Weblines: THE J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI RUN – Part I

 

“The usual hero adventure begins with someone from whom something has been taken, or who feels there is something lacking in the normal experience available or permitted to the members of society. The person then takes off on a series of adventures beyond the ordinary, either to recover what has been lost or to discover some life-giving elixir. It’s usually a cycle, a coming and a returning.”

– Excerpt from The Hero with a Thousand Faces, by Joseph Campbell – comparative mythologist.

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Life happens in cycles.

And though our lives are not exactly filled with extraordinary adventures due to our routine to accomplish survival, new experiences are part of the process of self-discovery; it’s part of our nature. Not only do we welcome such experiences but yearn for them. And therein lies the origin of imagination – to exercise fantasy and find out what we are capable of doing, and the material we’re made of. The craving to venture into new territories and the outcome of learning something new about ourselves: either a new limit or something we never thought capable of doing it. We go through cycles and phases, defined by specific rites of passage – though not exactly named as such – to determine a mark in our lives; celebrating our birthday, for instance, is one of them.

The same can be applied to superhero comic book characters. Though they represent modern mythology as we know it today through movies, series, and books; call it industrialized entertainment, popular culture, “geek realm”, “nerdy thing”, or “childish habit” – their presence and influence in our culture are undeniable. Just like the gods and their tales of old from thousands of years ago, we do the same to pay homage to their moral compass carrying their images and symbols in our t-shirts, wallets, drinking glasses, tennis shoes, and lunchboxes. They are part of our collective consciousness; some of them even surpass our lifetimes: there’s no better proof now than Action Comics #1000 – the comic book that published the very first Superman story and now celebrates its 80^th anniversary. Eighty years. Superman and all the others who came after will probably outlive us – not only by the time of existence but by the longevity of publication.

And right there lies a problem if viewed as such: North American superhero comic book characters, given their cultural importance as icons and profit value, are destined to outlive us – old and new comic book readers alike. The stories of their lives will be told and adapted to new generations. Simply put: they can’t die.
And even if they do, they’ll eventually return, as Superman and others did. For some, that represents fatigue and a decisive factor to anyone who decides to start a (superhero) comic book collection: where does it begin? Will it end? The end came to the myths of old and all the characters from the Bible. They won’t have sequels. Comic book-wise, the same can be applied to Japanese comics – Manga – such as Akira and Lone Wolf & Cub, or other limited series, such as the Vertigo publishing line from DC Comics with titles like Sandman, Preacher, and Fables presenting a beginning, a middle and an end, with characters story arcs, following the cycle principle postulated by Joseph Campbell.
But the current publishing companies which own the rights of superhero characters must search for profits, like any other industry. Hence the necessity to renumber and restart long published titles to attract new readers. Sometimes more than once in a while.

Ends and beginnings. Cycles. Synonyms can also be applied to our lifespans and the events that mark rites of passage.

Throughout superhero comic book history, some of the great works are exemplified by:

• Watchmen;
• Batman – The Dark Night Returns;
• Superman – Whatever Happened to The Man of Tomorrow?;
• Man of Steel;
• Daredevil – Fall from Grace;
• Sandman;
• Marvelman;
• X-Men – The Dark Phoenix Saga;
• Crisis on Infinite Earths.

All of them are great stories filled with character-driven storylines, a reexamination of their selves, their powers, abilities, and how they are perceived by society with strong repercussions. From those stories, the characters started to think and speak like real people, thus exuding what is best in modern comic book history and representing what (superhero) visual storytelling is all about. But at the top of it, they also excel because all of them deal with the mortality of these characters – some of them have their lives ended; others must accept a change and begin another arc, start a different phase; they have to face their fears and accept the process of remembrance, just like we do in our real lives. Those stories still matter because of how these characters respond and react to it all. By doing so, we relate ourselves to them.

But this is a website dedicated to Peter Parker – The Amazing Spider-Man. His existence as an icon and extraordinary tales are celebrated in this space; so, if Batman, Superman, and Steve Ditko-inspired characters made comic book history in the modern age of comics, why not Spider-Man?

If self-realization and maturity in the face of mortality are the elements that define the modern age of comics, then Spider-Man – through one single story published in one issue -, is its pioneer with “The Night That Gwen Stacy Died”, featured in The Amazing Spider-Man #121, published by Marvel Comics, written by Gerry Conway, drawn by Gil Kane, inked by John Romita Sr. and edited by Roy Thomas.
This is Spider-Man’s greatest failure. Technically, he hadn’t even reached his twenties and yet, had to deal with the loss of the first Love of his life; a death in which he is directly responsible, just like the passing of his second father figure: Captain George Stacy, Gwen’s father. And the murder of his Uncle Ben before that.

