Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #515 Review

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)