Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine #6 review!

Astonishing Spider-Man and Wolverine # 6

Writer- Jason Aaron

Pencils-Adam Kubert

Inks- Mark Roslin

Colors- Justin Ponser

Wow, this issue takes an unexpected turn. Which is good. If any of you remember my reviews of past issues of this series (and how could you not? They’re classics!) I expressed dissatisfaction with the way Spidey was used. These issues seem to take the now standard Of making Spidey a wuss who spends all his time making jokes and nothing more to the extreme. I complained that this was basically a Wolverine story, and that if Spidey didn’t actually do something in the last issue I was going to retroactively go back and give all these issues a bad score. Another complaint I had was that Spidey and Wolvie seemed to loathe each other, when current stories, such as New Avengers, and American Son, Paint them as good buddies. Well this last issue either addressed all my concerns, or dealt with them in unexpected, but awesome ways. I’m not going to bullshit you, or hold you in suspense here. I loved this issue. I honestly couldn’t think of a satisfying way to end this series. I guess that explains why I don’t write for Marvel Comics, and Jason Aaron does.

Plot:

We find out the girl Spidey’s been dreaming of is named Sara Bailey (any relation to Michael?). After Wolverine was going to destroy the entire world with the Phoenix Force, Spidey talked him down by telling him about his feelings for Sara, and how he wanted to get to know her. After the Phoenix Force leaves Wolverine, he, Spidey, and Sara, get trapped in the old Cowboy days. As a huge John Wayne fan, I want to say that’d be awesome, but as a huge shower fan, I’m not down. Spidey notes that they are stuck in that era for three years, four months, thirteen days, and some odd hours. A lot of things change for them. Spidey dresses as a cowboy, with a web themed cowboy hat, and web shooting six shooters. Wolverine dresses as a Native American. They are now just Peter and Logan. Peter and Sara fall in love, and he and Logan are now best friends. Logan cuts both of their hands, and they put them together, making them blood brothers. They are happy, and content, especially after Peter gave up on looking for any more time diamonds. Peter has only one diamond left, and he has it made into a ring. He is going to ask Sara to marry him. It looks like it will be his first marriage ever! Just then, members of the time variance authority (hey I remember them from old Simonson FF issues) pull Sara through the time stream. Peter and Logan try fighting them off, but they get pulled through, as well. The three of them are put back in the bank robbery from issue one where all this started, at the time it all started. Why, it’s like they never left at all. The Orb, who was robbing the bank gives up, rather than have to fight our heroes. Spidey tries to talk to Sara, who it turns out is a clerk at the bank, but she doesn’t remember him at all. The Orb goes to jail, Wolverine goes drinking, staring at the cut in his glove, and Spidey goes off web spinning, his whole world crushed at Sara forgetting him. She walks by a fence later with an advertisement of a centuries old statue that looks just like her, but doesn’t seem to notice. In an epilogue, Logan’s abusive brother, or whoever that guy is, finds some time diamonds, and is transported to modern day New York. The End.

Commentary:

Goddamn I loved this issue! For anyone who wasn’t interested in this series, I would recommend even just reading this last issue. First, let me say, that if Jason Aaron ever wants to make an ongoing series of Spidey and Wolverine having adventures in the old western days, I’m down to buy it. This issue was so much fun. It had action, emotion, jokes, great art, everything a comic book fan could ask for. It had some great foreshadowing too, with quick panels showing Doom looking at Ego, and getting an idea, as well as Beast getting his inspiration for Phoenix, and Czar and Big Murder coming up on the time diamonds. That Adam Kubert knows his stuff. I like his Sara Bailey a lot. She’s pretty, but not unbelievably so, like a lot of comic book women these days. He draws her in an old timey dress, and it just works. Every thing in this issue works. Peter as a cowboy is fun. If Jason Aaron does ever make a Spidey & Wolvie western series, he better get Kubert back for art duties, along with Roslan and Ponser, who combine to draw a beautiful comic. Peter had more of his bad Parker luck. As if it wasn’t bad enough how things turned out with Betty, Gwen, and MJ, now he has this happen with Sara. It’s hard to put into words how sad it is when Sara tells Spidey she doesn’t know him. Even though he’s wearing a mask, you can tell the sadness in his face. Honestly, I got as tiny bit choked up at this scene. It’s one of the saddest scenes Iv’e ever read in a comic. Gwen’s death obviously made me pretty damn sad, but these panels, completely wordless, struck a chord. You really felt for Peter. There aren’t too many comics that could make me care about a romance so much in such a short amount of panel space. I have to give Aaron a lot of credit for that. God, I wish I had a scanner to show the panel I’m talking about. If anyone bought this issue and has a scanner, please send it to me, and I’ll add it in my review later. Another sad panel is Peter sitting in an empty alley way by himself in silence. Its where they were in the past. It’s the tree where they carved their initials in a heart.  Peter is just sitting there in complete silence. Geez, I’m getting choked up *again*.

Overall:

Amazing. Astonishing 5/5

Look for my other reviews, as I am now the regular reviewer for Marvel Adventures Spider-Man!