We as readers learned that superhero milestones are not only built-in victories but also tragedies. Peter Parker’s hero career is built on them, being forced to grow up sooner than any other superhero character, and learning the hard facts of life at a very young age. Spider-Man’s life story is seminal to the evolution and maturity of superhero comic books. The character’s flexibility and visual appeal allow him to undergo changes and modifications as few other superheroes can. And still, his character template is used to (re)shape and influence others, like Nightwing, Invincible, Ms. Marvel, and Faith, who rely heavily on Peter Parker’s day-to-day struggles to make ends meet as a normal person would, first published way back in the sixties.
The same template can be applied to the fantastic Superman – American Alien limited series – where a young (and even dorky) Clark Kent is learning how to build himself through his mistakes and flaws as a person – not as Kryptonian – because that’s also what young readers enjoy; just like the young ones from the sixties did – with the relatability of a young hero, and not the flawless super-powered adult. And despite Spidey’s influences, copies, and replications within Marvel itself (such as Miles Morales – the new Spider-Man, Cindy Moon as Silk, Julia Carpenter, Anya Corazon, Jessica Drew and, Mattie Franklin – the first and new Spider-Women, respectively), Peter Parker still stands alone as the original.

But as he grows up into an adult, his life priorities change, just like the threat level from his enemies escalates. It’s worth reminding that Spider-Man not only fights crime but also fights evil – and evil presents itself in many forms.
Amongst Spider-Man’s fans, it’s unarguable that Fearful Symmetry: Kraven’s Last Hunt remains one of the best stories ever made for the hero, since the Lee/Ditko/Romita & Conway eras, and deserves its rightful place in the hall of greatest superhero stories ever told.

First published in 1987 – throughout six issues of three monthly Spider-Man series, it can (to this day) be easily read as a milestone story. And it stands out due not only to the plot’s perfect crafting but to two core elements that helped to build the maturity of Peter Parker as a man, and the first mention of a core idea to be mythologically explored many years later:

• Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson’s newlywed status, making official the characters’ passage to adulthood. They grew up – acting more mature, like most of their readers.
• The first mention of the Spider as a Force of Nature – or, for the lack of a better definition, a Totem. Something that Peter Parker slightly acknowledges. And while contemplating his life as a superhero, he also ponders his mortality.

In the story, Kraven (Sergei Kravinoff) couldn’t care less about the hero behind the mask; he’s only interested in the Spider within the man. It has meaning to him; Kraven sees it, and acknowledges its existence and power, but has no idea what it really is. And yet, he’s obsessed, insane, willing to become it. Kraven believes it will restore his honor, thus proving himself better than the man who defeated him many times before.
It is worth reminding that Spider-Man is shown in his black uniform – the sheer visual representation of the Spider.

Not since the Lee/Romita years, Kraven had been approached at the same archenemy level as the Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus. And though those two are fueled by the madness from their radioactive/chemical accidents, Kraven’s own madness is fueled (and poisoned) by pride and a distorted sense of honor. It’s that very psychological drive that ignites the story.
Through careful planning, he lures Spider-Man out in the night to hunt him, finally entrapping and shooting him down with a non-lethal charge, putting him into a coma, and then being buried alive. Spider-Man is defeated. A feat not many of his foes had accomplished until then.

From a critical perspective, if a hero can be defined not only by his/her actions but also from his/her enemies, this storyline emboldens Kraven with the Nemesis title, ranking him high in Spider-Man’s rogue gallery – deservingly so.

This storyline contains far much more impact than the average tale of a supervillain tale seeking revenge for past defeats; it is a psychological study of madness and fears, with accurate characterization, and incredible artwork, told with the proper pace, momentum, and design.
As the story moves forward, powerful insights from the characters involved (Peter, Kraven, Mary Jane, and The Vermin) are shown in captions, depicting a perfect balance with the plot, making Last Hunt a flawless example that Spider-Man, with the proper guidance, can grow older and evolve as a hero without interfering with his core elements first conceived by Steve Ditko and Stan Lee.

It is not the usual Spider-Man tale. Still, a great reading and proof that Spider-Man comics (not a graphic novel, but a comic book monthly series) can not only reach mature audiences but also provide young readers psychological insight from adult characters without relying on neither explicit language nor graphic violence.

Hence the high praise and kudos here are given to one of the all-time greatest Spider-Man writers: J.M. Dematteis and masterful storytellers Mike Zeck and Bob McLeod for their artwork.

