Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #549 Review

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #549
TITLE: “Who’s That Girl?!?”
WRITER: Marc Guggenheim
ART: Salvador Larroca
COLORIST: Jason Keith

PLOT:

An unseen, vaguely “goblinesque” assailant decapitates some thugs at a warehouse by the docks. The following morning, the same menace attacks the former Daily Bugle (redubbed “The DB” by its new publisher, Dexter Bennet). Our hero Spidey prevents casualties, and Bennet offers ten grand for the first photo of this new maniac.

While on the case, Spider-Man meets Jackpot, a new heroine who looks and talks like Peter Parker’s estranged ex-girlfriend, Mary Jane. Peter later asks Harry if MJ is back in town, but as far as he knows she’s still in L.A. Spider-Man resumes tracking his quarry, but finds himself ambushed by a shadow-obscured brute and Jackpot instead. They tell him he’s under arrest for violating the Superhuman Registration Act.

THOUGHTS:

With a seamless transition between creative teams and a well-focused-but-increasingly-complex plot, every issue of Brand New Day improves on the one preceding it. Whereas Slott tried hard to recapture 80s Spidey, Guggenheim’s voice for Peter Parker feels more contemporary and less juvenile. He strikes that perfect Spider-Man balance of grit, excitement, and genuine comedy. I had multiple fits of laughter, and it’s the kind of fourth-wall-bending humor that’ll tickle the more aware comic readers among us. From Spidey altering the lyrics to his own theme song to his banter with Jackpot over whether or not one can “call dibs” on a super villain, the script reads razor sharp throughout.
Dexter Bennet is a more rounded character than the Rupert Murdoch stereotype I expected. He’s a jerk, but he has a distinct personality and a redeeming appreciation for Peter Parker. Even Jackpot is palatable, and I’ve always hated her, conceptually speaking.
Larroca draws photo-realistic characters, but there’s something sterile about his environments. It’s still better than a lot of comic book art, though, even if it doesn’t look as outstanding as his Sensational annual from last year.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

SPIDER-MAN: “What’d he do to you? Beat you with a cliché stick?”

RATING:

4 webheads out of 5. Guggenheim just lubricated the hard pill of Brand New Day with a hearty squirt of Awesome Sauce!

REVIEWED BY: CrazyChris