Here’s a review of another exciting issue of Amazing Spider-Man. Please read the full article and COMMENT!!!
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #564
“Threeway Collision!”
WRITER: Marc Guggenheim, Bob Gale, and Dan Slott
PENCILS: Paulo Siqueira
INKS: Amilton Santos & Paulo Siqueira
COLORS: Antonio Fabela
PLOT:
This issue retells the same events three times, each from the perspective of a different character. On the way to a job interview, Spider-Man happens upon Overdrive, a Mr. Negative lackey who can instantly “trick out” vehicles with his “nano-pimps”, driving away after stealing a sonic gun. Overdrive escapes, but Spider-Man saves a school bus full of hostages and sees the gun returned to the authorities. In the end, Peter arrives at his interview only to find that it was the same place Overdrive had robbed, and they can’t hire new staff because of the damage costs. Wah wah.
THOUGHTS:
I’ve seen stories like this before, notably the Japanese film Rashomon and the Simpsons episode with Linguo the Grammar Robot. Like in those, “Threeway Collision” shows different perspectives on the same events, but it has the added gimmick of a different Braintrust member authoring each segment. Perhaps a single author’s vision would have allowed for a more sophisticated interweaving of stories. What the Braintrust does here reads like they wrote a linear narrative and then sorted it into Spider-Man, Vin, and Overdrive scenes, rather than truly retelling it from different points of view. Nevertheless, this is still one heck of a fun issue.
Paulo Siqueira draws the whole thing. He has a cartoony style and a McFarlane-esque Spider-Man, but he conveys the sense of speed needed in an issue centered on car chases. Siqueira lends an over-the-top, action movie feel to an essentially cliché plot, all gimmicks aside.
Marc Guggenheim’s chapter, which follows Spider-Man, entertained me the least. I remember enjoying Guggenheim’s writing back in his February arc, but here his idea of witty dialogue amounts to forced puns and too-obvious pop culture references. Also, while Spider-Man generally acts more recklessly than the more professional Marvel heroes, showering a crowded bus with glass from multiple punched-in windows makes him look more like Hancock than a hero with at least ten years of experience. Him causing an accident by punching the driver of a speeding car also crosses the line into carelessness. At least those sequences thrill visually, making it hard to take them too seriously.
Bob Gale does a good job justifying Vin Gonzales as a worthwhile supporting character. Like Spider-Man, his sense of duty interferes with his personal life, and his deeds go unappreciated by the people he helps. With those parallels established, Vin’s criticisms of Spider-Man’s lifestyle gain added validity. Why should Spider-Man get to fight crime and endanger lives with no accountability when people like Vin, who also put themselves on the line and make dangerous enemies, have to show their faces and follow the rules. I’m glad this debate didn’t end with Civil War.
Dan Slott’s pages are pure, sugary fun. I quite like Overdrive as a B-List villain; he has a creative power and his enthusiastic personality makes me wonder if Slott himself isn’t under that mask. His embellished recounting to Mr. Negative of the sonic gun heist, told in captions imposed over images of the far-more-mundane actual event, makes for the issue’s most amusing moments. I also like seeing Mr. Negative back, hamming it up and acting like a comic book mastermind ought to.
RATING:
3.5 webheads out of 5. I know how much better this kind of tale can work, so I can’t give it too much credit, but I’ve enjoyed multiple rereadings and that has to count for something.
REVIEWED BY: CrazyChris
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Hey Chris,
Well as usual I’m a month behind in these things. My box from maiulordercomics.com arrived a few days ago and I’m just getting around to reading the Spidey goodness.
Really liked this issue. Has this never been done in Spidey before?? It’s a fairly well-used device.
Really starting to warm to Vin Gonzales … but I just wonder are they setting him up for a descent into super villainy or something like that.
All the episodes are well written and the art was very good –reminded me of McFarlane without his later excesses.
Told you…
Overdrive actually refers to them as his “li’l nano-pimps” in the comic.
“Nano-Pimps”???? Chris, did you invent that or are they actually referred to as such?
Thank you so much for the compliment, Enigma. I just went and read some of Neal Bailey’s stuff and he is a superb reviewer!
Ohhh… okay… I compare you to Neal Bailey of the Superman Homepage… as far as quality of your reviewing…
…. for the record… Neal Bailey is my favorite Superman Homepage reviewer… above Michael Bailey… take that as you will.
i liked this issue and Paulo Siqueira´s art really helped the story been good. I´m not a fan of BND but this story got me.
Even if you can’t constructively comment about an issue you haven’t read, you can still comment on the review!
yeah, about that… I would comment, but why? I mean I gave up on the books ever since OMD/BND