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After more than a decade of dark and brooding stories, a matter already analyzed in this column, the Marvel Comics publishing company was in dire need of reshaping itself for a new century.
If the Ultimate Line of comics provided new readers with a brand-new updated and younger version of Peter Parker for a new millennium, then there was no need at all for the original and already existent version to remain young. After nearly forty years (back then) of continuous publishing chronology, it was time for the original Peter Parker to grow old and evolve – not to change according to current comic book trends of his time like the nineties, but to evolve for himself, as a human character – then, as a superhero.

Under new editorial management since the year 2000, the then Editor-in-Chief of Marvel Comics Joe Quesada drafts experienced TV writer Joseph Michael Straczynski – a professional writer with years of experience in journalism, cartoons (Ghostbusters, He-Man), TV (Babylon 5, Sense 8), and cinema (Thor, Ninja Assassin, The Changeling), also skilled in sociology, psychology, philosophy, and literature. In comics, he gained accolades through his published work at Top Cow/Image with the incredible limited series Rising Stars and Midnight Nation. Furthermore at Marvel with Strange, The Fantastic Four, Bullet Points, Supreme Power, and the revival of Thor. At DC, with The Brave and The Bold, Superman: Earth One, and Before Watchmen.
More than many of his peers, Straczynski understands and applies the concept that it is the character’s essence that drives the plot forward, not the characters being submissive to the factors in the plot. Once he understands their personalities, he just lets them speak and behave according to their nature. It was through him that the Spider-Totem (as first conceptualized in Kraven’s Last Hunt) and Peter Parker’s maturity were emphasized with a whole new approach.

His run started in July 2001 – in issue #30 of the second volume of The Amazing Spider-Man title; until then, the first renumbering of the series. Along for the ride, veteran, and legendary Spider-Man artist John Romita Jr. with the concise inking from Scott Hanna – both already in the title before Straczynski’s arrival. This professional duo couldn’t be more suited for the assignment: JRJr is at the peak of his game by evolving his style again, from one issue (previous to JMS’s arrival) to another. To Spider-Man, he’s the perfect artist who can blend his Father’s style, with Ditko and even Kirby’s – the perfect balance between style and substance, making him one of the best visual storytellers in the industry. Either by providing incredible cinematic sequences or engaging dramatic moments in which only a simple conversation takes place, his style – supported by precise fine lines of Hanna – depicts great moments where each character’s expression feels real; their body language and movement are believable and able to convey emotion even without words.

On top of it all, there’s the great coloring provided by Dan Kemp – his usage of the blue palette for most of the scenes refines the visual of the comic. The colors make more sense because the reader immediately knows whether it’s day or night; where the light sources in closed environments come from and how strong they are; how Spidey’s web shines and the lenses on his mask are anything but blank white, reflecting the light from his surroundings. The book becomes more vivid, making a pleasant comic to even look at its interior art.
Richard Starkings also remained for the lettering duties.
With all those elements in place, it’s worth recognizing that, even with the same artists, the book’s visual style has been redesigned; it became a better visual reading experience, and that shows how the work of an editor behind the assembling and production of a comic book: replacing Marvel veteran Ralph Macchio (redirected to coordinate the Ultimate Line), came DC/Vertigo editor Axel Alonso, who then later replaced Quesada as E-i-C; his work on the ASM title began on issue #27, April 2001.

To stress the importance of a comic book editor in a comic book and comprehend its technical aspects of production besides the art, color, and lettering, a visual analysis of its structure is needed; in The Amazing Spider-Man title, previous to the arrival of Straczynski, Kemp, and Alonso, one can easily notice how things not only changed but improved consistently: gone were the covers featuring top headlines screaming “THE WORLD’S GREATEST COMIC!” or impactful sentences such as: “Turning Point!”, “You’ll never imagine who came back!”, “A Secret Revealed!”, “Venom Returns!”, “A New Beginning!”, “#1st new collector’s issue!” – gimmicks made to harken the hapless nostalgia from the sixties back, and somehow convince new readers that their titles could be free from the already established and published chronology. But it’s a fact – regardless of the renumbering, Spider-Man is a culturally established icon; by 2001, when this run started, the character was about to complete his 40th anniversary.
Once restructured, the final touch of this much better-produced title came through the wonderfully designed covers by J. Scott Campbell for the first arc, the publisher’s brand, the name of the writer and artists – and nothing else. The essence of the book and the nature of the character were let speak for themselves. As a result, sales tripled.

This run is not a new beginning. It is a continuation, an evolution (not a change) from everything that came before. But only for Peter Parker as Spider-Man. For an interview conceded to the Wizard Magazine at the time of the title’s first issue under his pen, Straczynski (or “JMS”) mentioned his approach to the character:

“You learn in television that if the staff (writers) doesn’t know what to do with the main character, they build up the surrounding characters to make a difference. The characters around Spidey had grown so overpowering, Spider-Man was really a supporting character within his own book.”
– J. Michael Straczynski.

