Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #553 Review

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #553
TITLE: “Freak-Out!”
WRITER: Bob Gale
PENCILS: Phil Jimenez
INKS: Andy Lanning
COLORS: Jeromy Cox

PLOT:

Officer O’Neil shoots Freak in the head without hesitation, causing the creature to topple into the sewers, where a new cocoon forms around the temporarily dead monster. Carlie Cooper grabs a sample of the original cocoon, which Doctor Connors borrows later.

Bennet assigns Peter to take unflattering pictures of Bill Hollister, the mayoral candidate backed by Harry Osborne. Our hero feels guilty for betraying his friends, but he does the job because he needs the cash.

Freak emerges from his pod, now an anthropomorphic sewer rodent. Swearing revenge on Spider-Man for chasing him into the science lab where his accident occurred, the grotesque killer tracks the webhead by scent to a Randall Crowne campaign rally. Spidey seems to have the fight under control, but his webshooter jams just as Freak prepares to crush the candidate with a giant sculpture.

THOUGHTS:

This issue has a bit of a gimmick, with Bob Gale taking over both the footnotes and the letters page from Steve Wacker. A tip for Bob: you don’t need to use footnotes to relay information that’s already on the recap page. The letters are a hoot, though.

I like Peter Parker’s inner inventor returning with a new gadget to help him take better pictures of himself. Even better, Gale actually writes a few funny lines this time. I’m also impressed with the creative way Freak’s powers work. He has a lot of potential as a recurring threat because he can resurrect in any form at any time.

Clichés tilt the balance back toward mediocrity, however. I wish Gale had kept emphasizing the drug addict angle since only that distinguishes Freak from every other goon with a quasi-logical vendetta against Spider-Man. And if something goes wrong with Spider-Man’s webshooters in month four, then I swear I’ll scream. Each new writer wants his chance to play with the basic toys in his first month, but that gives the audience a very repetitive reading experience.

Spider-Man’s hesitance to join a fight because of his fear that the cops will shoot at him seems uncharacteristic, as do Peter Parker’s nascent paparazzo ethics. I’m also still baffled by how little Gale’s sleazy Dexter Bennet resembles the honorable snob Guggenheim introduced. Phil Jimenez’s art keeps this ship afloat, but even that’s getting wobbly.

SHAKESPEARE-CALIBER DIALOGUE:

“Oh, God, I hope he doesn’t have super-powers. I hate monsters with super-powers!”

RATING:

2.5 webheads out of 5. The story isn’t horrendous, but it’s too flawed to earn my unadulterated recommendation. Let’s hope for a truly epic showdown next week.

REVIEWED BY: CrazyChris