Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #512 Review

Amazing Spider-Man #512 (#71)
“Sin Past-Part Four”
Writers: J. Michael Straczynski
Penciler: Mike Deodato Jr.
Inker: Joe Pimentel
PLOT: Wow, talk about one of the most emotional Spider-Man issues I have ever read. This issue centers entirely on Peter and MJ having a very frank discussion over some information that MJ has been holding onto about Gwen Stacey. And this bit of information is that Gwen confided in her that Norman Osborn is the father of her twins. These twins have Norman’s blood, which has caused them to have super human strength, but also, grow faster than the regular human being. The worst part of this, according to MJ, Gwen slept with Norman willingly and had an attraction towards him. This was a huge bombshell for Peter, and he reacts as many of the readers of this issue feel. He feels denial, anger, reasoning, and finally acceptance.

LIKES:

• This is a Spider-Man story for the ages. JMS has crafted a story that Spider-Man will probably be talking about for years to come.
• The wide ranges of emotions are greatly illustrated by Deodato and wonderfully scripted by JMS. A very powerful and moving book.
• The issue brings up many of the issues that fans have been discussing, such as the fact that the twins should not be as old as they look.

DISLIKES:

• I feel like many fans do, that JMS is destroying the image that we have had of Gwen. But then again, I have to keep in mind that these are fictional characters we are talking about and that this story is not yet finished.
• Cover is misleading, as neither Gabriel nor Sarah are in this issue.

FAVORITE QUOTE: Flashback of Gwen talking about Norman Osborn. “…and I felt so badly for him, but, at the same time, under it all, there was this strength, this magnetism…”

RATING: 5 webheads out of 5. I may not agree with a lot of what is going on in this issue, it cannot take away that this is one great story that JMS is concocting. The evidenced is in that this has been one of the most talked about story arcs that I can remember, and that has to be one of the author’s goals. We got two more issues left, and there have been enough twist and turns to make anybody dizzy. Lets see how this story winds down.

Reviewed by AC-WEB (Ariel Chaidez)