Betty Brant. Flash Thompson. Liz Allan Osborn. Arthur, Paul, and Jill Stacy. Joe and Randy Robertson. Glory Grant. Ben Urich. Angela Yin. Curt, Billy, and Martha Connors. Anna Watson. John and Marla Jameson. Donovan Zane. Jimmy Six. And even J. Jonah Jameson himself. Probably the stablest array of supporting characters in superhero comics. However, throughout the decades, so many things happened in Spider-Man’s life due to them, that it became a template – if not a rule – to develop his stories.

It’s worth reminding that, in superhero comic book history, Peter Parker’s history of publication is the longest and the most concise chronological superhero soap opera ever published. And like any other soap opera, the supporting characters orbiting around the main ones can provide plot threads to be developed into further story arcs themselves; sometimes designed to affect their lives and interfere with the lives of others as well. In The Amazing Spider-Man title, since the first time that J. Jonah Jameson confessed the reasons for his hatred of Spider-Man, it has become a formula that became part of the template of the title itself: what happens to other characters, ends up affecting Peter Parker, or vice-versa – thus enhancing his guilt and weighing down on his sense of responsibility, making him take whatever matter into his hands, sacrifice something really important he needed to accomplish and deal with the higher-risking problem. Of course, great and memorable stories came out of this template – because Peter Parker’s personal life will always be directly affected by his actions as Spider-Man.
However, that also became an overused formula as a plot device: supporting characters were used as cannon fodder to introduce a new villain or threat to Spider-Man through Peter’s cast of supporting characters. For new readers, it presents an opportunity to understand how the character’s life functions as originally envisioned back in the early sixties, without having to revisit this material; but for longtime readers already familiar with the character’s life, it can be even frustrating to see Peter having his life conceptually “rebooted” or redesigned – just because that is the mold in which his relatability factor is made of. Thus, hindering – if not preventing – Peter from growing old and evolving as a more mature man and even more experienced friendly neighborhood hero. He’s stuck in his own cycle: the formula repeats itself, making the continuity and chronology of his life stretched and not prolonged.

With all of those factors considered, JMS’s statement holds true for Spider-Man’s comics.

One can wonder if the immortality of North American superheroes is also the cause of their fatigue, as mentioned before. If they can’t die, shouldn’t they be allowed to at least grow older? But if they are not allowed to do so, how to keep their very monthly existence still appealing through and in the comic book market? If people invest their time going to the movies to watch superheroes, why can’t they just follow their comics?
Far from being a proper answer but just an examination of what a possible answer could be, let us consider DC Entertainment’s The New 52 Orwellian experiment of rebooting their entire roster of characters in 2011: it lasted only four years. Much less than Marvel’s Ultimate Line of Comics. Now the Rebirth came; the chronology from before is being re-applied to all the publisher’s characters; and not only that: the Watchmen storyline is being infused into the current chronology; Batman is getting married to Catwoman; they go on a double date with Lois Lane and Superman – back to his red trunks outside his pants; they have a son. More than ever, those worldwide known characters, viewed as plain legends are being constantly redesigned to be more identifiable to their readers. Relatability – one of the essential elements of what makes mythological stories endure the test of time – is a concept pioneered in comics by Spider-Man in the core of his creation.

When JMS took over Spider-Man’s life, he focused only on the people who really mattered to Peter Parker at this stage of his life:
(Aunt) May Parker and Mary Jane Watson. Gone were the days when May used to be written as a very naive old woman worried about his precious nephew; her pattern speech became more firm and realistic; she evolved into a woman with a broader awareness (Romita Jr. made sure we capture that even without words). As for Mary Jane, the writer took into consideration the stories that preceded his, making good use of MJ’s departure – a plotline conceived during Howard Mackie’s tenure in the book. JMS analyzed what that meant for Peter and started from there, which enabled him to start his run on the book in a manner never seen until then.
He is stripped down from his entire supporting cast. No search for a new apartment, or the need to find a roommate. No desperate need to sell pictures for the Daily Bugle. No stress in fighting the villain of the week who is somehow strung to someone else in Peter’s life.
Instead of showing all of that, Spider-Man is downright pissed off. Big Time. Lashing down his frustration inside an abandoned building scheduled to be demolished; just angry due to MJ’s absence.

