Spider-Man goes fishing, so get out your bait, and see how big of a catch you can get.
Writer: Dan Slott
Pencils: Giuseppe Camuncoli
Inks: Cam Smith
Colorist: Marte Gracia
Cover Artist: Alex Ross
Letters: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Editor: Nick Lowe
PLOT: The issue begins with Peter Parker at a shareholder meeting, his Shareholders are upset about the recent attacks by Zodiac and are requesting all their efforts be put into stopping their attacks. Peter assures them they are doing all in their power. Later that night we see Spider-Man, and The Prowler using a new Spider-Submarine to track down the stolen webware device from last issue. They covertly manoeuvre themselves throughout the complex sneaking quietly to the location of the hidden hardware. Throughout their infiltration they take down two guards, and we are treated to a variety of flashbacks explaining the new technology being utilized to sneak into the base. Once they get to the area 
where the webware is being tested on they swing into action resulting in a fun but rather short fight scene. Before Spider-Man can grab the hardware one of the Zodiac leaders transfers the secret data to all other Zodiac bases, and sets the base to self destruct. Spider-Man manages to retrieve the webware, and save the two guards before the base self destructs. Once out of the base Spidey contacts Nick Fury revealing that they had used the transfer of data to locate all of the Zodiac bases around the world. The issues ends with a short scene of Rhino outside of his costume drinking in Guatemala, a man approaches him with a proposition but Rhino is vehement about being out of the game. That is until his wife Oksana is revealed to be alive making Rhino agree to do anything the man asks.
STORY: This issue is fantastic, it has a very simple straightforward plot, and achieves everything it sets out to do in a concise manner. Its a one and done story that manages to tease future events further down the line. It also follows up on plot beats I hadn’t expected Slott to return to. It seems like they are finally addressing the Rhino sequence from Ends Of The Earth which is exciting. The Prowler is my favorite Spider-Man ally so I am really enjoying the team up aspects the book has showcased thus far. The status quo change seemed to be well worth it.
The new Spider-Man status quo has led to some excellent James Bondian moments that are extremely enjoyable. Peter using the hologram humpback whale was creative, and enjoyable. Slott really manages to land all of the dialogue in this issue excellently. All of the tertiary dialogue from normal goons are by far the stand out of the issue. I would love for Slott to write a storyline just about the goons because he captures the mundane moments of being a villain very well. The whole Zodiac schtick works extremely well, and I am surprised that its a concept that hasn’t been tackled before. It fits well with the marvel universe, and gives Peter plenty if things to joke about in the issue. The only negatives in the book for me were the Flashbacks which were only a single panel, but I still felt that most readers would have been able to figure the device out without the explanation, and the foolhardy fighting style of Spidey. At one point in the book Peter allows himself to get hit by a rogue Zodiac shot because of his Spider-Armor. This leads him to lose the battle with the Zodiac general, so its not as if Slott doesn’t realize the character is being pointlessly foolhardy. Still it seems odd that he would ignore his Spider-Sense in such a high stakes situation. If something goes wrong under there a lot of people could die.
It’s worth hypothesizing who Rhino is meeting up with at the end of the issue. The man in red is not immediately recognizable. He seems to know who The Rhino is, as he uses his real name, and of course rewards him with his wife. With the wifes reappearance one could easily assume we may be dealing with Miles Warren as he is known for his cloning shenanigans. Personally I hope this is someone either New, or very old that we haven’t seen in a while. Who do you think the man is, and how do you think the Rhino lived?
Overall this a fun, and funny book. It is a little difficult to do an indepth review because its a simple story. This won’t change your life, but it should bring a smile to your face, and remind you of some classic Marvel cheesiness.
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I also miss the footnotes which help refer back to a specific issue rather than expecting readers to remember every single event in Spidey history. Plus if you’re going to do a flashback and the point of rebooting is to bring in new readers, wouldn’t you want to give them a reference point?
Am I truly supposed to believe Parker Industries went from disaster to X number of locations world-wide? Seems a bit far-fetched.
Peter not in NYC? No thanks.
I’m all for getting a glimpse of some Parker luck – he had it as a photographer and a teacher – but I think this is too big, even for Peter.
I’m not feeling a connection to Peter right now. Throughout history we had Peter dealing with the struggles of his personal life and as Spider-Man. I’m not feeling that emotional attachment right now.
@21 Jimmy T: Well said.
