdown with the security forces in the prison, the two guards mentioned earlier in hand. Sandy repeatedly demands Floyd Baker claiming he’s innocent of murdering a bum. Some troops with those $100 Super-Soakers arrive and drench Sandman, causing him to turn to mud, exit the prison via drainage vent, and escape through the ocean.
At Midtown High, Flash arrives to work to discover Ben Reilly(who is secretly a disguised Peter) sleeping at his desk. After a long conversation about Reilly’s “money problems” he walks out only to have Flash chuck a dodgeball at ‘im. Reilly instinctively roundhouse kicks it back, sending Flash over the desk, and revealing himself to be Peter Parker. Peter explains that he’s a wanted criminal and doesn’t have a place to stay at, apparently provoking some sympathy from Flash. Shocking Pete, Flash hands him the keys to his house, citing “What kind of ‘Spidey’s Biggest Fan’ would I be if I didn’t stick my neck out for you a litte?” As Peter walks off Flash dials a number on his cell phone, telling the guy on the other line “he’s got something that will pay off pretty big.”
Peter is at Flash’s place, talking to himself about going public and Uncle Ben. Suddenly, Sandman enters, with Pete immediately trying to web him up. Marko keeps saying to knock it off until Peter uppercuts him in the jaw. Marko yells that he needs Spider-Man’s help and elaborates that his dad’s on death-row for the false accusation of killing a homeless guy. Sandman tries to convince Peter, but he constantly refuses, showing Marko a picture of Uncle Ben, saying he died for no reason too. A stunned Sandman grasps the picture, exclaiming that Uncle Ben was the homeless man found dead by Baker!
The logo for the news copter that nearly crashes being “WTF News”.
Overall:
3.5 out of 5 Webs. A solid beginning issue for the arc. Right now, it could go either way but I enjoyed this issue and had only minor problems. I’d recommend it if you have some extra money to spend.
Review by :Janoe
Past
Reviews
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #13-16
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man # 1-12