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TRANSFORMATIONS, LITERAL & OTHERWISE (ASM #30 vol.2, December 2001):

Ultimately, it’s all about the character.
He’s no longer a shy, insecure young adult who will only unleash his demons and frustrations whenever he’s under the spider mask. Both personas are aligned with one another. He got older; not old. Just more mature than he has ever been before. Just like us, in the same state of mind, the priorities drastically change.  His glass is empty. His concerns are different. A new purpose is required and a cycle begins anew, just like real-life outside comic books. Welcome to your adulthood, Peter.

With adulthood, comes the process of self-awareness. As we begin to understand more of the world that surrounds us, more questions might emerge regarding our nature – depending on how deep we decide to dig up and ask simple – but important – questions about it. Hence the importance of Comparative Mythology and its purpose: self-discovery.
Such concepts and questions presented insofar are also used by JMS and JRJr to redefine Spider-Man’s nature and even our concept of him as a character. His origin is carved and ranks high in the hall of greatest superhero origins; we know the history of his creation as a character. But once looked from within his realm of fiction – the Marvel Comics Universe -, could there be more to it? Peter Parker can replicate the powers of a Spider, but why him? Why the Spider? Was radioactivity the catalysis?

It all begins with the introduction of Ezekiel Sims – the herald of things to come. An encounter without confrontation, just a talk. He already knows who Spider-Man is behind the mask; but different from Kraven, who desired to be like him, Ezekiel already possesses the Spider-Powers:

The climax of this issue is entirely psychological – an introduction to a psychological door Peter Parker never even bothered to ask himself, even with his scientific background. Ezekiel asks him if he performed an autopsy of the spider after the bite to find out how his powers were given to him. From there, the reader is placed inside Peter’s mind and thus instigated to reexamine Spider-Man’s source of super-powers. The best path to any discovery is to ask questions.

And all Ezekiel does to turn Peter’s life upside down is to present him with three of them:

And just like that, through a single panel, Spider-Man’s origin is revisited without a character’s reboot and the need of a new title. At the dawn of the 21st century, when more scientific facts and discoveries become widespread in modern society and mythological aspects are more ingrained in our culture and not so much disregarded in our popular knowledge, such questions are very well applied into Spider-Man‘s mythos.

Both scientific and mythical processes begin with questions. From this issue onwards, the reader is shown a character study of Peter Parker based on the path of self-discovery to his own nature.

Straczynski, through Ezekiel, pushes the envelope even further:

“There are three steps in knowledge. There’s what we think, what we know and what we can prove.”

What was the last comic book that made you question the very nature of knowledge? How much do we know about Spider-Man? And up until this point, how much does he know about himself? For superheroes, much can be learned from them through their antagonists.
Take Batman, for instance: though it’s a fact he’s psychologically deranged, every historian and writer of his define him through his villains; Bruce Wayne is the real disguise, whereas Batman is the true self of the character. He can even be defined by his enemies, who reflect different sides of Batman’s persona, not Bruce Wayne’s.
As an exemplification, if there were no villains nor major crimes in Gotham City and the murder of his parents were regarded as an isolated event, he would probably go psychotic, no crime-fighting to be done; he would be mind-idled. Hence the necessity of his city to be the most corrupt and vile in the realm of superhero comics.

In the case of Peter Parker, he doesn’t seek revenge in the form of justice. He is motivated by guilt – translated in his consciousness by power and responsibility – the elements by which he is defined, with or without the mask, and not by his enemies. If his abilities simply faded away, he could live a normal life and pursue a life of new responsibilities to help people as a teacher or a scientist. But the power imbued in (or bestowed upon) him, drives his consciousness to compensate for his greatest failure – although knowing it is an atonement impossible to be accomplished.
Then, the equation is reversed, just for the sake of character study: power without responsibility. In Spider-Man’s publication history, stories showing alternate realities of what could have happened to Peter Parker without the element of responsibility were told; they depict a young man ready to unleash his rage for all that has happened to him. In JMS’s run, a version of what he (Peter) could have been without his powers is shown through the depiction of a harsh reality still happening in the USA and other parts of the world: school shootings – as a result of bullying, racism, prejudice, and misunderstanding. This subject fitted perfectly into Peter’s new phase, by becoming a teacher of science and extending the reach of his skills to help (the young) people, not as a hero, but as a provider of knowledge. Another character statement by JMS, shows that Peter Parker has grown up.

It wouldn’t be the first time in his run that Straczynski would use this analogy to convey a character study of Peter Parker under the lenses of responsibility – his essence as a person. Another element of the equation of what makes him a great appealing character is also his power.