@13
And that is why I hate Marvel’s Spider-man for the entirety of Slott’s regime, and some time before that. “The ol’ Parker luck” is not about him being a loser, it’s about him losing out on the happier moments of life around him by being responsible as Spider-man. The fact that he can’t share that burden with his family and friends mean they look down on Peter or think less of him for being late, missing engagements and being perceived as absent minded and forgetful, but that in no way makes him a loser. However, Slott has not shown that complexity of character depth or understanding yet.
@Mark Alford. #19 Exactly how I feel. Couldn’t of put it better. I dare say maybe this is how a lot that are trying to enjoy it also feel? I can’ t be certain. However I’ll take it as long as Slott’s writing over what Slott has been pre & post Superior since BND.
Also the only thing that let’s me stomach the degree is that Peter at least years ago had all but one credit of that degree. Least that’s what I tell myself. Lol. Still I’ll take it over how Slott’s been writing Peter since BND, as long as Slott’s going to write him. Even if its more like a what if. Which is how I consider it as well
@11 – “Funny that the people liking the book also liked Superior.
Because that arc, like this one, was not about the real Peter Parker.”
I don’t quite agree with that assessment. True, there are a lot of similarities between the way Superior was written and the way the current arc is written. That is what makes this current trend enjoyable to me. This is not the Peter Parker I want, but as long as we have Slott as the writer, this is more enjoyable than post-Superior. What makes me stick with it is that I can at least see the character of Peter in here. Post-Superior felt more like we were stuck with the Ultimate version (Drake Bell cartoon, not Miles). Post Secret Wars still has the core of the character – he has a sense of wanting to try to do right, he is solving things through his smarts, he is not so much the loser version that showed up after Superior. It feels more like a What If story than and ASM story, but it feels like a What If story that took the character of Peter and threw him into this setting.
To be fair, there is much about this arc so far that does rub me the wrong way. Too many plot holes, too far of a jump from PI crashing to PI being a multi-national company, too far away from the surroundings of the traditional stories that we grew up with, too many Iron Man similarities, and worst of all, he did not earn what he has. On top of that, it has been so long since we’ve had Peter Parker, that another jump like this makes me sigh. My biggest fear is that since Slott’s version of Spidey has been THE version for so long, we may never go back to the one I loved growing up.
I could focus on those things, but I’m trying very hard follow Peter David’s advice. When Civil War happened and Peter’s identity was revealed, his take was, ‘Cool, different stories to tell.’ So I’m taking it as different Spider-Man stories to read. The stories are enjoyable, but I can’t wait for them to be over.
My first thought about the Man in Red who returns the Rhino’s wife from the dead is… Mephisto!
None of this company or its trappings rightfully belongs to Peter. It makes it hard for me to stomach these stories.
I still can’t get past the stupid glowing spider on his chest. It’s just… no.
@11 – Funny that the people liking the book also liked Superior.
While I did like Superior, I abhor the current ASM trainwreck. Even more so than the previous post-Superior volume.
@13 this is the most accurate description of slotts run I’ve read yet I think. God forbid we have a hero we enjoy be intelligent and admirable instead of dopey and someone you feel sorry for and take pity on. I’d love to hear Stan lee Gerry Conway and Peter David’s honest opinion about where the character is now.
I expect Slott has already decided that Parker Industries will crash and burn at some point in the next 30 issues (because Peter always has to eventually fail). That’s why all these transparently and colossally stupid actions are being taken now. You see, it has to be Peter’s fault that all these bad things will happen. It won’t be because of stock manipulation, or super-villain attack, or corporate chicanery. It will be because Peter is a loser.
“Peter is a loser” is the controlling axiom in Slott’s iteration of “The Amazing Spider-Man.” Slott says it was Peter’s fault that Ock murdered him and took his body. Peter is a loser. Slott had Peter adopt the “no one dies mantra”, which was immature and unworkable. Peter is a loser. Slott had Peter be a hypocrite to his most fundamental values by torturing Sandman, threatening to murder him, in EOTE. Peter is a loser. Slott had Peter begging Felicia for sex, with Felicia disadainfully rejecting him. Peter is a loser. Slott had MJ contemptuously call Peter an “idiot.” Peter is a loser. Peter is going to end up destroying Parker Industries by not firing, prosecuting, and jailing Sanjani. Peter is a loser.
Do you LIKE a series in which the thesis is that Peter Parker is a loser? Then you must love Slott’s rotten version of Peter Parker.
