Amazing Spider-Man Vol 5 #7/808 Review: The Bogenrieder Perspective

It’s Cheers, only with supervillains and a guy in a hoodie! What more can a man ask for?

Amazing Spider-Man Vol 5 #6/807

“A Trivial Pursuit, Pt 2”

Writer: Nick Spencer

Pencils: Humberto Ramos and Steve Lieber

Inks: Victor Olazaba and Steve Lieber

Colors: Edgar Delgado and Rachelle Rosenberg

Editor: Nick Lowe and Devin Lewis

Editor-in-Chief: C.B. Cebulski

Plot:

So Peter and Boomerang are getting assaulted by the other patrons in the bar, and Fred makes the first move, getting Peter a weapon (Which he sets on stun without Fred knowing) so they can get away. Kingpin, on the other hand, is enjoying watching Boomerang squirm, but in an uncharacteristic move, Fred takes a hit from Scorcher for Peter. Pulling a bluff, Peter makes a play with his Liar persona, convincing the villains that their weapons will backfire.

This gives Fred the time he needs to set up a Bomberang, and the two manage to get away as the entire Bar With No Name explodes. (Jeez, what’s the payload of that bomb?!) The two have a heart-to-heart where Boomerang reveals that his Superior Card Companions are actually LMDs who can’t sing licensed songs (But let’s be honest, it’s Fred; he’s totally lying through his teeth and I love it.) and Peter feels bad, offering him to go to improv with him and Randy.

Meanwhile, an angry Kingpin is confronted by Centidemon, who forces him to kneel.

Thoughts:

I loved this issue as if there was any doubt about it.

Having watched the Crawlspace podcast and having had time to digest this issue, there’s a sort of brilliance to this issue and how it concludes the Peter/Boomerang status quo “blowing up” (Which is sort of misleading, since it’s more something just ends up happening with the status quo) while also serving as a springboard for future story arcs.

To start things off, I am not a big fan of Ramos’ art in the modern day and age. Back in 2011, when I was an uneducated fool, I used to think that was the coolest art ever. Since then, my tastes have changed and Caselli has become my favorite current Marvel artist, but I still hold a soft spot in my heart for Ramos’ art. Part of me wishes that they had gotten somebody else to do the fill-ins while Ottley was taking a cooldown, but then I realized that Spidey is pretty much the town bicycle for Marvel artists, and no matter who you got for his fill-ins, it would be a haunting reminder of the Slott era, so Ottley is the only person who is considered “new”. That said, when somebody is energetic and moving, that’s when Ramos’ art shines.

And with that, it’s time for!

Whenever Ramos uses a flashback, Edgar Delgado plays along with Ramos’ more cross-hatched lines and turns the book into a very sepia tone in an effect that imitates the drab, boring nature of the 1939 Wizard of Oz film. (This isn’t intentional, as far as I’m aware, it’s just a comparison that came into my head.) Usually, Ramos flashbacks tend to be very dull in nature, which reflects in the color tone of the book itself.

It’s not a surprise that Steve Lieber and Rachelle Rosenberg’s Superior Foes pages are the best parts of this book. The comedic chemistry of the Sinister Several is palpable through just their expressions and gestures alone (Though the dialogue helps accentuate their camaraderie) and the panel-to-panel transitions are pitch perfect.

I think the greatest surprise of what came out of this issue was Peter and Fred’s pseudo-friendship. People generally don’t consider Boomerang of all people a genuine threat, and to be fair I don’t think that’s an unreasonable claim to make; what makes Fred dangerous is not his boomerangs, it’s his silver tongue that would make Starscream pale in comparison. And while I’m predicting that Boomerang will get mixed up in yet another mess and drag Peter and Randy down with him, the point of this issue was to show that Fred might genuinely care about Peter, as much of a compulsive liar as he is. (And he’s totally lying about the Superior Foes being LMDs; he’s lied enough that I just take everything he says as a lie.) While it might be for his own self-serving ends, there is a sort of an Odd Couple dynamic between Fred and Peter that, under Slott’s pen, would be totally artificial. But for whatever reason, whenever the two interact under Spencer’s pen, there’s a genuinely fun pair of characters that I can’t wait to see interact again.

Likewise, Peter also kind of gets some growth in that he begins to sympathize and or feel pity for Fred. I doubt he genuinely believes Boomerang’s story (He clearly takes time to think about inviting him to improv.) but he more than likely feels pity for Fred. There’s no room for Fred to reform (Superior Foes already discussed this, he went to what was essentially a support group and failed to reform.) but it could be room for Peter to make the effort. I saw internet comments saying that Peter was too much of a schmuck for trusting Fred, but I doubt Peter really trusts Fred; he’s a villain.

Speaking of villains, let’s talk about Centidemon.

I know that some people despise the Worf Effect that Centidemon is having upon Kingpin and Robot Master get shredded and/or bowing to him, and those reservations are very much deserved. But I would argue that Spencer’s been hyping him up well, and come December I think we’ll be getting some answers as opposed to Slott comics, where we have to wait over two years for any given plot point to be resolved. For now, unless the hype is pointless, I’ll forgive Kingpin bowing to this literal who. (As George said, what’s he supposed to do? Punch the demon?)

This was another home run for Spencer. Great characterization, art good enough I can overlook flaws, and like I mentioned earlier, a great springboard for future plot points. Looking forward to the Black Cat arc, and I have a feeling that I won’t be disappointed by upcoming issues earlier.

Final Grade: A+