And if “The measure of a man is what he does with power”, according to Plato, the story “The Long, Dark Pizza of the Soul” published in ASM#32 vol.2 (one of the most original titles for a single Spider-Man issue), JMS dissects how power is manifested in the Marvel Universe from a scientific and mythological 21st-century perspective through a conversation between Peter and Ezekiel.
This is only the third issue of his run and all the visual elements provided by JRJr, Hanna, and Kemp are in full force, perfectly aligned with the consistent script: Peter Parker is teaching science to his young students explaining not only its rules but its essence and purpose to a philosophic level When Ezekiel reveals to him the other side of the origin of his power – its totemic nature – how much force is just one among many others, not only on the planet but somehow connected to a greater scheme of things; they’re just talking and eating pizza. No climax, no battle, no dramatic revelation – just sheer and insightful character development. The Amazing Spider-Man comic book is back to the core of its main character, making the reader – and Peter himself – ponder about what goes beyond the responsibility; the origin, if not the truth, about his powers. An incident made out of science or the intervention of an elemental force? Just how much is known of the Spider within the man?

All the cards are on the table, but they are yet to be turned and revealed.

The Spider element within the man (as first mentioned in Kraven’s Last Hunt) – triggers the story. Ezekiel explains that his rogues’ gallery reflects the essence of Spider within Peter. Just like Kraven, all they want is to destroy and consume the energy of the Spider. Not only does he explain how a man can be known by his enemies, but through the kind of enemies a man acquires; for every protagonist (hero), there’s one, if not more, antagonists, who represent an equal totemic force: Vultures, Octopi, Jackals, Rhinos, Cats, Scorpios, and even Symbiotes; created not only created to antagonize Spider-Man but being natural responses to his existence. There is indeed a pattern. But besides bringing this new knowledge into the life of Peter and explaining how the Spider-Totem is not only a symbol but a force to be reckoned with, the coming of Ezekiel also harbors the fact that for every force, others feed on them.
One of those antagonistic forces is manifested in Morlun, the devourer of totems – a vampiric entity focused only on its survival; a predator, in its essence, in the form of a man. He has no throne in a secret lair, neither a master plan. His goal is to find Spider-Man, like Kraven; but different from the Hunter, Morlun’s primary purpose is to consume the hero’s entire power; his lifeforce, which would end up killing him in the process.

Before they confront each other, Morlun even explains that it’s not even personal; he needs to kill Spider-Man so he can survive. From there, the context of the battle alone shifts: Spider-Man understands that it becomes a fight for survival. His strength is put to the limit. He met his match taking one of the worst physical beatings a superhero ever had and nearly dies from it, making Morlun not only his enemy but his nemesis. It’s worth noticing that at the beginning of the arc, Peter wished for a bad guy to unleash his rage and frustration; at its end, he got exactly what he wanted, in fear of being beaten to death.
Had it not been for the intervention of Ezekiel – Morlun’s very harbinger, Peter would have died. And thanks to him, Peter has one more chance to change the nature of the battle – by changing his nature; the very essence of his powers.

All Morlun wanted was the Spider, but overlooked and underestimated the man, who happens to be a high-caliber scientist – a fact that JMS re-established. With the information gathered from Ezekiel and the battle he barely survived, Peter develops a compound into his body that emulates the same radiation that mutated (or killed?) the Spider that bit him in his origin – his origin – and injects in himself.
Story-wise, Spider-Man comes full circle with the questions presented by Ezekiel, who told him about the purity of Spider within him – an untarnished essence from a force he has yet to understand. Still, it is his genius and scientific knowledge that counterbalance the odds and grant him a chance of survival. By using those skills, he tampers with the essence of the Spider, changing its nature, and ends up rediscovering and redefining himself.

In the aftermath of either a near-death experience or an ordeal, it is quite common that we, under our human condition, have a unique response to it. We take time to absorb what happened and filter the events that lead to it in our minds; we start to question if it was luck or something bigger that helped us to survive. We ponder about our limitations, our mortality; we question our faith.
That’s exactly what Spider-Man does: he nearly died. Because of this, he thanks God for being alive. In superhero comic book history, probably just a handful of stories show a superhero in such a fragile and very intimate moment. They might be gods, but their human traits are the elements that harken our interest in their lives, even if they’re fictional beings. That’s mythology.

And under that scope, Peter Parker stands alone for being the most human of superheroes – the template that J. Micahel Straczynski understands more than most of his peers. A superhero comic doesn’t always have to be about good vs. evil. It can also be about its character: his/her motives, reasons, choices, feelings, and vulnerable points. That’s humanity – which can also be related to what mythology is all about.