@11
You hit the main points of what doesn’t make the story work. There are too many ways you have to shut off logic at times. I am fine with the Zodiac but Peter not worrying about his spider sense or how he is letting people he knows deliberately tried to ruin him. How many times has he known that has come back to bite him? How many? More fingers than I can count on but don’t worry, its Slott’s incredible writing that will make you not think of relevant questions or actions.
Funny that the people liking the book also liked Superior.
Because that arc, like this one, was not about the real Peter Parker.
This “Peter” is an irresponsible CEO – blowing off his investors, yeah, real mature and shows how much you care about your company and its employees, Parker – and the plan to have Zodiac upload the data to find its bases is just plain ridiculous. It relies on Zodiac acting EXACTLY how Peter and Fury want them act. What if Zodiac already had uploaded the data to its bases (and if more brains could help them crack the data faster, why didn’t Zodiac do that sooner?!) What if Zodiac had cracked the data before they got there? What if Zodiac put the data on a hard drive or server not connected to the internet, so Peter couldn’t trace the data? What if Zodiac sent the data to only one base? And it still takes the risk that Zodiac won’t crack the data before Peter & co. stop them.
The only way this plot works is if everyone turns off their brains and are only as smart as Dan Slott wants them to be. And as we saw in Superior – and even Spider-Verse – that’s not every smart at all.
Including Peter. Why would he ignore his spider-sense?!? He’s been a hero for nearly 15 years at this point. He’s worn armor before and managed to listen to his instincts.
It’s like Slott thinks there is only one story that can be told with Peter, and that’s Amazing Fantasy 15. So he’s setting Peter up to be cocky, stupid and irresponsible (ignoring spider-sense, blowing off investors, letting Sajani keep her job), even though by this point the lessons from AF15 should be deeply ingrained And indeed those lessons were ingrained in the character from 1962 – 2007. But Slott has him go through these beats over and over and over, refusing to let Peter emotionally grow and learn. It’s insulting to both the reader and the character.
I loved Slott’s Superior Spider-Man run, and this is much like it. I’m enjoying it, although I really don’t want this to be my standard for Spider-Man from here out. Trying to keep an open mind and enjoy the ride as long as it lasts. I want to see more Hobie as Spidey, but not at the expense of seeing Peter in ASM. Maybe we could get some point ones for Hobie?
Nice review, Roebuck.
What’s the point of the Harry Potter reference? I found it a little absurd. Other than that, ASM #720 (I hate the new numbering!) was surprisingly fun. The Spider-Man and Prowler team up was decent. Let’s see if Slott manages to make ASM #721 as fun as this one.
What’s the point of the Harry Potter reference? I found it a little absurd. Other than that, ASM #720 was surprisingly fun. The Spider-Man and Prowler team up was decent. Let’s see if Slott manages to make ASM #721 as fun as this one.
@1, @5, @6 Ugh I knew it was someone close to him…and the artwork really makes it look like she is young in my defence. In all seriousness my bad Asm #617 is a tad bit forgettable. I enjoyed it whilst I read it but I haven’t bothered to revisit it since.
Good review but yes that is the Rhino’s wife, not daughter.
Nice review but Oksana is NOT Rhino’s daughter… Me thinks you should go back and re-read ASM #617.
I also thoroughly enjoyed the story and the artwork. Do it again Mr. Slott. And long live Spider-man and Mary Jane.
The Spider Tracers thing was kinda dumb because ANYONE in the MU could’ve whipped those up. Hell anyone in real life could whip those up. the spider tracers are regular tracking devices just attuned to his spider sense which has no marketable application. But what’s worse is that this is Peter telling everyone Spider-Man has tracers so look out for them and then from that enabling villains to undermine them or even use them against him.
The holographic whale isn’t the most asinine thing I’ve ever seen in Spider-Man…but it’s up there….it’s up there.
Who here thinks this plotline where Peter is the CEO of a company is similar to Spider-Man: Edge of Time?
It’ll be ironic if it turns out to be the case.
Spoilers:
In Edge of Time, Parker turns out to be the CEO of Alchemex as a result of Walter Sloan’s interference with the time stream. Having recently played EoT & seemingly O’Hara timeline (2099) has not been fixed even after Spider-Verse &, assuming, Secret Wars, something tells me that Parker Industries might Alchemex’s replacement in O’Hara’s time.
/Spoliers
I think that’s Rhinos wife, not daughter.