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With that being said, after a tour de force of six issues depicting a full character study of Spider-Man provided by Straczynski, Romita Jr., Hanna, and Kemp, the reader is left with one of the greatest cliffhangers in the character’s history:

Interlude.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #36, Vol. 2 (December 2001):

September 11^{th, 2001.}

The then-editor of the book at the time of its publishing, Axel Alonso, retells how this story came to be:

“I was blown away when I read JMS’s script for the first time,” continued Alonso. “I closed my door, put my feet on the windowsill overlooking the city, and just relived the event. Understand, we entered into this issue with some trepidation. When I asked JMS if he thought it would be odd just to go on without acknowledging what happened on September 11th, he just said, ‘Give me 24 hours to see if I can come up with anything.’ I thought he needed 24 hours to decide whether or not he COULD say anything that made sense in the 22 pages of the issue. But 24 hours later, there it was — a complete script. I know that it took him some time to make up his mind whether to proceed or not, but once he started writing, it came to him.”
(…)
“John’s work has been nothing short of a career mark, as you’ll see,” Alonso said. “He sweated blood drawing this story. I know that it was a gut-wrenching experience for him to draw this story, even if it was somewhat cathartic once it was done.”

John Romita Jr. himself complements it:

“[This issue] caused me to lose a lot of sleep for the month that I drew it,” said Romita. “It gave me a lot of nightmares. With the news and radio, you can just put it off or down. But with this work, I had reference material plastered all over my office. I had to be exact, down to the patterns of rubble. I wanted it to be perfect.”
(…)
“I feel a little stronger than I did before as an American. As a New Yorker, I’m still fucking pissed off. I’m very proud to be a New Yorker. These people that live in Manhattan are as tough as they come. Working on this issue was the most difficult and most rewarding work. It’s a quality product and I’m very proud of it and proud of the people that worked on it.”

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The 21st century arrived, and right at its beginning, the reality of our lives changed drastically; and it still does. 9/11 seemed unbelievable to our generation, but it did happen. Lives were lost. The world stopped and watched, amidst the chaos and disaster, the real heroes – the ones that could do whatever was necessary to avoid the loss of more lives – doing perhaps even more than any other superhero could. Reality never seemed harsher to endure as it does now; we become more engulfed in fear, somehow still susceptible to decisions of leaders of men, systems, and laws – designed to keep us more apart from one another than together. Silent wars still rage in many places in the world, as we still sit and watch, most of the time, indifferently.
Many artistic manifestations about 9/11 have been made not only to instill patriotism, not only to make us never forget; but to show how we, individually or in a group can show through our inherent talents (whatever they are) how this disaster made us look to ourselves in a new century and question how we behave to our neighbor; how we treat others from our species. Are we defined by what we believe? Are we defined by the economic system we live in? Can we be rightfully labeled by the flag of the land we were born in? By a religion designed not to offer comfort to our soul, but to dictate our behavior and therefore our attitude toward others? By our sexual condition? Are our cultural choices ours, or subtly suggested in our consciousness by the place we live in and perform our profession? Are we destined to constantly pay, through our personal choices the highest price for those who are indeed responsible for our suffering?
Many are the questions that can somehow lead to fewer answers capable of explaining the origins and reasons for such disasters and why mankind still suffers under the consequences of those silent answers.

In ASM #36, the words and images within its pages instigate all aforementioned questions and make us ponder in our hearts how our collective consciousness can behave during a disaster. It’s worth reminding that those words, expressed by the thoughts of Peter Parker – the most popular superhero in New York City – were written by the same writer whose story in Rising Stars JMS has its main super-powered characters undergo their journey of understanding their place in the same world we live in and change it – literally change the world -, not by dominating it, but showing mankind that we can do more than sit and watch. They inspire us to do better.
Once again, through the modern mythology and symbolism of superheroes  – if written and read properly – they do provide us solace, comfort, and even inspiration for a higher purpose. If honest leaders, inventors, artists, writers, musicians, and intellectuals can inspire us to do better, to be better – even after a great disaster and/or loss, why not comic books?

Spider-Man is the most human of superheroes and perhaps the only one – even more than Captain America himself – who could offer a unique insight from 9/11; because he possesses neither the heart nor the mind of a soldier. He’s just the everyday man whose heart was deeply affected by such a disaster. His perspective is relatable.

Superhero comics, even if their stories and very existence do not coincide with the reality we live in, have their reason to be ingrained in mythology – which is formed of tales designed to reexamine our words, thoughts, and actions based on our morality. And when they do approach our reality, the result can be as powerful as any other form of expression made to examine our purpose of being. And how we are related to one another.

The following text from J. Michael Straczynski made for this issue of The Amazing Spider-Man, besides inspiring, proves that.

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Longitude: 74 degrees, 0 minutes, 23 seconds west.
Latitude: 40 degrees, 42 minutes, 51 seconds north.
Follow the sound of sirens…
Some things are beyond words.
Beyond comprehension.
Beyond forgiveness.
How do you say we didn´t know? We couldn´t know.
We couldn´t imagine.
Only madmen could contain the thought, execute the act, fly the planes.The sane world will always be vulnerable to madmen, because we cannot go where they go to conceive of such things.
We could not see it coming. We could not be here before it happened. We could not stop it.
But we are here now.
You cannot see us for the dust but we are here.
You cannot see us for the cries, but we are here.
Even those we thought our enemies are here. Because some things surpass rivalries and borders.
Because the story of humanity is written not in towers but in tears. In the common coin of blood and bone. In the voice that speaks within even the worst of us, and says this is not right. Because even the worst of us, however scarred are still human. Still feel. Still mourn the random death of innocents.
We are here.
But with our costumes and our powers we are writ small by the true heroes. Those who face fire without fear or armor. Those who step into the darkness without assurances of ever walking out again, because they know there are others waiting in the dark. Awaiting salvation. Awaiting word. Awaiting justice.
Ordinary men. Ordinary women. Made extraordinary by acts of compassion. And courage. And terrible sacrifice.
Ordinary men. Ordinary women. Refusing to surrender.
Refusing to accept the self-serving proclamations of holy warriors of every stripe, who announce that somehow we had this coming. We reject them both in the knowledge that our tragedy is greater than the sums of our transgressions. Bodies in freefall on the evening news. Madness in mosques, shouting down fourteen centuries of earnest prayers, forgetting the lessons of crusades past… That the most harmed are the least deserving.
There are no words. There are no words.
The death of innocents and the death of innocence. Rage compounded upon rage. Rage enough to blot out the Sun. And the air, filled with questions. They ask the question. Why? Why?I have seen other worlds. Other spaces. I have walked with gods and wept with angels.But to my shame I have no answers.What do we tell the children? Do we tell them evil is a foreign face? No. The evil is the thought behind the face, and it can look just like yours. Do we tell them evil is tangible, with defined borders and names and geometries and destinies? No. They will have nightmares enough.
Perhaps we tell them we are sorry. Sorry that we are not able to deliver unto them the world we wished them to have. That our eagerness to shout is not the equal of our willingness to listen. That the burdens of distant people are the responsibility of all men and women of conscience, or their burdens will one day become our tragedy.
Or perhaps we simply tell them that we love them, and that we will protect them. That we give our lives for theirs and do it gladly, so great is the burden of our Love. In a universe of gameboys and VCR´s, it is, perhaps, an insubstantial gift. But it is the only one that will wash away the tears and knit the wounds and make the world a sane place to live in.
We could not see it coming. No one could. We could not stop it. No one could.
But we are here. Now. Today. Tomorrow. And the day after.
We live in each blow you strike for infinite justice, but always in the hope of infinite wisdom. Because we live as well in the quiet turning of your considered conscience. The voice that says all wars have innocents. That voice that says you are a kind and a merciful people. As the voice that says do not do as they do, or the war is lost before it is even begun.
Do not let that knowledge be washed away in blood.
When you move, we will move with you. Where you go, we will go with you. Where you are, we are in you.
Because the future belongs to ordinary and that future must be built free of such acts as these, must be fought for and renewed like fresh water. Because a message must be sent to those who mistake compassion for weakness. A message sent across six thousand years of recorded blood and struggle.
And the message is this:
Whatever our history, whatever the root of our surnames, we remain a good and decent people, and we do not bow down and we do not give up. The fire of the human spirit cannot be quenched by bomb blasts or body counts. Cannot be intimidated forever into silence or drowned by tears.
We have endured worse before: we will bear this burden and all that come hereafter, because that´s what ordinary men and women do. No matter what. This has not weakened us. It has only made us stronger.
In recent years we as people have been tribalized and factionalized by a thousand casual unkindness. But in this we are one. Flags sprout in uncommon places, the ground made fertile by tears and shared resolve. We have become one in our grief. We are now one in our determination. One as we recover. One as we rebuild.
You wanted to send a message, and in so doing you awakened us from our self-involvement.
Message received. Look for your reply in the thunder.
In such days as these are heroes born. Not heroes such as ourselves. The true heroes of the twenty-first century. You the human being singular. You, who are nobler than you know and stronger than you think. You, the heroes of this moment chosen out of history.
We stand blinded by the light of your unbroken will. Before that light, no darkness can prevail. They knocked down two tall towers. In their memory, draft a covenant with your conscience, that we will create a world in which such things need not occur.A world which will not require apologies to children, but also a world whose roads are not paved with the husks of their inalienable rights.
They knocked down two tall towers. Graft now their echo onto your spine. Become girders and glass, stone and steel, so that when the world sees you, it sees them.
And stand tall. Stand tall.